Malaysia’s first prime minister wanted a country where there is separation of powers between the executive, judiciary and legislature but the sad reality is that we have been badly let down by all three branches of government.

Gua Musang MP and Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the executive has been known to be browbeaten by the head of government.

“Our judiciary had been weakened in the past and is perceived rightly or wrongly as less effective.

“With regard to the legislature, it is not unknown that matters which are within the purview of the Dewan Rakyat had often been discussed by the executive committee of the ranking party within the coalition forming the government of the day,” he said.

The longest serving elected federal lawmaker said this amounts to usurping the power of the Lower House of Parliament.

He also noted apart from these abuses, politics in our country had long been colluding with business which has led to unbridled corruption.

“It would seem that honour has deserted our leaders and insatiable greed for wealth has taken over its place,” he said.

Tengku Razaleigh was delivering a keynote address at the Conference on ‘Nation Building, Unity and the Malaysian Dream: Yesterday, today and tomorrow’.

Part of the executive

After he delivered his speech, reporters, pointed out he was part of the executive before and asked what did he do to prevent it from happening, Tengku Razaleigh replied it did not happen in the past.

“But now it is happening time and time again. What we should do is give serious attention to discuss the issue by those, like the legislature who are supposed to have the right.

“But let this be decided by those who are entitled to it,” he said.

To questions if interference to the three branches happened in Dr Mahathir Mohamad's ( photo ) time as premier, Tengku Razaleigh said he would not say when but it was some time ago.

“I would not be specific,” he responded.

Tengku Razaleigh in his speech also said while he hated to say this, he thought Malays have a blinkered view regarding other Malaysian communities.

“As Malays we are proud to think of ourselves as democrats; but we forget the very essence of democracy promises equality to everyone. We forget that democracy is government by the people as a whole, rather than by any section, class or interest within it.

He added it’s conveniently forgotten that other Malaysians had contributed more than their fair share for the country.

“We choose to forget that there were other Malaysians who had accepted the Malay hierarchical stacking order with the ruler at the apex, and that this harmony convinced the British that we were ready for independence,” he said.

Malays, to the Gua Musang MP, are still short on confidence and this makes them a scared lot especially in their relationship and interaction with other Malaysians.

This, he said has become a marked characteristic of the Malay psyche, and this unfortunately found its way into politics.

Malaysia not a nation

Tengku Razaleigh said while leaders seemed to be parroting that Malaysia is a nation, unfortunately it is not.

“We are polite to each other in public but there is, at times a lack of sincerity in it. In group interactions, we are not above breaking into a language not understood by everybody, in our efforts to not share our inner thoughts with everyone.

“Much as we hate to admit it, we live a compartmentalised life. This is compounded by the pluralistic nature of our society and our lackadaisical attitude towards the ethos and worldview of Malaysians not of the same ethnicity as us.

“In the end, unless we come from a family background which includes the presence of interracial marriage, we will not be able to understand the philosophy of life of others, or their world view, or their attitudes and aspirations,” he brooded.

Ku Li warned that if we are unable to come as one and develop a Malaysian culture made up of the cultural traits of our diverse racial make-up, it would have a negative effect on nation building, as culture is a key element in such a process.