I just returned from New Delhi, visiting two schools that run an education voucher programme and attending a regional meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society which discussed India’s position as a global power.
By Wan Saiful Wan Jan, For “Kite of Freedom” column in The Star (iPad edition) Wednesday 16 February 2011
The Mont Pelerin Society was founded in 1947 by Professor Friedrich von Hayek, to bring together classical liberal thinkers so that they can exchange ideas on how to strengthen the principles and practices of a free society.
Quite a few journalists called me up while I was in the meeting, trying to get clarifications about a panel discussion we organised last Tuesday, 8 February, in conjunction with the 108th birthday of Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman and IDEAS’ first anniversary.
It turned out that while I was abroad, there was a small storm at home resulting from comments made that event, especially regarding whether politicians should be appointed to top positions in GLCs.
The real reason behind this small storm was me. I was the moderator of the panel discussion, and we were discussing Tunku Abdul Rahman’s statement: “I have always maintained that the Government must not indulge in business. This must be left to the business community.”
I asked our panel members what they thought about this quote. I argued that some business entities could be used for political agenda, and the appointment of politicians to top posts in government-owned businesses may give rise to the wrong impression.
I then gave the example of Felda, wherein Tan Sri Isa Samad, whom UMNO have found guilty of influencing votes with money, was made chairman at a time when there are worries about how Felda settlers would vote. I insinuated that there may be political reasons behind this appointment.
For those who know me, I think it is no secret that I vehemently disagree with such a move because it creates doubt about the government’s commitment to reform.
Datuk Zainal Aznam gave a strong response, saying that it was a sad day for the country because the message given by the appointment was certainly wrong. I completely agree with Datuk Zainal. For someone in such a high position to be so brave in voicing the strong, and risky, opinion is laudable.
I departed for New Delhi the day after that event. Soon after arriving I received emails and SMS informing me that our top leaders, including the Prime Minister, are commenting on statements made at our event.
Yes, the answers given to my question on that day may hurt the government. But I believe that if we want the reform agenda initiated by the Prime Minister to succeed, then we must be brave enough to correct wrongs. Only with this kind of frankness can we ensure the government’s efforts to liberalise our economy continues to be on the right track.
But, I am worried that by giving too much attention on my question regarding the propriety of Tan Sri Isa Samad’s appointment, we are missing the bigger picture that I was trying to raise, which is whether or not a government should own and run business entities. That is the question brought up by Tunku’s quote above. And that is the proper context for our debate. As a classical liberal, I share Almarhum Tunku’s belief that the government should not.
At the opening dinner of the Mont Pelerin Society meeting last Thursday, Arun Shourie, a respected former Indian minister, said that one of the challenges we now face is the “trivialisation of discourse”. If we were to focus just on Tan Sri Isa and Felda, then we are certainly trivialising the discourse.
What we should do is to go back to the bigger debate about whether or not government should be involved so actively in the business world, the way our government has been for decades.
My hope is that the economic liberalisation that Dato’ Sri Najib is gallantly spearheading will create an environment as envisaged by Almarhum Tunku, our Bapa Malaysia, when he said “the government must not indulge in business”. If we were to follow his visionary advice, then debating Felda and Tan Sri Isa becomes trivial.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters should not pretend to be innocent either. Just look at the GLCs in Pakatan Rakyat states. They are full with political appointees too. Remember the case of Nik Aziz’s son-in-law? Has anyone checked the list of directors in state-owned companies in Pakatan Rakyat states?.
Unless Pakatan Rakyat comes up with an economic mode that is more free from government involvement, they should be ashamed to cast stones at others. Don’t be too quick to jeer at Barisan Nasional when the reality is, their own houses are stinking too.
In any case, we are in the process of putting up the video of that panel discussion on our website. Hopefully once we have done that, readers can see what exactly what was said by whom so that there is no misunderstanding.
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Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (www.IDEAS.org.my)
http://www.ideas.org.my/comments/glc-appointments-dont-trivialise-the-discourse/
Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (www.IDEAS.org.my)
