Crumbling is not an instant’s Act
A fundamental pause
Dilapidation’s processes
Are organized Decays —
’Tis first a Cobweb on the Soul
A Cuticle of Dust
A Borer in the Axis
An Elemental Rust —
Ruin is formal — Devil’s work
Consecutive and slow —
Fail in an instant, no man did
Slipping — is Crashe’s law —
– Emily Dickinson
Democracy is not lost in a single strike.
To use Dickinson’s words, it decays through deliberate, organised erosion. That erosion deepens when people stop believing not just in government actions, but in their legitimacy.
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That is why the recent Malaysian High Court ruling in Harris Mohd Salleh v Chief Secretary and Government of Malaysia 2023 stands as a quiet yet powerful affirmation of democratic principles.
Facts of the case
The case concerns a judicial review application by Harris Salleh, a former chief minister of Sabah, for the declassification of a government report on the aeroplane crash on 6 June 1976, known as the Double 6 Tragedy.
The crash killed 11 people, including the then chief minister of Sabah, Fuad Stephens, and several cabinet members. Harris, who was appointed chief minister immediately after the crash, was directly implicated in the tragedy due to ongoing public speculation that the crash was politically motivated.
The Malaysian government investigated the crash, but the findings were classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) in 1976. Despite repeated requests over the years by the people of Sabah, politicians and the victims’ families, the report has remained secret.
Harris applied to the transport minister to declassify the report under discretionary powers vested in the minister vide Section 2C of the OSA, but the minister did not make a decision.
The judicial review application challenged the minister’s refusal to exercise the discretion to declassify the reports allowed by the OSA. It sought orders from the court to compel the declassification of the Double 6 report.
The government, however, maintained that the decision to keep the report classified was strictly within the minister’s discretion, under the OSA.
The minister did not provide any reason for continuing the classification. He cited national security and governmental discretion.
Judge’s decision
In his decision, Justice Christopher Chin argued something both radical and obvious: that legality alone is not enough. A government’s actions must be perceived as legitimate by the public.
This idea strikes at the very heart of democracy. Democracy is not merely a system of rules. It is a relationship of trust between the governed and those who govern. When that trust erodes, so too does the foundation of a democratic society.
As Justice Chin observed:
The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of the populace is critical; the public must recognise both the law and the government as legitimate. Otherwise, the public will not trust or adhere to the rule of law.
This means the rule of law is not sustained by enforcement alone, it is upheld by belief.
If the people no longer believe that government actions are fair, transparent or accountable, they begin to disengage. They stop participating, stop believing, and eventually stop obeying.
That is how democracies decay, not through any dramatic collapse, but through the quiet withdrawal of public faith.
American parallel
This principle resonates far beyond Malaysia. In the US, long considered a beacon of democratic governance, we are witnessing a slow erosion of democratic norms.
Voter suppression efforts, political manipulation of judicial institutions, and rising authoritarian rhetoric are not just policy issues; they represent legitimacy crises. They send a message that democratic processes can be subverted, and once that message is absorbed, cynicism replaces citizenship.
In both Malaysia and the US, the issue is not simply whether government actions are legal. The deeper question is whether they continue to earn public trust.
In the Harris Salleh case, the court did more than evaluate ministerial discretion. It asked whether keeping the crash report secret, 47 years later, still served the public good.
The answer was no, and in ordering the report’s release, the court affirmed that the right to information is not just a procedural entitlement but a moral necessity.
Need for vigilance
This is why vigilance matters, not just against authoritarian overreach, but against internal narratives that frame accountability as disloyalty.
In many countries, including Malaysia, religion and race are invoked to stifle scrutiny and silence dissent. These appeals, dressed in the language of harmony or morality, serve not to protect society, but to prevent democratic discourse.
This tactic is especially insidious because it exploits deeply held cultural and religious sentiments. When religion is politicised, it becomes a wedge rather than a bridge.
A 2024 study of interreligious relations in Malaysia found that misunderstandings between groups, combined with emotional rhetoric and social media manipulation, have worsened communal tensions and reduced tolerance (see International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Vol 14, No 3, 2024).
To defend democracy, we must also defend the space for open, respectful dialogue – even on difficult, ‘sensitive’ topics. Fear must not override freedom.
Earning trust
If democracy is a contract, legitimacy is a fundamental term of that contract. It gives governments not just the power to act, but the moral authority to do so. Legality without legitimacy is compliance without conviction, a brittle shell of democracy.
To protect democratic societies, we must demand more than legal compliance. We must insist on transparency, participation and governance that earns, not assumes, our trust.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
