Wong Ho Leng
KUCHING: The greatest benefit of a two-party system is that it provides check and balance to the political scenario in the country, said state Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Wong Ho Leng.
According to him, a healthy two-party system required one party to provide check and balance on the other party and is a system “in which the opposition provides a check and balance on the ruling
government.”
“However, it is not just about creating a two-party system as it also ensures that agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are independent, reporting to the Parliament.
“Other things that must be independent are the courts and the media,” he added, while pointing out that the efforts of all were needed to ensure that the system was in place.
He was speaking as one of the panellists for a public forum organised by DAP, titled ‘A Two-Party System, Our Hope’ on Saturday night.
State DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen described a two-party system as a political scenario whereby a party that cannot perform or is corrupt will be replaced by the opposition through election.
“It offers an alternative to the people.
“Investigations on what have been done wrong can be done.
“In a one-party system, corrupted politicians will not be held accountable for any wrongdoings because there is no alternative,” he opined.
An invited panellist, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, said there had never been a two-party or two-coalition system in the past 12 elections.
“The people want clean and fair election for a clean Malaysia. This is the hope that unites all Malaysians.
“We can only move to a two-party system when there is clean and fair election,” he said.
Lim stressed that basic democracy is manifested when all parties and politicians respect the will of the people and allow peaceful transition of power when the time comes.
“With the existence of a two-party system, democracy will be institutionalised and it will be a test for Malaysia on whether we can be the ‘best democracy’ in the world,” he said.
Another panellist Dayak Consultative Council chairman Dr John Brian Anthony shared his views on how a two-party system could work in Malaysia.
“In a two-party system, there is not much animosity and conflict in the country because the system is supported by majority of voters.
“You either vote for Barisan Nasional or for Pakatan Rakyat so the majority is very clear.
“In a matured two-party system, both sides actually hold on to similar views. They compete for power to form the government and when they do it, they do not change the policies very much as they are fixed by the Constitution.
“We must know the behaviour of a two-party system and avoid the pitfalls that have been manifested in other democratic countries and learn to be smarter,” he noted.
DAP Serian branch chairman Edward Andrew Luak highlighted that by having a two-party system in place, the people would not be ruled by a single party forever.
“There is need to have another party for check and balance so that the ruling party will not consider themselves as kings and manipulate the entire system.
“They may change the laws at their whims because everyone says yes to everything and that is something that must be avoided by having a two-party system,” he said.
The public forum attracted a large turnout, including sales executive and part-time college student Natalee Goh who said the forum was the first political talk she had attended.
“I am a newly registered voter, so naturally I am curious about politics and what two-party system could offer us rakyat. I think it would be a good thing for our country so that we will be at par with other democratic countries in the world,” she said.