Once elected, the victors and the losing candidates must put aside their differences and work together for the good and benefit of all the people in the country - yes, for the good and benefit of all the people and not just for the good of those who supported and voted for them.
The losing candidates are also part of the people that now the victor must represent them in Parliament and/or the state legislative assembly. The victor must remember that his duty and responsibility is towards all the people - not just his party members, not just his donors during the elections, not just his supporters.
If the victor of the elections forgets this and discriminates against his opponent and his supporters, then this victor is one who has forgotten the true meaning of democracy.
Idris Jusoh, immediately after the swearing in as the menteri besar of Terengganu hastily abolished the People's Consultative Committee (JSR) introduced by PAS during its four-year reign. About 400 members of the JSR were affected by this move.
It was also reported that there was the 'sacking en masse of some 400 staff of the Unit Pembangunan Insan and its director Ismail Osman.' Also fired were Syariah court chief judge Dr Abdullah Abu Bakar, deputy state mufti Zainal Abidin Ahmad, Sultan Zainal Abidin Islamic College director Assoc Prof Anuar Zainal Abidin and Yayasan Terengganu director Yusof Tahir.
The new menteri besar's explanation was that the "their contracts had to be terminated because they had clearly sided with the PAS government and would ruin Barisan Nasional's (BN) agenda and planning if not stopped." In my opinion, this is odd and foolish reasoning.
It was also mentioned that teachers at Sekolah Menengah Agama Sains Terengganu and Sekolah Rendah Agama Bersepadu have been given verbal notice that their services may be terminated. It must be noted that Sekolah Menengah Agama Sains was established by the Terengganu state government after the federal government chose to close two Mara Junior Science Colleges in Terengganu in October 2002. What is going to happen to the students in these schools, and to the teachers?
All these terminations and verbal notices have been done relatively hastily, and it has affected people who are not political appointees but mere public servants. The speed by which these actions were taken (and/or decisions made) can reasonably be said to be an emotional reaction, rather that a well-thought out and critically analysed action.
This is wrong. Public servants are losing jobs and their families are losing incomes and their children's education will be affected. There should have been serious study done to determine whether these PAS-created structures, these PAS-government initiated schools, are good for the people of Terengganu.
It is wrong for the new BN menteri besar to just reject anything and everything just because it was done during the PAS' term of government "because they had clearly sided with the PAS government and would ruin Barisan Nasional's (BN) agenda and planning if not stopped."
How does the menteri besar know this? Have they done anything to date that has 'ruined' the BN agenda and planning for the Terengganu people? Mere speculation of possible future actions are not a good enough justification for the termination of employment, and/or for the dismantling of schools and community-based structures created by the previous government.
It is sad, and rather embarrassing, that this new MB is doing such things as these actions and words go against the very essence of democracy. The role and responsibilities of an elected government towards its people is forgotten.
Politicians and political parties must be able to distinguish between political positions and public servants. And even if certain structures, after serious studies are made, are to be dismantled, then the state has the obligation to provide alternate jobs to those who were 'retrenched'.
I hope that the new menteri besar now does not go out and start discriminating against the tens of thousands who did not vote for the BN by depriving them of government aid, scholarships, subsidies and other assistance. For if he does so, this man does not understand the essence of our democracy and he should be removed from his post as menteri besar.
Once elected, the BN government of the day must not discriminate against those that did not support the BN. For if you do so, then you may as well abolish all political parties, the general elections and erase democracy from Malaysia. How can you tell people to chose and then discriminate against them because they did not exercise 'correctly' this right of choice?
Elections came, the majority have spoken through their votes. BN has been chosen as the peoples' representatives and/or as the government, It must now go forth and be the representative of the people, and must govern the people with justice and fairness.
What party one belongs to, or which one supported should never, never be a basis for the BN to abdicate its duty of serving all people justly and fairly.
