In the first week of last year’s season to be jolly, the Selangor government came up with measures that provide a sharp and disturbing insight into the prevailing political culture.

The curtain raiser was its reported declaration that the Streets, Drainage and Building Act, the National Land Code and other related laws can be ignored in the “interest of nation building”.

In essence this means that legally designated public parks, road reserves and buffer zones among others can be used for other purposes, so long as they do not inconvenience residents, affect cleanliness or lead to traffic congestion. Any structure can built, including stalls.

The issue came to light on Dec 5 when Bandar Sri Damansara residents met Petaling Jaya City Council officials over plans to construct hawker stalls on a road reserve close to the Sri Damansara secondary school. The idea was to relocate illegal hawkers there.

A council official read out the state government’s letter, in reply to the residents’ protest, which states that local governments have been empowered by the state to develop such land “in the interest of nation building”.

In the exchange that followed, the residents pointed out a high court had ruled that the State Economic Committee - which had arrived at the offending decision - is an illegal entity. The rebuttal was that the committee’s decisions are endorsed by the State Executive Council, as though it could legalise the committee. This is tantamount to contempt for the law.

Mat Rempit brazenly break the law; the exco subverts them on the sly. Now we know the source of inspiration for the state assemblyperson who built a palatial mansion which still is standing in proud defiance of the law. Rich isn’t it? Especially when our leaders noise abroad that ours is a land of laws.

Also there’s this nagging suspicion that votes - not the needs of the unlicensed hawkers - was their concern, exposing an underlying apprehension over the coming polls, seeing as how Selangor is marked as one the states where the opposition is tipped to score big.

And to think that, earlier, the state government had unveiled its draft local plan as part of its development strategy to fulfill the nation’s Vision 2020, the main objective being encouraging public participation. That pledge came from state housing, building management and squatters committee chairperson Mohd Mokhtar Ahmad Dahlan when launching the plan for sustainable development programmes under Local Agenda 21 (LA21).

Salon operators hounded

Before that could be digested, came another announcement that all hair salons, beauty centres, massage parlours and cyber-cafes would have to make fresh applications accompanied by deposits ranging from RM1,000-10, 000 for licences from this year.

Another mandatory requirement is that these operators have to register details on the patrons’ identity card. The unkindest cut of all was it also included blind operators of such businesses.

Ye Gods! One was really led to believe that the so-called LA21 had become a mouldering dead duck a long time ago with residents and local councils at loggerheads with near metronomic regularity over a variety of issues; particularly when decisions are made and project undertaken without the public’s knowledge.

An announcement that local governments would be awarded gold stars based on their performance, prompted by the furore sparked by Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo’s ‘broomstick award’ for poor performance to two local councils last year, was a strong indication that LA21 had been effectively killed off by those tasked with implementing the concept.

The new licensing move naturally drew howls of protest from those affected. Kampung Tunku state assemblyperson and MBPJ councillor Dr Wong Sai Hou was quick to respond, faulting the licensing department for the style of implementation.

He also gave the lamebrain explanation that the deposits were to ensure that the premises were kept clean, adding that businesses finding the deposits unreasonable could appeal to the state executive council for a review.

A few days after these reassuring noises, his boss, the redoubtable Mohd Khir Toyo, shot down Wong’s advice, saying the legislation would be reconsidered, but that operators would have to pay the deposit first.

As Shakespeare wrote: “Words are the very rascals since bonds disgraced.” It holds true centuries later.

Of course, Malaysians being Malaysians, have read the whole episode as a Barisan Nasional (BN) attempt to fill its war chest in preparation for the elections.

Patronage system

At this juncture let me quote an extract from Alex Kerr’s book entitled ‘Dogs and Demons, the fall of modern Japan’: “If you disguise the truth long enough you will eventually lose touch with reality yourself.”

The book is a must read for all thinking Malaysians concerned about the nation for it throws light on the dark side of the ‘Look East’ policy. We are experiencing its impact now as the nexus of retired senior politicians, bureaucrats and large corporations grow octopus-like tentacles. An import from Japan Inc where society is trapped in their stranglehold.

Returning to the point, admittedly drastic reforms have been instituted by the Abdullah administration but those are managed at the federal level. The fact is that VIPs who meet every Wednesday appear to have little influence over what happens at the local level. Especially when the patronage system has encouraged the nurturing of the kiss up and kick down culture.

The BN, the successor of the Alliance, has had such a long continuous run that, for it, the nation and the coalition are synonymous. They are either oblivious or don’t want to face up to the fact that the credit stored by the nation’s founding fathers has long since been overdrawn. Whole generations have grown up since then and those achievements have little bearing on their lives.

Our forefathers wrestled with the problems of their times. We have to tend to our own without invoking the last century’s spirits for aid.

Members of the ruling coalition start off as wakil rakyat , although they are actually wakil parti , and eventually evolve into becoming wakil diri sendiri . Their gauge of patriotism is restricted to the number of flags and intensity of decibels when August approaches.

Change is straining at the leash, waiting to break free. Government monopoly on information, a vital important tool for manipulating minds, is being shaken loose and this can be frightening for those used to having their own way in nurturing a herd mentality.

For health to return to the body politic after decades of abuse, several things must happen. The Anti-Corruption Agency must be made responsible only to Parliament, the judiciary must be independent and seen to be independent; and the booted foot on the neck must belong to the rakyat not to politicians.

There must be local government elections, which are the bedrock of democracy; the rest is mere simulation. Most important of all, universities must be given autonomy for the sake of the nation’s survival.

A warning note been has sounded to herald the entrance of new players on our political stage - Parti Mahasiswa Negara, boasting a multiracial membership of 2,000 young graduates. Its pro-tem president Azlan Zainal reportedly said the aim is to recruit varsity students even though this is unlawful in Malaysia. It is set to field independents in the polls, if it cannot be registered in time.

Salute them for they represent the wave of the future: the serendipitous by-products of the University and University Colleges Act. The dawn of Bangsa Malaysia , perhaps?