what is democracy

CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY

Pericles definition of democracy in Athens:

“Our constitution is named a democracy, because it is in the hands not of the few but of the many. But our laws secure equal justice for all in their private disputes and our public opinion welcomes and honours talent in every branch of achievement …on the ground of excellent alone…our citizen attend both to public and private duties and do not allow absorption in their various affairs to interfere with their knowledge of the city’s we decide or debate, carefully and in person of matters of policy holding…that acts are foredoomed to failure when undertaken discussed”

There are generally two types of government – autocracy and democracy. The political practice in the two systems is very different. In the autocratic system of government, power is concentrated in a single person, who is often pictured as a ruler who is wicked, who ignores the voice of the people and completely denies them of their power. This iron-fisted ruler is often nicknamed dictator.

Democracy on the other hand, is a form of government in which the policy is decided by the preference of the majority in a decision-making process, usually elections. Democracy as a form of government always has the following characteristics:

·                     There is a demos, a group which makes political decisions by some form of collective procedure. In modern democracies the demos is the nation, and citizenship is usually equivalent to membership.

·                     There is a territory where the decisions apply, and where the demos are resident. In modern democracies, the territory is the nation-state.

·                     There is a decision-making procedure, which is either direct (for instance a referendum) or indirect (for instance election of a parliament).

GENERAL ELECTION

An important aspect of the democratic system is elections. Elections in the practice of democracy constitute a social contract between the people and the candidate or party (that succeeds to form a government).

When the majority of the people choose a party from among the contesting parties in an election (and the party then forms the government) it means the voters have certain expectations that the candidate will carry out.

The party that wins the election and forms the government should fulfil the party’s promises and manifesto proclaimed in the election campaign.

At the state level, elected representatives of the people sit in the State Legislative Assembly of each state. At the federal or national level, elected Members of Parliament sit in the Dewan Rakyat or House of Representatives.

There are two types of general election. First, the general election for the whole country, held once in every five years. The next is the by-elections, also considered a general election because the concept of the election itself constitutes the choosing of a representative by the public citizens for the Parliament and the State Legislative Assembly.

There are clear differences between the two types of election. The first type is only held after Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly is dissolved. The by-elections do not involve the dissolution of any of the assembly nor do they follow a fixed schedule.

The general election is usually held every 5 years. Prior to carrying out the election, the Yang di-Pertuan Agung must dissolve the Parliament on the advice or at the request of the Prime Minister.

This occurs at the federal level. At the State level, a general election is held after the State Legislative Assembly is dissolved by the Ruler or Yang Dipertua Negeri at the request of the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister.

As soon as Parliament is dissolved, the elections must be held within 60 days in West Malaysia and within 90 days in Sabah and Sarawak.

The time specified is reasonable for the Election Commission, to prepare the election arrangements and the contesting parties to get ready, hold campaigns and construct definite strategies following the regulations or laws that have been fixed from time to time.

For a general election, after the Yang di-Pertuan Agung dissolves Parliament at the request of the Prime Minister, the Election Commission will issue an order to the Managing Officer to organize the balloting process (election).

The responsibility of the Managing Officer is to issue a statement, through the Government Gazette or newspaper, on the date of nomination of candidate for the said election, the place and the time of election for every electoral constituency. The Election Commission also determines the date and place of balloting.

Any candidate who wishes to contest must obtain a nominator, a seconder and at least four other people, whose names are recorded in the nomination paper.

They must also be registered voters in the voters’ register of the constituency where the candidate is contesting.

The balloting day can be held after 3 weeks from the date of nomination but cannot exceed 8 weeks. On the balloting day, all voters who qualify to vote can carry out their responsibility by casting their votes in balloting places provided.

Before the balloting day arrives, the contesting parties are allowed to carry out election campaigns through political talks. The freedom of speech and assembly during the campaigns also show that the basic freedom as embodied in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution are protected in the country which practices a democratic system of government.

However, to ensure public security all political talks whether by the party that had held the reins of the government or the opposition, it is necessary to get police approval or permit.

For a general election, every voter is given two sheets of ballot papers of different colours; one for the State Legislative Assembly constituency and the other for the Parliamentary constituency.

