On giving Zulkifli Noordin the sack: The value of measured decision-making
By Pak Sako
Although I have views to share on various recent events and issues, I have been occupied and have not been able to blog.
But I shall take a moment to comment on the Zulkifli Noordin matter.
Zaid Ibrahim is of the view that Zulkifli Noordin should be given the boot, and the sooner the better. Personally, I concur. The person in question has breached party and coalition lines by taking undiscussed renegade action against a coalition member.
The public’s disappointment over the PKR leadership council’s decision to give the disciplinary committee up to one month to decide on Zulkifli Noordin’s position is understandable. I too was expecting a more forthright handling of the issue by PKR. However that was not to be.
Haris Ibrahim, for example, laments over this lack of decisiveness and its political cost to PKR and Pakatan Rakyat as a whole. Yes, I believe there could be a political cost. But there are political costs either way.
I now speculate on and rationalise why PKR did what it did. There could be valid reasons. It could be possible that the political cost of taking this path is lower.
While a rapid sacking of Zulkifli Noordin could signal to the public that PKR is capable of rapid and decisive action, I believe there is merit in taking the current approach of going through the due party processes, such as submitting Zulkifli Noordin to the disciplinary committee prior to what could be an inevitable execution.
Remember that Anwar is the de facto leader of the party, not the official leader. Most importantly he is not and should not be seen as the dictatorial hand of PKR: enemies might politically exploit this impression. Moreover, if PKR is what it really stands for, then this sort of dictatorial rule is not in keeping with PKR’s stated culture of consensus and democratic decision-making. Anwar therefore should be and should be seen as a leader who promotes and abides by this culture of consensus and one who is able to give the subject fair hearing and a chance to have a say.
After that, the party could proceed to expel Zulkifli Noordin.
This is precisely the move that I (would like to) believe Anwar has taken.
And I believe there is virtue in taking this route.
First, it defuses any possibility of sensationalising Zulkifli Noordin’s expelling and turning him into a martyr and giving him the opportunity to garner more support than he deserves. By taking this route, we dampen any possible gains that Zulkifli Noordin could make, put him to shame for his poor actions and then sack him without fanfare.
Second, there is also value in retaining the option of controlling when to produce the trump card. Instead of letting their hand be forced (to immediately sack Zulkifli Noordin), Anwar and PKR are choosing to deploy this trump card out of their own will at a strategic moment.
Third, party decisions must at least appear to be as if they were made after having been given due consideration, not as if they were made spontaneously or haphazardly. I’m sure Machiavelli, Sun Tzu and Kautilya alluded to such things in their respective magnum opuses.
The key here is speed, as is the view of our honourable prime minister (‘Speed is the new performance benchmark’, The Malaysian Insider). Thus the disciplinary committee should not wait for the tail end of the one month it is accorded to convene and decide. It should display vigorous dynamism. It should get going and pass its judgement as soon as possible.
The single notable drawback to all this is that the public may lack the patience to attempt to comprehend the subtleties of decision-making, and it is often tricky for political groups to explain such strategies to the public without being seen as verbose, cunning, or laying bare their strategising to rival political groups.
In the meantime, let us sit back and watch how it all plays out. As a French diplomat once noted, between a crisis and a catastrophe, we might as well have a glass of champagne.
http://paksako.blogspot.com/2010/01/giving-zulkifli-noordin-sack-value-of.html
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Zulkifli Noordin mempunyai hak
Oleh Alias Mohd Yusof
Itulah hak yang telah dijamin oleh sistem demokrasi, di mana setiap orang berhak dan bebas memberi pendapat selagi tidak menyalahi undang-undang dan perlembagaan Negara.
Kalau PKR dan PR benar-benar mahu memperjuangkan kemurniaan demokrasi, tentunya pandangan yang berbeza seperti YB Zulkifli Noordin ini bukan merupakan masalah kepada parti itu, sebaliknya ia dilihat sebagai amalan yang sihat dalam demokrasi dan parti.
PKR dan PR tidak boleh terikut-ikut dengan cara Umno dan BN. Umno dan BN melihat pendapat yang berbeza sebagai ancaman kepada parti; mereka yang berbeza pendapat dengan pemimpin parti akan mengalami nasib disingkir dan dicantas.
Pada satu masa dulu sayap pemuda Umno terkenal mempunyai pandangan yang sangat berbeza dengan pemimpin parti. Inilah yang menjadikan Umno kuat dan dipandang tinggi ketika itu – mereka telah meraikan perbezaan pendapat. Tetapi kemudian keadaan itu tidak berlaku lagi dalam Umno. Selepas itu perbezaan pendapat berakhir dengan perpecahan, penyingkiran dan penubuhan parti baru.
PKR dan PR harus ada keunikan tersendiri, tidak harus mengikut Umno dan BN dalam segala tindakan. Pendapat Zulkifli Noordin belum tentu betul, tetapi kita tidak boleh menghalang beliau dan orang lain dalam memberi pendapat mereka. Inilah perjuangan yang perlu ditegakkan oleh PR dan PKR, menjadikan rukun demokrasi benar-benar diamalkan di Malaysia.
Walaupun Zulkifli Noordin nampak seperti membebankan PKR, tetapi PKR tidak patut bertindak terikut-ikut seperti cara Umno yang selalu menyekat peluang ahli-ahlinya melahirkan pendapat yang berbeza. Kalau PKR dan PR mahu memperjuangkan kemurnian demokrasi, mereka harus memberi ruang untuk berhujah dan memberi pendapat seluas-luasnya kepada siapa jua.
Inilah keunikan yang harus ada pada PR. Kalau tidak, apa bezanya dengan Umno dan BN. Keunikan inilah yang akan membuatkan orang ramai berasa selesa berada dalam PKR dan PR, kerana mereka bebas dapat memberi pandangan dan pendapat, tanpa bimbang dari dicantas dan disingkir.
Samada pandangan dan tindakan beliau itu betul atau tidak, serahkanlah kepada ahli-ahli parti dan orang ramai yang menentukan nasibnya kerana di akhirnya orang ramai juga yang akan membuat pilihan.
