When Malaysia first heard the jubilant cries of "Merdeka" in Malacca and the resonance of it on Merdeka Day, 31st August 1957, every right thinking man on the street thought of the true essence of a federation, akin to the USA, was born. The new Malaya was supposed to have a federated system and states will have some residual powers.Despite a federated structure, states could act and operate different from the Federal Government in limited matters. To date, only Sabah and Sarawak which joined the Federation in 1963, could continue to yield some residual powers of its very own particularly with regard to immigration.
The other states and federal territories all came under the big brother control of the Federal Government. The federal whip was in full control until recently. Apart from the sultans which are guardian of the Islamic religion in their own states, erosion of state powers were seen in land matters,local government, town and country planning, fire services and lately water services.
It was only after the 'wake-up' call of 8 March 2009,that the Federal Government realized that it has bitten more than it can chew. The clawing back started at the Sultanate level where the few sultans showed brilliantly their state powers to over-ride the selection of the Chief Minister by the then Prime Minister.
The loss of the 5 states allowed major political reconstruction. Kelantan had its own theological way of doing things which was quickly emulated by Kedah. Perak had a mixed government of sorts and worked the middle way. The PR Government lost Perak 9 months later due to many reasons, some obvious while others,undoings behind closed doors. Some changes did occur in Selangor in spite of internal problems on the side of the PR Coalition government. However, they have started a citizen programme where senior citizens were provided with insurance cover which included burial expenses. The 'No Plastic Day' beginning on Saturdays started this year.
Penang somehow had a freer hand after DAP became senior partner of the state They started on civil and community services. First came the 'No Absolute Poverty' programme. Cash was doled out to remove the problem. Then it was the 'No Plastic Day' campaign at the supermarkets and now the ruling that physically challenged drivers no longer need to pay for parking charges. They have also won international accolades and have brought more investments into the state.
I believe, with the better revenue in the state coffers, more will be done in these PR states.
That is not all. The very fact that PR governments have reached out to the people at the local level has now prompted the Barisan Nasional leaders both at the state and federal levels to be more citizen-conscious. We now have 50% student travel card on KTM, better LRT and bus transport for KL/PJ folks and the opening of 1M medical clinics. A medical school will also open in May at UTAR that will cost only some RM250,000 to complete. Premier Najib has also done many things, albeit ad hoc and small, but it is a good beginning.
So, do you see the silver lining of the 8th March General Election?
Political competition does beget citizen gains.
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