Hold direct elections for PM’s post, says Ku Li

Malaysia’s current system of governance is ineffective, and the country should look at other systems such as direct elections for the prime minister's post, veteran Umno leader Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today. He said that while the Westminster system may have worked when the country first gained independence, this was no longer the case as Malaysians now were different. “It is completely different. So I think we have to have a relook at all of this and see whether or not we should have an elected prime minister, rather than someone who is pushed up by a party. “Let’s see whether or not people can participate in the democracy that we have practised all these 57 years and doesn’t seem to be working, especially on the masses,” said Tengku Razaleigh in his key-note address at the launch of non-governmental organisation, Harmony Malaysia, in Petaling Jaya. He said Malaysians had become very lazy and squandered funds under the current political system, to the extent that the government now had to resort to imposing the goods and services tax (GST) on everyone. At the same time, the current system seemed to “favour the well-to-do, the well-connected”, but not the man on the street, said the former finance minister. “Yes we have inherited this system from the British. And this very system has been proven to be very effective for other countries,” said Tengku Razaleigh. “The same cannot be said for Malaysia. Maybe the characteristic of our society inhibits the efficiency and effectiveness of such a system. We have become very lazy.” Malaysia’s system allows the winning party to elect the prime minister, and this has led to Umno presidents helming the country since its independence. – May 30, 2015.