The Malaysian Insight

A BACKDOOR government is not what Malaysians wished for when they voted in the last general election, said MCA vice-president Ti Lian Ker.

However, he was quick to add that the voters are entitled to a change if the election promises made to them are not fulfilled.

“If the government is voted on the basis of promises and the promises are fulfilled, then any realignment or backdoor government is against the wishes of the voters who voted them in,” he told The Malaysian Insight at the sidelines of the Perdana Forum: Whither Maruah Malaysia 2.0 today.

“But if the government is voted in on the basis of promises that they failed to fulfill, then this provides an opportunity, and there are rooms for elected representatives to review their positions in the government and contemplate forming a new alliance or government,” added Ti.

He, however, said the attention should instead be on policies as opposed to speculations of quarters working to form a backdoor government.

Speculations are rife that plans are afoot for a “backdoor government” without Amanah and DAP and to stop Anwar Ibrahim from taking over the prime minister post.

Malaysia, said Ti, has a multi-party system with two political blocs and no single party can form a government without the help of another.

“The people are not given the voice on voting on policies, they are just voting on political divides,” he said.

When people voted for the present government, they did so to move past race and religious politics, which was the school of thought that the old administration subscribed to, he added.

“The Barisan Nasional concept is that we recognise and respect each other’s differences. We sit down and come up with tolerable consensus. That was the practice then. That was the original practice but somehow along the way it was hijacked into a race-dominant policy,” he said.

Ideally in a two party system, he said, one bloc should represent a liberal and inclusive stance when the other is more of a conservative.

He said although the Barisan Nasional coalition still functions on the basis of race and religion, its members are still able to reach a consensus.

“(Although in) BN we go on the basis of race and religion but we sit down and talk on what is agreeable and what is not,” he explained.

He also expressed his disappointment over Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders for not giving their election manifesto the importance they should.

“I think that is very disrespectful of political ethics and the basic decency of political leaders. Your manifesto is a promise you have to deliver,” he said.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that PH has become a victim of its own election manifesto, as certain promises are easier said than fulfilled.

He said the ruling coalition had not expected to win GE14 last year and has found that pledges, especially those involving constitutional amendments, were difficult to fulfil. – October 25, 2019.