Phlip Rodrigues
Published: Mar 22, 2025 1:00 PM
Updated: 4:00 PM
COMMENT | Imagine this scenario: PAS wins the 16th general election and its president Abdul Hadi Awang becomes the 11th prime minister.
He will become the most powerful man in the country and he will remain permanently at the 11th spot because the next prime minister will still be Hadi and he will continue to rule until the end of the world.
For decades, all the previous prime ministers have been at the helm without term limits. Most have stayed around for less than 10 years like Tun Abdul Razak (six years), Hussein Onn (five), Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (six), and Najib Abdul Razak (nine).
First prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman lasted for 13 years and could have gone on holding aloft the beacon of freedom if not for the tragic events of May 13.
Najib could have extended his stay if he had not fallen from grace in 2018. His fairly long reign is not marked by any distinctive accomplishments but was ruined by a crime for which he is now paying dearly.
Then there were those forgettable, short-lived reigns of Muhyiddin Yassin followed by Ismail Sabri Yaakob. They tasted power for one year only and hardly made any impact on the national stage.
Only Mahathir remains the undisputed champion for warming the hot seat for a total of 24 years. But after tasting power for so long, the ancient politician is still besotted with politics of the toxic kind.
Too much politics has given rise to delusions that the doctor can still stage a stunning comeback.
‘Not a temporary position’
Currently, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his disinterest in clinging to power beyond 10 years.
“Don’t worry, if it was up to me, I would not pass 10 years (in office),” said Anwar who reportedly agreed with the proposal to limit the prime minister’s tenure to two terms.
But because the suggestion came from the DAP, the whole issue blew up into one of religion and race. And, as expected, PAS promptly took the lead in denouncing the DAP, its perennial bogeyman.
Hadi, a consummate manipulator, uses religion yet again to press home his point that limiting the premiership tenure to two terms is going against God’s will. How he arrived at this divine revelation only God knows.
According to his interpretation, the heavy responsibility of the office of prime minister is actually a “great trust” given by God to man.
Giving a further twist, the PAS supremo deduced that this God-given trust means that the tenure of the prime ministership is permanent. Once a prime minister always a prime minister.
“It is not a temporary position for one person to enjoy, and then to be passed on to another to take advantage of,” he was quoted as saying.
Hadi - always the fierce, slashing, menacing political and religious figure - very cleverly posits the argument that since God had decreed that “prophets who carried the teachings of Islam also played the role of leader. Upon their demise, other prophets take over the role.”
Put it in the present context, if Hadi is not around, then the baton of power will be passed on to successive PAS religious leaders in a never-ending story of PAS hegemony. And DAP won’t stand a chance in hell of taking over Putrajaya.
Forever rule
The Marang MP deliberately chooses not to recognise the benefits of a two-term tenure presumably because PAS will not be able to perpetuate its rule if it comes to power.
Ten years is good enough for a prime minister to accomplish what he has set out to do, and he knows he has to work very hard towards that end.
But when a leader stays too long, the ship of state is likely to list because when power becomes absolute and goes unchallenged, the barnacles of abuse of power and corruption will accumulate and eventually sink the vessel.
Without a term limit, a leader will tend to grow authoritarian and tend to crack down on opposition leaders if the latter attempts to challenge his grip on power.
Besides, he deceives himself into thinking that the people love him so much that they want him to stay on indefinitely.
With a term limit, the leader will have to concentrate on making his administration a success because he has 10 years to produce concrete results.
But Hadi apparently doesn’t believe in all this hullabaloo about democratic principles because what is important to him is his religious principles.
So, if he gets elected, he will most probably proclaim that it is God’s will that he is elected to lead the country, and not through the will and consent of the people.
Perhaps, this wily politician might stretch his argument further and say that since he came to power by the will of God, what need is there for man-made general elections? Dump the ballot boxes and have no more polls because my rule will be everlasting.
Abolishing polls is one sure way to ensure the Islamist party will stay around for all eternity.
Hadi might then proceed to dismantle the whole structure of parliamentary democracy and replace it with a state governed strictly according to divine rules. The Federal Constitution is as good as dead.
With his vitriolic politics, can Hadi heal the many wounds inflicted on the country by his divisive politics? Even as prime minister for life, his politics of bigotry will further damage the body and soul of Malaysia.
PAS contends that the country belongs mainly to the Malays by virtue of the fact that it is Tanah Melayu. So political power must forever rest in the hands of the dominant race.
But today Malaysia is a melting pot bubbling with diverse races, religions, and cultures and Tanah Melayu has morphed into an all-inclusive Tanah Kita. This broad sun-lit land belongs to all - we all stand or fall together.
PHLIP RODRIGUES is a retired journalist.
No comments:
Post a Comment