Time To Learn Real Democracy From Malaysia

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Evidently, these reforms and changes are hurting many corrupt politicians and their cronies, and explain why they used money politics and high-powered connections to stop Mahathir and his reforms before they found themselves behind bars.
Joseph Nathan, Asia Times
After China finally found an ideology that was relevant to its unique social challenges, its economic transformation over the past decades has been spectacular. Hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty. If anyone visits China now and compares it with developed economies such as the US or the United Kingdom, they will be in awe of what the Chinese have done.
Yet critics and democracy proponents have been slamming China. The hard truth is that democracy in its current form has failed in many economies around the world.
Unrestrained corruption, cronyism and nepotism have resulted in many of them underperforming, compromised by party politics and a growing income disparity that is making the poor poorer and the rich richer. This is just untenable.
With the US presidential election taking place in November, it is imperative for the Americans to take a hard look at its current state of affairs and decide if the party politics of the Democrats and the Republicans defines their democracy.
Democracy has been hijacked by unscrupulous politicians and it is hurting the very people that it was supposed to protect. To stay relevant, democracy must be reformed holistically to address such new realities.
Democratic malice in Malaysia
Malaysia has been plagued by the fallout from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. Beside the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars, the credibility of the country also took a massive hit. The people, together with some non-governmental organizations, protested. May 2018 thus became the critical milestone of real democratic change in Malaysia.
At that time, a new coalition was voted into parliament and its primary purpose, under a new social compact, was to initiate critical reforms at every level of the public sector so as to curtail any potential exploitation by unscrupulous politicians that might lead to a repeat of the 1MDB crisis.
There is no room for party or money politics if the well-being of Malaysia is to come first, and this underpinned the new social compact between the people and the new government.
With the potential loss of billions in easy money, lucrative contracts and kickbacks at stake, this meant that Mahathir Mohamad, who was prime minister before the recent upheaval, had to take on many powerful opponents, both within Malaysia and also some from outside of the country. Change is a dangerous business even for the world’s oldest statesman, as evident by the recent upheaval where power changes every other day.
Many democracies are also suffering from this same malice but unlike Malaysia, they have not been able find anyone who is capable or has the courage to take on these powerful enemies of the people. As such, what is happening in Malaysia now is to be expected. While change can be chaotic, it is inevitable, as nothing good can happen without some discomfort.
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