Categories
Liberty

[2390] A disappointing Bersih compromise

Despite what I wrote yesterday, I have to agree that the stadium option is probably the best given the circumstances the electoral reform group Bersih faces.[1] It is a safe compromise for everybody.

The ultimate purpose of Bersih is electoral reforms. It is not a purely civil liberty organization. It is not bound to push through its right to freedom of assembly. It loses no ground in choosing the stadium option while backing down from its initial intention to march the streets peacefully. As as I have written earlier, because Bersih explicitly makes the King their referee, they are bound to the King’s words. The King views the peaceful march negatively.

I planned to attend the now-cancelled street march. With all the news of possible disturbance and threats issued, quite honestly I was afraid for my safety. I am sure many felt the same way. They were afraid. Afraid but brave, nevertheless.

So, the compromise is a relieve. Now they know for certain that they will not face any water cannon or arrest. There is no need to call for courage now.

Still, I am disappointed. I know, there are various arguments out there portraying the compromise as a victory. It may be a victory from various point of view but from a libertarian one, I see it as a defeat.

I see Bersih as a vehicle to push the envelope in the illiberal Malaysia. With a successful exercise of freedom of assembly, I had hope for Malaysia to become less illberal and more tolerant towards peaceful protests.

That scenario will not play out and instead, we will see a compromised scenario. That is a compromise on individual right.

Lastly, I have to say that I am not a fan of protests per se. I always try to judge the worth of a protest based on its agenda. But that statement has a qualifier: only under liberal environment where freedom of assembly is guaranteed.

Without the guarantee, the suppression of that right is enough a reason for me to sympathize with any protest exercising freedom.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

[1] — KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Bersih 2.0 will continue its rally for electoral reform but in a stadium and not on the streets, the group said today fresh from an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in Istana Negara. [Syed Mu’az Syed Putra Ambiga: Bersih to rally in stadium, not on streets. The Malaysian Insider. July 7 2011]

Categories
Liberty Politics & government

[2389] Bersih finds itself in a quandary with the King speaking up

I give my support to Bersih. As far as the rally goes, that support is based on the idea of freedom of assembly. That however does not mean I fully agree with everything that Bersih does. Specifically, I disagree with its appeal to the King.

Bersih now finds itself in a quandary. The King has just spoken up against its planned protest in downtown Kuala Lumpur.[1]

For a libertarian like me, the King’s speech should not matter. For those in Bersih who makes the King their arbitrator, it does.

Bersih binds itself to the words of the King and not primarily to the principle of liberty. That binding makes the words of the King as an imperative that Bersih must follow, if these monarchists are true to their conviction. And the King’s words have not been favorable toward it. That is the peril of making the King the referee.

Because of the King, I would imagine that there is a conflict between monarchists and civil libertarians within Bersih.

I take comfort seeing Bersih finding itself in a quandry because, again, I disagree with its appeal to the King. I have been so from the very beginning, even back in 2007 in times when many believed that the monarchy was an important balancing mechanism, especially after they observed how the Thai King helped toned down the political conflict in Thailand.

I have argued that that appeal would only politicize the monarchy and bring the monarchy into politics in times when the status quo has a republican bias. At the time, however, my argument ran against the grain. I lost because they said, “look, the model works”.

Not after a while though. These believers of the monarchy as an arbitrator have been discouraged by the sultans of Perak and Selangor. Today, they have been discouraged by the King of Malaysia. The model does not work.

So, while I sympathize with the political fortune of Bersih in light of the King’s statement, but I shall enjoy my little cake nonetheless.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

[1] — “The fact is, street demonstrations bring more bad than good although the original intention is good. Instead, we should focus on our main objective to develop this country, and not create problems that will cause the country to lag behind. [Statement by Agong on Bersih Illegal Rally. Bernama. July 3 2011]

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s — have a happy fourth of July.

Categories
Economics

[2388] Nudge, nudge, wink, wink

It is the practice of some labor unions to produce one or several publications annually to inform their members of various activities and developments related to the unions.

As with many things in this world, it costs money to produce these publications. These unions finance the publications through a number of ways. Membership fee is one example. Another is selling advertising space to non-members, especially to the business community. This, however, can be an ethically grey area.

This kind of funding can be ethically iffy if the union members comprise employees of public regulators or law enforcement agencies, like the police, the Fire Department or Customs. This particular interaction between the unionized employees and the business community through the sale of advertising space creates perverse incentive.

