“DUE to the federal government shutdown, this facility is closed.”
I have arrived in the world’s declining superpower when, for the first time in 17 years, ‘non-essential’ government services have been suspended and more than 800,000 government employees have been put on furlough. It isn’t as severe as it might sound, since the US is still a proper federation where state and local government deliver many services independently of the federal government, unlike over-centralised Malaysia.
Still, Nasa celebrated its 55th birthday with 97 per cent of employees absent, Yosemite National Park was closed on its 123rd birthday, war veterans on wheelchairs circumvented barriers to access a World War II Memorial, and the Statue of Liberty – that icon of freedom and optimism – remains closed. Additionally, President Obama has cancelled (or postponed?) his trip to Malaysia, to the annoyance of those hoping to capitalise on being seen with (or protesting against) him. Kampung LBJ, Negeri Sembilan remains the primary marker of a US president’s visit to Malaysia.
The reasons for the shutdown naturally depend on whom you ask. Republicans blame the President for not compromising on the Affordable Care Act (‘Obamacare’). Democrats blame Republicans for opposing a policy that received the mandate of the people, since it was a key plank of the president’s re-election campaign. Etc.
Luckily my sponsor for my US trip is not the federal government, but an organisation called Eisenhower Fellowships, inspired by the vision of the 34th President of the United States “of a world in which cooperation replaces confrontation and understanding replaces ignorance”. EF’s mission is to “identify leaders from around the world and help them achieve consequential outcomes across sectors and borders”. This time there is a focus on Southeast Asia, so the 25 Fellows include four Malaysians, adding to the 31 before us.
The first was the late Tan Sri Datuk Dr Abdul Majid Ismail (pioneering doctor and director-general of Health), who was a fellow in 1963. Amongst others are Tun Ahmad Sarji (former Chief Secretary to the government), Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (Menteri Besar of Selangor), Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob (former Chief Judge of Malaya), Tan Sri Dr Jegathesan Manikavasagam (former Olympic sprinter), Datuk Mohd Nor Khalid (Lat), Datuk Seri Johan Raslan (former executive chairman of PwC) and Professor Dr Teo Soo Hwang (CEO of the Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation), representing a variety of sectors.
Each fellowship is individually tailored, but there are some group activities, like our visit to the National Constitution Center, a museum run by a private institution (thus unaffected by the shutdown). The history of the country’s supreme law, written in Philadelphia in 1787, was brought to life, helping us understand the psyche of today’s divided patriots who couch debates on every issue in the language of liberty and justice. My only criticism was the implication throughout that only the American model is fit for human civilisation – yet there are constitutional monarchies that routinely beat the US in indices of democracy and freedom.
Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman is probably the closest equivalent institution we have, and in the ensuing conversation about our own constitutions I remarked that once upon a time the language of liberty and justice was also dominant in Malaysia.
On detention without trial, for example, the leadership of the country was very clear about its use in the context of a violent campaign by communists. Tun Dr Ismail believed that abuse of the Internal Security Act would be prevented by “vigilant public opinion via elections, a free press and above all the Parliament”.
I cheered when our Prime Minister announced the repeal of the Internal Security Act, so I was shocked when my cousin the MP Raja Bahrin Shah told me last week that detention without trial would make an imminent comeback. Sure, the Prevention of Crime (Amendment and Extension) Bill 2013, which cleared the Dewan Rakyat after lopsided divisions requires a Prevention of Crime Board, rather than the Home Minister, to impose detentions. Some Malaysians who have been victims of crime might be generous in accepting measures to remove thugs from the streets, but the point remains that detention without trial is not a necessary tool to do so. The government could have instead strengthened law and order by giving life to the now eight-year-old recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah.
Still, it was comforting to see the language of liberty and justice being employed inside and outside parliament throughout the debate. It’s just a shame that this Merdeka-era language wasn’t being used by the party of Merdeka.
“Don’t worry, Tunku,” Ike might say, recalling their fond conversations in the White House, “I have no heirs in my party either.”
Tunku Abidin Muhriz is president of Ideas.