Pauline Fan, guest writer “A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial: that is, when its ruling class has lost its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud.” – George Orwell The Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) unprecedented decision not to recognise the Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) Central Executive Committee has dealt a severe blow to the already debilitated condition of democracy in Malaysia. Arriving two days before nomination day for the 13th General Elections, the letter announcing the decision seems providentially planned and timed to throw a spanner in the works of the DAP’s and, by extension, Pakatan Rakyat’s vigorous GE13 campaign. The decision of the RoS amounts to nothing less than a devious act of political sabotage, urged by Barisan Nasional’s deep-seated cowardice in the face of a robust opposition coalition. It is an utterly deplorable political tactic by any standards and calls into question the integrity of the democratic process in Malaysia. Non-recognition by the RoS effectively means that the DAP’s CEC has been suspended and thus has no power to issue the required letters authorising candidates to use the party logo – the iconic DAP Rocket. Unless the RoS revokes the letter, DAP will be forced to contest under the banners of its coalition partners – the full moon of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and the eye of justice of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). The RoS’ ostensible concerns, including a technical glitch that caused an error in the results of the DAP party elections at the congress held on 15 Dec 2012, are already under inquiry and this renders the decision of non-recognition unnecessary and superfluous. Never has the RoS been so keen to leap to the defense of ‘good conduct’ in party polls. Whatever the flaws of DAP’s CEC election may be, it is the self-serving timing of the RoS letter and decision that leaves a bitter aftertaste. The RoS has had at least four months to deliberate on a course of action; why the sudden haste to incapacitate the DAP now? DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng, expressed the situation perfectly in the press conference following an emergency meeting on 18 April: “This is despicable, this is dishonourable…This is political assassination.” Despite the praiseworthy and magnanimous gesture by PAS and PKR to allow DAP candidates to contest under their respective party symbols, this episode will go down as one of the darkest in Malaysia’s general election history. Despite the opportunity for Pakatan Rakyat to demonstrate true partnership and solidarity through the sharing of party symbols, the fact remains that the democratic process is being derailed before our eyes. This 11th hour manoeuvre leaves no time for recourse to legal channels to resolve the issue before polling day on May 5th. And the Election Commission’s verbal assurance that DAP can still go ahead and use the party logo rings hollow in a political landscape where the predominance of the unpredictable is the only thing one can be sure of. DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang’s comments on the RoS decision revealed a deep disappointment with the blatant bullying of the Najib administration: “This has never been done by any of the previous prime ministers, however authoritarian, draconian, unjust… Tun Dr. Mahathir – it has never entered his mind to try to resort to such arbitrary, unilateral, undemocratic and most disgraceful actions to knock out a political party by the ruse of denying the use of the party symbol.” The value of freedom If anything, the RoS decision reveals the extent to which supposedly nonpartisan public institutions have ossified into little more than state bureaucracies that serve the interests of the ruling regime over the wellbeing of the people. It also reveals just how devoid the Barisan Nasional is of strategies for true transformation, a term they aggressively parade in their national programmes, campaigns and propaganda. Perhaps they are simply incapable of change. As my late father and former DAP parliamentarian, Fan Yew Teng, wrote in an article for Harakah in October 2008: “Despite all the talk about change, Umno will not really change, because it is no longer a party of principles but one of interests…” The RoS decision shows that BN, particularly Umno, will stop at nothing to rob their political opponents of their rights and deny them a fair fight. It shows that, despite all the rhetoric, BN does not believe in earning the mandate of the people; they simply believe they are entitled to political power, and will cling to it no matter what the people want. This is a brazen mockery of the general election process and a shameless betrayal of democracy. It is also the mark of incipient totalitarianism. What, then, is to be done? If the political system remains a flawed one, the task falls to each Malaysian citizen to insist on another kind of politics while being guided by the fundamental values of the democratic process. We must remember that at the heart of democracy lies the flame of freedom. It is only by reclaiming the value of freedom in our collective consciousness that we may begin to build a society based on democratic ideals. In the words of Albert Camus: “We notice that everywhere, together with freedom, justice is profaned. How then can this infernal circle be broken? Obviously, it can be done only by reviving at once, in ourselves and in others, the value of freedom – and by never again agreeing to its being sacrificed, even temporarily, or separated from our demand for justice.” In the end, the ignoble sabotage of DAP’s Rocket symbol will come to symbolise something in itself – the derailing of the democratic process in Malaysia; the inability of the present ruling regime to engage in clean and fair politics; and the irrefutable need for Malaysian citizens to reclaim democracy and reach for freedom by rejecting outright the politics of deception and hypocrisy. Pauline Fan is a writer, translator and editor. She also works with the cultural organisation, PUSAKA. This article was also published in the Malaysian Insider.
