alaysia’s United
Malays National Organization as the model for a political party that would bring
the Philippines to First World status in 20 years’ time? Susmaryosep! Gloria
Arroyo’s delusion must be fast approaching the stage of dementia for her to
propose one-party rule for one whole generation as the solution to the problems
besetting Filipino politics.
No Malaysian born since his country became independent in
1963 has seen any other ruling party than UMNO. The party has been in power for
the last 45 years now and appears to be on track to keeping power for the next
half century despite the stunning losses to the opposition in the recent
parliamentary elections.
We know where the power of UMNO lies. The party is founded on
Malay nationalism which has arguably successfully grafted a bastardized version
of Western-style party politics onto a basically feudal system of patronage. To
this day, criticism of UMNO ideology and political programs based on Malay
supremacy is verboten. Critics and opposition leaders are routinely suppressed.
The Internal Security Act, which allows for the detention without charges
remains in the penal books.
A good case could be made that one-party rule (albeit clothed
by fiction of the Barisan as the ruling coalition) is appropriate for the
problems that faced newly independent Malaysia and the challenges facing it in
the contemporary world.
But import one-party rule of the Malaysian model into the
Philippines which has a long liberal democratic tradition, however flawed in
actual operation? Crazy.
But that’s what Gloria herself declared as the reason for the
shotgun wedding of Lakas and Kampi. She said the Lakas-Kampi merger will lay the
basis for a Mahathir-type leadership which enabled Malaysia to pull itself by
the bootstraps into a newly industrializing country.
And Gloria, we suppose, sees herself as the Mahathir of the
Philippines? Well, Mahathir served for 23 years. Gloria still has 16 years to
go. Mahathir served that long because Malaysia has a parliamentary system. Could
we now expect the resurrection of Cha-Cha so Gloria could be elected in
perpetuity as prime minister by the Lakas-Kampi warlords and local kingpins, who
without exception are forgettable statesmen but accomplished thieves?
And speaking of thieves, we have not heard of Mahathir, his wife or his
family plundering the Malaysian treasury, which throws into sharp contrast the
difference between a giant like Mahathir and a dwarf like Gloria.
