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Malaysia's misfortunes and misery - Part 1 The present malaise has its roots in an earlier event
by K George
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There are a number of reasons for the misfortunes and miseries in our beloved Malaysia. By sheer coincidence, two politicians � a father and his son � were responsible to a certain extent. The father�s intention was to do good for this country. The son's action were apparently aimed at acquiring power. Those who have followed the history of this nation can easily guess that the father is Abdul Razak and the son, of course, is Najib Razak. Dr Mahathir Mohamad was an UMNO member in the 1960s when the Father of our Nation, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was the first Prime Minister. Mahathir became a critic of the Tunku and was subsequently expelled from UMNO. However, when Razak became the second prime minister, he decided to reinstate Mahathir's membership in UMNO as the new PM was impressed by Mahathir�s capability and intelligence. After the 1974 general election, Mahathir became the Education Minister. In those days our university students used to involve themselves in social activities such as poverty and labour problems. Although Mahathir himself was a student leader during his university days, he managed to get the cabinet to agree to the enactment of the obnoxious Universities and University Colleges Act, which prohibited students from having any connection with labour unions and political parties. All over the world, university students are by and large treated as future leaders of their countries. But, in this country, they remain in classrooms as �virgins�. Thirty years have passed but this nasty statute remains. Workers' rights rolled back Razak, like the Tunku, was a pleasant person, committed to the upliftment of the downtrodden. As vice president of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS), I, along with my colleagues, had the opportunity to meet him occasionally. Most unfortunately, however, he was afflicted by a terminal disease. Having known that his days were numbered, he had, it was rumored, left an �unwritten will� with his deputy, Hussein Onn, who was also his brother-in-law. According to the so-called will, it was believed that Hussein would have to appoint Mahathir as his deputy and Mahathir should be told that, when he became the PM, he would have to appoint Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as his deputy. After the demise of Razak in 1975, Hussein Onn became prime minister. Although Mahathir was the third vice-president hierarchically, Hussein appointed Mahathir as Deputy Prime Minister and he must have been told about the unwritten will. While Razak was the PM, a commission known as the Ibrahim Ali Commission was appointed to review the terms and conditions of public sector employees. The commission submitted its report in 1976 and it was accepted by the unions of the public employees. However the government appointed a Cabinet Committee headed by Mahathir, the Deputy PM, to review the commission's recommendations. The employees and their unions were unhappy as the commission was appointed by the government and as such the government was obliged to implement its report. In the event, the cabinet committee recommended the rejection of the Ibrahim Ali report and presented its own report known as the Cabinet Committee Report. It was the first time a report of the salary commission was rejected. The unions protested, held meetings and threatened strike action. The government went ahead and summoned a special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat � the first time in the history of Malaysia- which resolved to adopt the recommendation of the cabinet committee. In 1979, the public sector employees� right to collective bargaining, which was established by the colonial masters in the 1950s, was withdrawn. Since then - it has now been 25 years - the public employees have lost their right to collective bargaining and have been force to depend on the benevolence of the government. While Mahathir was the PM, he really enjoyed being the benevolent authoritarian leader. By inserting a clause in the Industrial Relations Act 1967, the public employees unions� right to strike was virtually taken away. Further, since 1979 a public employee's service could be terminated without assigning any reason and denied his or her natural right to seek reinstatement. This was ensured by amending Article 135 of the Supreme Law. Although Hussein Onn was the PM at that time, the unions concerned believed - rightly so - that the man behind all this was Mahathir, who was expecting to be the next prime minister - a position he eventually assumed in July 1981. Drastics amendments to trade union laws The Trade Unions Act (TUA) 1959 is one of the labour legislations that deal with the rights of workers and their unions. It already had several restrictive provisions. But then Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, felt that the TUA needed to be amended. A Bill with numerous restrictive and prohibitive provisions was submitted to Parliament with the approval of the cabinet. The MTUC embarked on a campaign of protest. The union leaders including this writer organized several mass rallies, marching to the office of the Prime Minister and picketing at the Dewan Rakyat building while the Bill was being debated in March 1980. Mahathir was in a state of panic. But, at the end of the day, the workers lost because some of their leaders betrayed them. The Bill was passed. Royal pardon The second Menteri Besar of Selangor, Harun Idris, was a very popular UMNO leader. He had a soft spot for the working class and the downtrodden. Hussein Onn, who was the DPM in the mid-1970s, was a politician of integrity, honesty and humility. But he was totally opposed to bribery and corruption. So, when he came to know that Harun was involved in an incident of corruption, the DPM insisted that Harun be charged. Razak, the prime minister then, tried to send Harun to the United Nations as Malaysia�s representative. But the latter rejected the offer. The Menteri Besar was then charged, convicted and sentenced to three years� imprisonment. Razak succumbed to his illness and Hussein Onn became the third prime minister of Malaysia. A couple of years later, Hussein went to England for a medical check up. Mahathir, the acting PM, it is believed, made use of the opportunity to secure a royal pardon for Harun Idris. Although it was an action in conflict with the established protocol, Hussein handled it calmly and gently. Subsequently, Hussein tendered his resignation because of �health� reasons. It was indeed a peaceful exit from a coveted position, thus ensuring unity in the UMNO family. Mahathir's "achievements" As mentioned above, Dr Mahathir became the fourth Prime Minister in July 1981- exactly 10 years after his reinstatement to UMNO. What were his �achievements� during this period? The suppression of the civil rights of the university students who are supposed to be the future leaders of our nation; the withdrawal of the public sector unions� collective bargaining rights; and the legal imposition of restrictions and even prohibitions on the rights of workers and their trade unions. After becoming the PM, Mahathir, without a second thought, ignored the �unwritten will� and appointed Musa Hitam as the deputy prime minister. Musa was once listed as one of Asia�s capable leaders. But the partnership of the two �Ms� did not last long. Musa resigned. Had Razak been alive, he would have regretted the blunder he made. Hussein Onn might have cried for complying with the advice of his brother-in-law. Musa was replaced by Ghafar Baba, a devoted veteran of UMNO, just for namesake. Victory by a whisker After he became the PM, the first thing Mahathir did was to release 22 ISA detainees. It was indeed a pleasant surprise. Then he came out with the slogan �Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah (Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy)�. He introduced punctuality in the civil service. He declared he would eliminate corruption if necessary, even by instilling the fear of God. His next agenda was privatisation. At a forum on privatization, he made a solemn statement that there would be open tenders, transparency and accountability. Future events would disclose that these promises and assurances were hollow.
But apparently horse-trading took place on the eve of polling and Najib was believed to have switched to Mahathir's camp carrying with him a crucial bloc of votes. The horse-trading worked. Mahathir won the election with a majority of 43 votes. Najib became the UMNO youth leader without contest. Najib had turned against Razalaigh, who was a very close friend of Najib�s family as well as his mentor. It is my considered opinion, with which I hope you will agree, that future events confirm that this apparent betrayal was one of the worst misfortunes inflicted on our beloved Malaysia. Part 2 Now e-mail us and tell us what you think. Your comments might be published in the Letters section of our print magazine, Aliran Monthly. | |||||||||||||||
Had Razak been alive, he would have regretted the blunder he made. 
