A politics of policies, not just personalities

THERE seems to be no shortage of policies in Malaysia. We have them in many areas -- some might even say too many -- of public and private life, from how the government raises and spends money, right down to how individuals should think, act and behave.
Policies are declared objectives and the principles or rules to achieve them. A simple way to think about them is to identify the positive things that we want to move towards and the negative ones that we want to move away from.
They are, above all, about making choices, often difficult and heatedly contested choices.
In his second inauguration address, for example, United States President Barak Obama laid out a broad template for the policies that he would pursue in his final term.
Not every American is a voter and not every voter is a Democrat. All those who did, however, would know his views and through their vote had a say in the policies that affect their lives.
It stands to reason that policies are very powerful things. If they are absent or misdirected, they can cause untold suffering and loss.
History's darkest moments were ones of terrible moral failure -- all brought to realisation by the policies of individuals of the day.
It can be downright dangerous to support personalities and not their policies. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party garnered the most number of popular votes in the 1933 German elections.
His strong position meant he was appointed Chancellor and could garner the coalitional support to pass the Enabling Act of 1933 that effectively made him dictator.
Good policies have the capacity to lift a nation from the scrap heap; bad ones have the capacity to send nations there. In the democratic societies that we live in today, we can argue for and choose the policies that best fit our beliefs. We are not forced to accept those of a dictator or tyrant.
Given the extent to which they permeate, organise and impact our lives, one would have thought that policies would be closely studied, discussed and heatedly contested in this country.
The fundamental question should be constantly asked: What is best for my country and for me?
But the position that many Malaysians find themselves today is greatly different in emphasis.
The politics of policies here plays a distant second fiddle to that of personalities. For this reason, some claim that politics in this country is still "insufficiently mature".
To me, this is largely rhetorical because personalities are important in politics just about everywhere. After all, policies must always be embodied in a person, a group of persons or else invested in a political party.
To be sure, these days it is leaders who receive most of the media spotlight and publicity. It has become fashionable for their public relations people to portray them almost like rock stars.
But where the media is allowed to do its job, the scrutiny of their policies is never far behind. They are not allowed to get away with what they say or promise.
Knowing that the effects of their policies cannot be easily swept under the carpet or hidden in a closet, politicians are obliged to act seriously and responsibly, even with no key performance indicators to hold them accountable.
Without policies, there is no sound political platform, and without a political platform, there is really no real political choice.
Decisions will tend to be based on merely what happens to be expedient and win votes at a particular time.
Not surprisingly, because policies are cobbled together ad hoc and without proper foresight, thought and planning, it is inevitable that many policies turn out to be of hollow intent and tantamount to half-fulfilled promises.
This is all the worse because it can start to create a credibility gap. If a politician's words lose their value, if his or her integrity and credibility is questioned, what more does he or she have to offer?
Malaysia is a country that in the past five decades has demonstrated its value to the world. Of this, we can be justifiably proud.
We deserve not only the best leaders but the best policies, and this is what the upcoming competition should be all about.


Read more: A politics of policies, not just personalities - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/a-politics-of-policies-not-just-personalities-1.220819#ixzz2LIs2u8Z3