BARELY hours after the dust of the latest British general election had settled with the Conservatives emerging victorious, re-elected Prime Minister David Cameron stood shoulder to shoulder with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband and those of the other parties at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of Second World War.
Earlier, Miliband rang Cameron to congratulate him on the Tories’ victory and wished him well in his second-term premiership. This is a scene that would be unimaginable in Malaysia even though it models its government on the British parliamentary system.
There appears to be no room for common ground between the government and the opposition in nation-building in Malaysia, and sadly, not even in honouring our fallen heroes.
After more than 50 years of independence,surely it is time for our body politic to mature and move closer to the model of parliamentary democracy we have adopted.
It is time for our political leaders to realise that the ruling party and opposition share a common responsibility to close ranks after a general election and work for the common good.
Sadly, the intense political animosity stirred up during campaigning never seems to subside after the polls were over. More often than not, the post-election period is a time when the victors would exact revenge on those who did not vote for them.
In our state, there are pockets in the rural constituencies being deprived of government grants and denied development projects because the people there cast their votes against the government candidates. In fact, those areas that voted opposition suffer a similar fate.
The people who exercise their democratic rights must never be punished for making their choice and development planning and allocations should not be premised on political loyalty.
However, there is a new dawn in our state with the appointment of Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem as Chief Minister.
In his first few months in office, he broke many political barriers by reaching out to the opposition and treating them as partners in the development of the state rather than “eternal” enemies in politics.
Hopefully, the wind of change, initiated by Adenan, will sweep away the narrow mindset of some of our elected representatives who must accept that the opposition is part and parcel of the democratic system of our state and not mere ‘troublemakers.’
The opposition must also bear an equal portion of the blame as some elected representatives from its ranks seem to think their role is simply to find fault and pick fights with whatever the ruling government is doing.
To some of them, speaking up in the State Assembly is a chance to score political points rather than providing constructive criticisms.
Thankfully, even in the opposition ranks, there is a marked change of mindset among some of the elected representatives who are ready to stand with the ruling coalition on development and state rights.
This positive development can be attributed to the ‘Adenan’ factor in state politics.
The Chief Minister is not only willing to listen to the opposition and open the door of co-operation to them, he has shown that his administration is guided by integrity and transparency.
Adenan has had lunch with the opposition and talked to them at his office. In the next National Day Celebration, will he invite leaders of the opposition to stand with him during the parade?