By Jacqueline Ann Surin
thenutgraph.com
(Permatang Pauh by-election pic by Danny Lim)
SINCE the historic March 2008 general election, it has become clearer to Malaysians that democracy is messy and expensive. Indeed, any politician who tries to convince the rakyat that democracy is an easy and frugal affair is guilty of trying to fool the masses.
But what have we been hearing about the unusual spate of elections the country has been having since March 2008, especially after it became apparent that Malaysia would be in for its sixth by-election in Penanti, Penang? Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, most notably the prime minister himself, are calling these elections a drain on resources, a waste of public funds, and even a "publicity stunt" by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Could taxpayers' money be better spent in other ways? And should Malaysians demand that our politicians and political parties get down to running the country instead of engaging in excessive "politicking"?
It adds up
There is no denying that the five by-elections we've had since March 2008 — Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu, Bukit Selambau, Bukit Gantang and Batang Ai — have cost us money.
According to The Star, these by-elections have cost a total of RM33.4 million — no small amount.
| Constituency | Date of by-election | EC's expenses (RM) | Police's expenses (RM) |
| Permatang Pauh | 26 Aug 2008 | 409,000 | 2.5mil |
| Kuala Terengganu | 24 Jan 2009 | 580,000 | 11.5mil |
| Bukit Selambau | 7 April 2009 | 400,000 | 5.0mil |
| Bukit Gantang | 7 April 2009 | 600,000 | 7.0mil |
| Batang Ai | 7 April 2009 | 400,000 | 5.0mil |
These figures should indeed be made public. But when the figures are publicised and they go hand-in-hand with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak declaring that by-elections caused by resignations are a "sheer waste of public funds", some questions need to be asked.
Firstly, how else does the BN leadership envision a democracy should be run? If a seat is vacated, what other means does Malaysia, which the government says is a democracy, have to ensure that the people are represented according to the majority's wishes?
Mohd Fairus (Source: mfairus.blogspot.
com) Of course, the underbelly of Najib and other BN leaders' statements about the resignation of PKR's Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin as both Penang deputy chief minister and Penanti assemblyperson is that his reasons for resigning are frivolous. Nothing more than a "political ploy", to quote Najib himself, because apparently Fairus didn't quit for the "legitimate" reasons of being sick, bankrupt or convicted of a crime.
The same views have been echoed by no less than the Election Commission (EC). Plus, the EC has openly supported proposals by some BN leaders such as Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Tan Keng Liang to prevent "unnecessary" elections. These include suggestions for stricter laws, and penalties for elected reps or their parties should an elected representative resign for reasons other than what's stated in Article 48(1) of the Federal Constitution.
This, the argument goes, would suggest that Fairus, or other elected representatives like him such as former Bukit Selambau assemblyperson V Arumugam, who also resigned, are doing their electorate a disservice.
And that disservice is being reflected in the amount of money that has so far been spent on the five by-elections we've had since March 2008.
Why so expensive?
But if protecting taxpayers' money is really the intention of the barrage of criticisms against PKR, why isn't the BN asking this question instead: Just why is it so expensive for the EC and especially the police to manage a by-election?
I, for one, would like a thorough breakdown of how every ringgit was spent by the EC and the police. In fact, it looks really incredible that the police should be spending millions. In fact, the police spend much, much more than the EC.
And since Bukit Selambau is way more accessible than Batang Ai, why did the police still spend the same amount of money in both by-elections? And in the case of Kuala Terengganu, the police spent RM6 million just on canopy rental alone, as was revealed by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung in the Dewan Rakyat.
Najib has already intimated that the BN may not contest in the Penanti polls apparently because it is mindful of the people's interests. This will apparently save taypayers' money from somehow being squandered because of a publicity-hungry PKR.
If that were the case, why then is the BN not asking the question of both the EC and the police about why their expenditure is so high?
At the nomination centre in Kuala Terengganu. Good heavens, how much did all this cost??
(Pic by Danny Lim)
What is really wasteful
If we were to extend the BN's logic further, Malaysians should also conclude that any other candidate who contests against the PKR candidate in Penanti is being irresponsible about how public funds are spent.
Already, former Penang Wanita PKR chief Aminah Abdullah has said she will contest as an independent candidate. Surely she deserves to be vilified, too, for creating a situation where public resources would be unnecessarily drained again.
What really is a waste of public funds isn't the necessary process of an election in a democracy. What really is, is when so much is spent by state agencies with little accounting for how the money was spent.
And as someone who files my taxes in full and on time, what irks me is not the messiness and costliness of the democratic process. What outrages me is when public funds are used to stifle democracy.
For example, when FRU and police are sent to disperse peaceful candlelit vigils, sometimes violently. Or when more than 100 tear gas canisters are lobbed into a crowd of peaceful Malaysians protesting because of a legitimate concern (I wonder how much each canister costs?). Or when state funds are used to maintain the Kamunting Detention Centre which continues to incarcerate people, without trial, under the Internal Security Act.
Tear gas going off during a protest on 7 March
That the BN is instead focused on demonising a legitimate democratic process because they don't see the value in it is revealing. That they refuse to acknowledge public funds are really being wasted to undermine our democracy in concrete ways is even more significant.
Need Malaysians wonder anymore what the BN stands for?
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