]]>Surviving on minimum wage
by Ivy Kwek, guest columnist. In February I started a little experiment for myself. Taking the cue from the recently announced minimum wage, which has been set at RM900 by the government (RM800 for East Malaysia), I decided to try to live within the means of the said amount. Much has been said about the suitability of the minimum wage, namely on whether it is possible and whether it is good for the economy. Even after the implementation of the minimum wage has been justified, the debate continues as to how much a minimum wage should be. One side, particularly the business owners, claims that RM900/month is too high and unsustainable. The other side of the fence thinks that it is too low for survival. Yet, not many seem to be based on a more humane consideration – Just how possible is it to live with such meager salary? And if it is not, how could the other arguments even stand? Hence I decided to try it out for myself. The Essentials As a single person who lives in Bangsar), I pay a rent of RM370 per month for a room. I take the bus to work, which costs me RM1 per trip and hence RM2 per day, and hence approximately RM40 for 20 working days in a month (approximately RM10 extra for other trips outside of work). In addition, I pay a phone bill of RM50. That would leave me with RM430. Initially, I do not know how drastic a change I need to adapt in order to fit into the budget. I decided to take a gradual approach in changing my lifestyle. I still allow myself to do some minimal driving, particularly at night since I feel unsafe taking public transport at late hours. Furthermore, bus routes in Kuala Lumpur are only effective at limited destinations. Nonetheless, I manage to limit my petrol consumption to RM60. I made a trip out of KL, partly at the courtesy of others, of which I paid a nominal RM50, and I went home for Chinese New Year with the cheapest travel option available – round trip by bus – that costs me RM70. Deducting all this non-food expenditures, I’m left with the balance of RM250. Assuming that I eat 2 meals per day, hence 60 meals in a month, I can only afford to spend less than RM5 a meal. I still eat out but opt for cheaper options, such as local stalls, particularly Mamak stalls. At the end of the month, my food bill came out to RM388, i.e. an average of RM6.50 per meal. Emergency and Festivals Of course, the attempt to fit the food expenditure into the budget is unrealistic as that assumed that no emergency fund would be needed. Indeed, an emergency situation did occur. On the 3rd day of Chinese New Year, I fell down and hurt some joints which required a medical bill of RM47 (Fortunately for me, it will be reimbursed by my employer). Half way through the month, my phone charger decided to fail on me and I spent another RM30 to replace it (some might not agree that mobile phone is a necessity, but I would argue that it has become one in the increasingly technology-reliant society). In fact, when I was celebrating Chinese New Year, I was holding not more than RM200 in my wallet. I decided to ‘shrink’ my yearly Angpows for my parents to RM50 each, hence after the RM100 ‘fine’, I’m only down with some loose changes, of which I would have been done for. But thanks to the Chinese culture which favours the single person, I actually managed to collect enough Angpows to break even, with some surplus. Hence I survived. There are a few occasions when I struggled with social pressures. A few reunions with friends were being planned, and some were to take place in restaurants that could not fit my budget. I can’t expect others to follow suit, which is why some meals were more expensive. Due to other co-incidental factors, I actually skipped reunions twice. That would easily cost me another RM100 at RM50 per meal, each. On top of that, there are many hidden costs – I did not include my monthly allowance to my parents in the RM900 budget as it would make the experiment highly impossible. Moreover, the car I am using is inherited from the family and hence no monthly installments were needed; other essentials such as toiletries, electric goods and furniture have not worn out that month and hence did not incur expenditure. Compromises I’ve heard arguments, surprisingly many from young professionals, that it is actually possible to survive within RM900. My response would be: Can anyone afford not to? My point is, however little a person earns, one has to find ways to survive, indeed we have seen many workers who survived even before the minimum wage policy was implemented. The question of the exercise is not whether it is possible or not, but rather, what kind of