Talk of Malaysia forming a unity government heightened after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned on Monday.
While the term “unity government” has been bandied around, what does it really mean and how will it affect the people?.
Twentytwo13 spoke to senior lawyer and columnist Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos who gave an insight on what a unity government truly means.
What is a unity government?
In political science, a unity government refers to a broad coalition of major political parties. This, I believe, is what the politicians are referring to.
As there is a political crisis in Malaysia, the idea is to create political stability by including these major parties in the government.
However, I believe some have a different understanding altogether. They think it’s some sort of a government that would fundamentally address the ethnically and religiously divided nation.
I am afraid the unity government proposed is more of creating a truce or “political ceasefire” among the leaders of the various parties to focus on what they consider as national issues, especially the economy.
The people want a truly Malaysian government solving real Malaysian problems.
Shouldn’t the people be told about the philosophy of a unity government?
Those who speak about forming a unity government must put forward to the people their plan, policy and philosophy. The rakyat need to know what the (proposed) unity government is about.
Otherwise it could end up being inefficient or dictatorial.
Will a unity government will work?
If politicians are sincere, regardless of their political affiliation, they will put the nation first. But the political structure and understanding in Malaysia does not seem to suggest so.
I had tweeted: Everyone talks about “unity government” these days in Malaysia — no one knows what it’s uniting and what it is!
I say that because PAS still canvases religious interest, Umno still canvases racial interest.
If such mentality remains, it (unity government) will not work.
We need political stability which we did not have for many years, including the past two years (since Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 general election).
Leaders from one political party (Umno) ruled in the past (during Barisan Nasional’s rule). When Pakatan Harapan took over, it somehow offered checks and balances within the government as it was led by leaders from various political parties.
The same can be said about the unity government, but once again, this must be observed.
It may, however, delay certain decision-making processes, especially if the leaders are at odds over a particular issue.
As I said earlier, this will be made easy if politicians think about the nation first.
What’s next for Malaysians?
It is unfortunate that Malaysia has evolved into a situation where the rakyat are held at ransom by the tantrums that politicians throw and inevitably, for the time being, we may need a unity government.
Then they should be able to evaluate the real value or need of a political leader. They should use this knowledge the next time they vote.
The rakyat have to move towards creating a system of governance which is less reliant on political leaders. This is an important long-term project for the rakyat.
