The Need of Caretaker Government
For a Level Playing Field
 
Professor Abdul Aziz Bari’s “Caretaker government: logic and the law” published in Malaysiakini news portal on 14 February 2008, aptly portrays the Opposition parties call for “fair and honest” elections. Basically, until and unless a “caretaker government” shall be put in place from amongst the neutral or apolitical officials, there can be no fair and honest elections.
 
Prior to this, many fence sitters perhaps thought that the Opposition parties were asking for the moon and stars, or barking at the wrong tree, when they organized demonstrations calling for free and honest elections. Now, it appears that they have a legitimate issue to grouse about.
 
Essentially, upon the dissolution of Parliament, the leadership stakeholders in the government lose their powers and positions, respectively, from the prime minister down to the secretaries and drivers. For that matter, the King should appoint a caretaker from amongst the public servants for the duration of the election period or until the new parliament is formed. This will absolve the ruling party of being accused of using public funds and facilities to propel its election machinery.
 

Cheating
 
In almost all contests, either protagonist will always want to cheat the other in order to win. But not all who want to cheat are lucky to get away with it because of the deterrence in law. Some cheating though is too minor also to be noticed by the general public. For instance, a well-off candidate may prevail on the opponent to withdraw from contesting in exchange for certain gifts of attraction. Others may promise a fat bonus for the electorate families to support their party or for the supporters of the rival candidate to abandon their bet.
 
The appointment of a caretaker government during the election period will pave the way for a level playing field amongst the candidates irrespective of political parties, including independents. None of the candidates shall have special access to government funds, facilities (such as radio, television and transportation) and institutions, including the police and the army, to achieve undue advantage over one’s political rivals. Any breach or infringement of the law that is also implied in the Constitution should become a ground for disqualification and court action against the offender.                 
 
Responsible Government
 
Professor Abdul Aziz explained why a government in a parliamentary democracy is termed as ‘responsible government’. He said, “This actually underlines the requirement that the government owes its existence to Parliament and needs to be answerable to the legislature.” The Constitutional provision in Article 43(3) requires the government of the day – namely the cabinet – to be responsible to Parliament, he added.
 
“It is true the constitution does not mention the word ‘caretaker government’. But …after prescribing the way the prime minister and cabinet ministers are to be appointed under Article 43(2), the constitution says that a person appointed as prime minister while the house is dissolved shall not continue to hold the office when the new parliament begins after the elections. This undoubtedly refers to a caretaker government,” said the Professor.
 
Opposition grouses
 
The opposition parties have been crying foul for the past few elections because of unfair advantage enjoyed by the ruling coalition party over the use of the government facilities and institutions and the absence of a caretaker government during the election period when ministries are supposedly dysfunctional.
 
The use of an indelible ink on election-day is a welcome phenomenon as it would minimize, if not totally prevent “fly-voting”. But what about the ‘ghost voters,’ who are they and where do they come from? Are there still any of them in the current electoral roll? It is also interesting to note that after so many years of introducing the My Kad to supersede all other forms of identification, the Election Commission has come up with a novel idea of accepting the old “blue IC”. Unfortunately many will be questioning the wisdom of this ruling, but the truth is that there are still many, especially in the hinterlands of Sabah, who have not converted their ICs into the My Kad.
 
In any event, for all the shortcomings that may still be prevalent in the electoral process, this election is not the end of it all. There are still avenues for improvement in the coming elections. For the meantime, we can only hope and pray as usual that good sense prevails.
 

Team of Analyst
Future Global Network