On each ballot paper are symbols representing the contesting candidates and the space for the voter to make his choice.

The responsibility of voting is completed with the voter marking ‘X’ in the space provided against the symbol representing the candidate of the voter’s choice. The ballot papers are put into separate ballot boxes for the Parliamentary constituency and the State Legislative Constituency.

 

Election Commission

Article 113 of the Federal Constitution provides that the body that is responsible for managing and administering the elections is the Election Commission.

The responsibility of the Commission can be divided into three main areas:

1.      Draw up the borders of the electoral constituencies

2.      Prepare and check the voters’ lists for the elections; and

3.      Manage the election process for the Parliamentary and State Legislative Assembly constituencies

It is to be understood that the first responsibility is important because it is related to the increase in population and the development of settlements or the growth of small towns in a constituency.

The members of the Election Commission are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after consultation with the Council of Rulers.

The membership of the Commission is provided under Article 114 of the Federal Constitution. Its membership consists of a chairperson, a deputy and 3 other members.

Members of the Commission shall hold office until they reach the age of 65 but they may resign any time by writing to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is empowered to remove any member who:

·                     is an undischarged bankrupt, or

·                     engages in any paid office or employment outside the duties of his office or

·                     is a member of either House of Parliament or of the Legislative Assembly of a state.

The Federal Constitution also provides for the appointment of one member to represent Sabah and Sarawak. This member is to be appointed in rotation from the two states.

Members of the Commission may also be removed from offices for the following reasons:

·                     behaviour unbecoming of this office

·                     unable to discharge his duties due to:

-       state of his health, or

-       mental condition

State Legislative Assembly and Parliamentary Members

In a public general election the voters will choose two candidates who are deemed qualified to represent them in the Houses, that is, the State Legislative Council and the House of Representatives.

The candidate, who contests in a State Legislative Council district, is known as the candidate for the State Legislative Assembly seat while for the House of Representatives, as the candidate for Parliamentary or House of Representatives seat.

Those who win the elections will be designated State Legislative Assembly members or People’s Representatives depending on the level of the electoral district won.

A member of the State Legislative Assemblies cannot at the same time represent more than one electoral constituency. A people’s representative too, cannot be a member for both the Parliamentary Assemblies (House of Representatives and the Senate) or represent more than one electoral district.

The total membership of the State Legislative Assembly varies from state to state and this has to do with the issue of alignment of divisions or electoral constituencies determined and identified by the Election Commission authorities. The same goes for the membership of the House of Representatives.

Breakdown by State of House Representative’ Membership

State	Membership
Perlis	3
Kedah	15
Kelantan	14
Terengganu	8
P. Pinang	13
Perak	24
Pahang	14
Selangor	22
F. T. Kuala Lumpur	11
F.T. Putrajaya	1
Negeri Sembilan	8
Melaka	6
Johor	26
F. T. Labuan	1
Sabah	25
Sarawak	28
Total	219

The Senate

Article 45 of the Federal Constitution provides that the members of the Senate also known as senators are selected and appointed.

·                     2 members for each State shall be elected in accordance with the Seventh Schedule of the Federal Constitution (26 members)

·                     2 members for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and 1 member for the Federal Territory of Labuan and 1 member for the Federal Territory of Putrajaya shall be appointed by the Yang di – Pertuan Agong; and

·                     40 members shall be appointed by the Yang di – Pertuan Agong

Senators, who are appointed, consist of those who have rendered excellent service in the commerce, business, industry, agriculture, art or social welfare. Senators can also be appointed from those who represent minority groups or people who can represent the interests of the native tribes.

The appointment of a Senator from this group is considered important in the legislative context.

The vast experiences in their respective fields can help the legislative body to refine related aspects and this definitely helps the executive body in the country’s administrative matters, based on the rules in the form of acts passed by the House of Representatives.

This wide experience is reinforced with the condition that a person can be appointed as a Senator from the age of 30 and above.

The duration in office of a Senator is different from that of a representative of the people. The length of time in office of a member of the House of Representatives is limited by dissolution of Parliament but not a Senator.

A Senator can hold his post for 3 years, even during the period Parliament is dissolved. However the post cannot be held for more than two terms that is, not exceeding 6 years whether continuously or intermittently.