compromises one needs to make when one has so little to sustain on? What would a low income earner need to be deprived of? Perhaps it would not make sense for a minimum wage earner to be spending almost half his salary on accommodation. That would mean that he/she has to either stay far away from town, which would then increase traveling costs, therefore reducing their quality of life/time spent with family; or share a room with someone else and compromise on his/her living condition and private space. It is perhaps not surprisingly now to know that many foreign workers who, until recently, earn below minimum wage, would cram themselves in a house, some up to 20 people under one roof. Of course, in some cases, especially for the migrant workers, accommodation is provided by employers. Secondly, one of the first aspects that a low income earner would have to give up is recreational activities or non-essential spending, or switch from the expensive options to the cheaper one. Hence, instead of shopping malls, I started going to parks (of which, unfortunately there are not many good ones in KL). Instead of patronizing cafes, I hang out at Mamak stalls to catch up with my friends. I only went for the movies once, courtesy of a friend, and have only bought a new T-shirt at RM17. More so, perhaps one of the most stressful parts of living on a minimum wage is the psychological pressure that comes with the lack of financial power – the need to track every bit of expense. Sometimes, this would mean forgoing the drink during meals (or snacks!), or sticking to the same type of food every day for the lack of choices; sometimes, bearing the hidden social discrimination for not being able to consume the way the ‘better-to-dos’ in your social circle actually do (especially in festivals and special occasions); sometimes, it would mean less convenient options (eg. public transport over private cars), sometimes, having no luxury to allow yourself to fall into a situation where emergency funds need to be employed (such as falling sick, having your money stolen or getting fines from the police). What happens when there are mouths to feed? When I first announced my intention to do this, many friends were initially interested in joining me, but eventually did not, due to concerns over their family, especially those with small children. Indeed, many of the minimum wage earners have families with dependents too. If it is so hard for a single person, how would it be like for a family with RM1800 (assuming that both the adults work and earn a minimum wage) or less? Meanwhile, our country’s poverty line is defined as a family of four earning less than RM763 per month. This would include children that are still feeding, or in schools, an age where nutrition and education is extremely important and cost-incurring. Yet, under the Malaysian statistical definition, a family is not considered poor if it earns more than RM763 per month. Multidimensional approach to poverty While I believe that the ultimate solution is to increase the disposable income for workers, there are also other policies that could improve the quality of life of low income groups. For example, better public transport with accessible routes and affordable fares, which can boost the mobility of the low income group without increasing their travel costs drastically; as well as more and better managed public spaces, such as community parks that are not profit-driven, as an outlet for leisure. While I used to disregard the effectiveness of the government’s and charitable organizations’ effort to provide short-term aid, such as low cost housing (eg. Program Perumahan Rakyat), affordable healthcare (eg. 1Malaysia clinic), and cheaper meal options (eg. Menu 1 Rakyat), I am now less skeptical about it, wishing only that it could be given more serious thought in its implementation, as well how they can serve the poor with dignity and not in a condescending manner. The Survival Project In the end, I did over budget, above RM900. Perhaps, as some might argue, that the expenditures can be further slashed to fit into that budget, say if I share my already small room with another person to halve the cost, strictly limiting every meal to less than RM5, or if I forego all kinds of cost-incurring recreation. But that would be a life of utmost deprivation, surely not a life of decent comfort.
|
Items |
Amount |
|
Accommodation |
RM 370 |
|
Transport
|
RM 50 RM 60 |
|
Food |
RM 388 |
|
Phone |
RM 50 |
|
Others: Medical Phone charger Outstation Trip T-shirt |
RM 47 RM 30 RM 50 RM 17 |
|
Festivals: Angpows for parents Transport (Balik Kampung) |
RM 100 RM 70 |
|
Total |
RM1232 |