COMMENT Outgoing PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali is not the first to rubbish the idea of a 'third force' in Malaysian politics. He won’t be the last either.

Why does it matter how many forces emerge in a democracy? The fact that there are many versions of what a Third Force should constitute is beside the point. In fact, it comes across as a plus point in the need for the democratisation of Malaysia. The trend since independence has been towards over-centralisation and the emergence of a unitary state in Malaysia. This is the very antithesis of a federation.

The argument that the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom took many decades to emerge as a Third Force doesn’t quite hold water. There has been a similar reference to the United States. The implication, self-serving, is that the idea of a Third Force would not work in Malaysia.

Those against the Third Force have so far been drawn mainly from PKR who see it as an assault on the party’s support base across both sides of the South China Sea. For the same reason, the ruling BN has been silent on the issue, seeing it as generally sowing further division in the opposition ranks - PKR in particular - and to its benefit.

The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between.

The Sabah and Sarawak idea of a Third Force in the Parliament grew out of the fact that the 2008 general elections saw the emergence of a two-party system in Peninsular Malaysia - Pakatan Rakyat and BN.

The BN continued to hold sway in Sabah and Sarawak in the aftermath of the political tsunami of 2008 which saw the opposition alliance sweeping to power in five states and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The two states in Malaysian Borneo are the sole reason why the BN coalition remains in power in Putrajaya.

The Barisan, Umno in particular, should have been grateful to Sabah and Sarawak for standing by the coalition and continuing to keep it in power. However, nothing of that sort has happened. Instead, Umno has been more concerned about humouring the losers in Peninsular Malaysia – various component parties in the BN – at the expense of Sabah and Sarawak.

Unresolved local grievances

Both Sabah and Sarawak continue to be sidelined and marginalised. This has been captured in the decision of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to pull out from the BN on Sept 17, 2008, citing a long list of unresolved local grievances.

NONE Sabah strongman Jeffrey Kitingan sees Malaysia as mainly serving to empower the ruling Malay elite in Putrajaya largely at the expense of the natives in Sabah and Sarawak. Such empowerment has even resulted over the years in their creeping disenfranchisement as the influx of illegal immigrants continues.

But what he’s going to do about the marginalisation of Sabah and Sarawak is anybody’s guess as he continues to stay with PKR, a party which has apparently turned out to be no better than Umno.

It’s unlikely that much will change in favour of Sabah and Sarawak under the BN or even if Pakatan comes to power in Putrajaya.

The latest national budget of some RM200 billion allocates just four percent each to Sabah and Sarawak. Already, both states are the poorest in Malaysia, the case of the former confirmed by a World Bank report earlier this month. Meanwhile, Singapore which left Malaysia in 1965 will have an economy larger than Malaysia’s – US$210 billion vs US$205 billion – by the end of this year.

Clearly, it can be seen from the case of Singapore and Brunei – which rejected Malaysia at the eleventh hour – that the 1963 Federation has been a bad British idea for both Sabah and Sarawak.

Next to pushing for outright independence for Sabah and Sarawak, the next best idea, for better or worse, is a Third Force in the Parliament. The Third Force is best expressed in a Malaysian Borneo-based national party or national coalition to steer evenly between Pakatan and BN.

If Peninsular Malaysia can have two national coalitions, there’s no reason why Malaysian Borneo can’t have even one such political arrangement. Besides, a Malaysian Borneo-based national party or coalition would give meaning to the historical and legal reality that Malaysia is a federation of three territories - Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak co-existing in an equal partnership.

It’s time that two of the partners in the Federation, Sabah and Sarawak, make common cause with each other and reach across the South China Sea to accommodate and empower other marginalised groups.

Radical new voices

Already, Hindraf has openly expressed support for the idea of a Third Force emerging from Sabah and Sarawak. The Orang Asli and the Christians in Peninsular Malaysia are other natural allies for the Third Force.

zaid ibrahim quits pkr 191110 05 Pakatan coordinator Zaid Ibrahim’s proposed new party would be welcome too if PKR objects to him being in the opposition alliance.

The difference between the Third Force on the one hand and the other two forces on the other hand, Pakatan and BN, is that the former would not be Malay-led. This is where Zaid’s supporters have to forget the idea of him leading the Third Force. The Third Force must be led by the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

As Phillip Among, a Jeffrey aide, has boldly declared in recent days, “we have had enough of the orang Malaya dictating to us. We are prepared to co-operate but not kow-tow”.

Jeffrey would cringe at using such language and even then he has been incarcerated under the Internal Security Act for allegedly plotting Sabah’s secession from Malaysia. It’s a different matter altogether with the younger generations itching to take over from their elders.

Jeffrey has to either go along with the radical new voices emerging in Sabah and Sarawak or be eased out sooner or later by them. There are many Phillip Amongs in these two states to pursue the idea of a Third Force but perhaps only one Jeffrey Kitingan. Most of his generation, the young believe, has been compromised by BN if not Pakatan.

Privately, Jeffrey has expressed the idea that he was on the verge of retiring from politics when the young came up with the idea of the Third Force. That appears to have somewhat delayed, albeit temporarily, his plans to walk into the sunset and never look back.

He has a young team around him putting the finishing touches to a comprehensive Third Force Model which goes beyond politics and includes the economic, social and other components as well.

Some kind of announcement is expected on the Third Force Model around Dec 16 to end the festive cheer for this year on a good note.