On 14 April, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim came to the defence of the government’s RM6.1m allocation for development projects in the Tapah parliamentary constituency, which includes the Ayer Kuning state seat currently undergoing a by-election campaign period.
This comes after Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming announced the allocations earlier, which drew widespread criticism for the perception of unethical conduct during an election period.
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) calls into question the government’s sincerity towards election non-interference, as well as the exploitation of the people’s needs in pursuit of political power.
The timeline of events leading to the upcoming Ayer Kuning by-election is as follows:
- 22 February – Incumbent Ishsam Shahruddin passes away
- 6 April – Perak DAP, chaired by Nga, announced that it would fully support the candidate representing the “unity government”
- 10 April – Nga announces allocation to the Tapah constituency under the Sentuhan Kasih (Touch of Love) programme
- 12 April – Nomination day and start of campaign period for the by-election
- 26 April – Polling day
Anwar’s defence of the announcement is on the grounds that it was made prior to the nomination day, outside the campaign period.
While he is not incorrect, the timing of the announcements in relation to the events casts sufficient doubt on the notion that these allocations were nothing more than a ‘coincidence’.
This is far from the first time that something like this has taken place:
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- In June 2024, Anwar, through his political secretary Mohd Shamsul Mohd Akin, allocated RM290,000 to nine mosques and 20 suraus within the Sungai Bakap constituency in Penang ahead of the Sungai Bakap by-election on 6 July 2024. On the same day, Nga also announced an allocation of RM18m to fund various projects in southern Seberang Perai in Penang under the Sentuhan Kasih programme as well.
- Also in 2024, Nga announced a RM5.2m allocation for projects in Hulu Selangor with specific funds for development and maintenance projects specifically in the Kuala Kubu Bharu area, ahead of the Kuala Kubu Bharu state constituency by-election on 11 May 2024.
- In 2023, Deputy PM Zahid Hamidi announced increased allocations to youth groups in Terengganu ahead of the by-elections that took place on 12 August 2023. Zahid’s actions were also defended by Anwar at the time.
The government was reasonably aware that the by-elections were imminent but still chose to make the announcement. It was able to time the announcement outside the campaign window, ostensibly to hide behind plausible deniability.
The government has also clearly relied on this strategy in spite of previous pushback from civil society organisations and rival political parties alike. If the allocations were already decided and budgeted upon months prior, it would not have mattered if the announcement was made after the elections.
Thus, Anwar’s assertion that the government’s stance against the use of government machinery or allocations from nomination day until polling day is, in reality, meaningless. It is a statement that pays lip service to democracy and good governance as a matter of technicality and procedure instead of an actual commitment to ensure that undue external influence does not affect voter decision-making.
Disempowering local communities
Governments across all political lines in Malaysia have historically been no stranger to using government institutions in an attempt to sway voters in their favour. Election watchdog Bersih extensively recorded such cases during both the 2018 and 2022 general elections.
These forms of allocations saw a trend of being directly and immediately beneficial to the lives of individuals and communities, such as cash handouts, or infrastructure constructions and refurbishments.
In the current scenario, it does not escape notice that these allocations follow a similar trajectory, disbursed through ministries whose portfolios are deeply entwined with the lives of constituents. As mentioned, Nga, who has announced these allocations twice is the Housing and Local Government Minister, while Zahid’s portfolio is rural and regional development.
While the current “Madani” (trustworthy) government leaders were not culpable for allocations during the 2018 and 2022 general election, they seem to have adopted a similar modus operandi of swaying the electorate by leveraging their existing access and control over public money.
Elections may not necessarily be won on the basis of infrastructure improvements and cash handouts alone, but numerous governments both previous and current have identified this as a key area of strategy.
There is an incentive for the federal government to ensure that government expenditure that directly improves the quality of life remains under the purview of the federal government and can be directly attributable back to it for the purposes of winning elections.
The improvement of communities becomes secondary to winning elections. At best, winning elections becomes a necessary goal on the same level of priority as the betterment of communities.
This means that government decisions that do not achieve both goals simultaneously are more likely overlooked, even if they would have led to a net improvement of communities’ overall wellbeing.
Therein lies a fundamental problem: policy decisions for community improvement that also have to meet the goal of winning elections are not meant to be long-term solutions that directly address the root causes of problems faced by these communities.
Cash handouts, debt forgiveness and allocations are not substitutes for the strengthening of the welfare system and social security. Such temporary solutions create relationships of reliance and dependence, so that the political parties and figures are able to continue using these methods to gain votes with every passing election.
Disrupting this centralisation of local infrastructure decision-making is necessary and must be overturned by the reintroduction of local government elections.
But the government is unwilling to undertake this restoration as it would necessarily imply a derogation of its power and control. Nga himself stated in 2023 it was not yet the “right time” to restore local government elections.
Hence, C4 Center strongly urges:
- The Madani government to give fullest effect to the principles of good governance and democratic rule substantively and not just in appearance alone. The government should be aware that following rules to the letter is not tantamount to good governance, that it should do everything in its power to avoid exerting undue influence upon the electorate, and that avoiding accountability despite previous commitments to good governance is not acceptable
- That the legal provisions and mechanisms to directly elect local government are reintroduced, and that the federal government instead focus its efforts on policies that improve the overall socioeconomic standing of the people, especially from lower-income groups, instead of piecemeal solutions that only serve to entrench their reliance on cash handouts, one-off payments and other forms of temporary government aid
C4 Center
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