It is a potential channel for corruption. It has the ability to affect adversely the traditional relationship between the public and the government.

Everybody deals with some of these regulators and enforcers in one way or another. The police maintain public order. The Fire Department apart from firefighting ensures public adherence to certain codes. City Hall and other local councils enforce even more codes. Many other regulators and enforcers exist out there to match the hundreds or thousands of laws that govern too many things.

Services provided by the enforcers and the regulators are funded by public money. To put it simply, the public pays for the services and these government arms render the services to the public. This is the traditional relationship. It is simple and clean.

This traditional relationship between the two must not be influenced by any other factor, lest the regulators and the enforcers filter their customers for their own benefit.

The sale of advertising space by unions especially to business establishments twists the traditional relationship by creating another channel for the public to interact with the regulators and the enforcers. That new channel runs through the unions to form a special relationship between the space purchasers and sellers, who are part of the government or its agencies.

There are at least three ways this is detrimental to the traditional relationship.

One, the sale and purchase of advertising space can be done by the business community to return a favor previously done or will be done by certain unionized employees. This is downright corruption.

Two, the sellers, who are employees of the government bodies and agencies, will feel indebted to the purchasers. It is a profitable relationship and one always keeps profitable relationship intact.

By doing so, the purchasers will have special relationship with the seller and, implicitly, to the regulators and enforcers. Those particular employees or any member of the union may systematically handle future requests or transgressions by the sellers leniently. This runs contrary to the ideal that prescribes everybody as equal before the law.

Three, even without such favors or the feeling of indebtedness, a mere request by the unions may create consternation among the solicited. A forward-looking person, and especially businesses, upon receiving the advertising request would ask, how would this affect us? For those who conclude that a negative reply would affect the likelihood of approval to future transactions, they might feel compelled to purchase the space from the unions. This can happen even if there is no intention by the union to abuse its influence. In other words, it creates a perception of corruption even though there is no actual corruption.

The way the incentives have been perversely structured inadvertently or otherwise may make it necessary for the relevant authority to look into this particular activity of these particular unions.

Despite all that, this is not to say that there is actual corruption in the system. This may sound like a cop-out but the whole structure is an opportunity for corruption nevertheless.

Individuals are not inherently good or bad, clean or corrupt. Many times, it is the institutions that provide the incentives for corrupt practice to flourish.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

First published in The Malaysian Insider on June 27 2011.

 

Categories
Earthly Strip Liberty Politics & government

[2387] The Earthly Strip: Bersih’s popularity

The establishment that is Barisan Nasional is pretty much clueless of what is going on. Not much has changed since the Abdullah administration I guess.

Here is a guide.

The more insulting accusations thrown,  more individuals will get angry and more will go down and protest. This Bersih protest is becoming larger than itself, thanks to the Barisan Nasional government.

That happened in 2007. I went down to the streets to protest not because I was enamored by Bersih, but because restriction to freedom of assembly.

On July 9 2011, it will likely be the same case for me. And reading stuff online, many will adopt similar attitude when protesting. Peacefully of course.

Categories
Photography

[2386] The cat man at the Opera

I took me awhile to decide whether I should post this photo up.

I snapped it back in January this year when I was lingering in Paris for a number of weeks, possibly on a painful but necessary fool’s errand. I had to do it in order to move on.

So, this is five months later.

The issue has always been about privacy. I faced a similar problem with a picture of a dancer in Sydney once. That problem was easily solved once I realized that it had public performance in the equation: when it is a public event, the question of privacy vanishes. And so, I posted up the photo of the dancer with clear conscience.

There was no performance in front of the Opera in Paris. The man was looking for a job if I understood the sign properly. Or he was begging. I did not ask his permission to shoot his picture.

Maybe, because his face is unseen or reasonably unidentifiable, that somehow affects his privacy less.

I hope so.

I want to up this picture up because I like it. I like that message that I see in it. That however is not enough to shut my conscience up. I am planning to sleep over it and then forget about it until some complication arises in the future. I will deal with it there and then.

Until then, here is what I like about the picture: the edifice provides a contrast to the man, and the man is alone with his cat. Somehow, there is something deep about that juxtaposition. Somehow, hundreds of years of history led to the suffering of this man. To the man, somehow, history does not matter. Ominously, only today matters.

There is something tragic about it all.