Malaysia's uneven growth fuels autonomy demands, but can it work?

SHAH ALAM - Political analysts caution against granting autonomy without clear structures, highlighting potential disparities in state development.

Speaking to Sinar Daily, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) political analyst Dr Abdul Aziz Azizam said that even though the move might seem beneficial, autonomy may not be very practical in terms of practicality and readiness.

Uneven Development Fuels Demands

"Some opinions suggest this is a signal of a possible move towards proposing autonomous power for each state.

"From one perspective, it is seen as beneficial, but in terms of practicality and readiness, it may not be very practical," he said.

Abdul Aziz said this is because the economic distribution in this country is uneven, and a mechanism to distribute wealth equally is needed.

"This indicates that some state governments have low incomes, while others have high incomes.

"Matters concerning financial management like this have been mentioned by several other states such as Kedah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah, and most recently, Johor.

"This indicates a sense of dissatisfaction among state governments with federal financial management.

"This trend is no longer seen as related to political issues or political themes raised previously, such as religion, race, and history, but rather as an issue of management and governance that is not comfortably enjoyed by the states in Malaysia," he said.

Abdul Aziz said the demands stated by the Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim were necessary not only for the state of Johor but also for many other states facing the same problems.

"Therefore, the Federal management must be more sensitive and efficient in handling this issue fairly and wisely," he said.

Recently, Tunku Ismail has called for a reform in the federal government, insisting that Johor be treated as a partner.

He said that the Federal Government system must change because Johor does not belong to Malaysia.

Tunku Ismail also stressed that Johor cannot remain a 'beggar' and should have its own political party.

He sounded his vision for the future development of the state's educational and infrastructure sectors, emphasising the importance of local management and merit-based appointments.

Two Perspectives on Autonomy

Commenting further, O2 Head Researcher Anis Anwar said the demand for greater state power can be viewed from two perspectives.

First, he said it highlighted the inadequacy of the Federal Government's one-size-fits-all approach to implementing policies uniformly across all states.

He said this is perceived as the Federal Government's inability to meet the specific needs of individual states.

"Any policy changes at the federal level take a considerable amount of time, which hinders the progress of states that are bound by federal planning.

"By having greater jurisdiction, state governments can adapt policies more efficiently to their unique needs.

"The second perspective is more political. The state governments, particularly those led by ruling parties, seek to brand or affiliate their parties as state entities.

"This strategy aims to bind and increase the support of micro-level voters within the state.

"This approach was successfully implemented by the Selangor and Penang governments during the 2008 Political Tsunami, resulting in their continued dominance in state politics.

"A recent example post-GE14 (14th General Election) is the formation of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in Sarawak, which has successfully maneuvered to not only increase state power demands but also bolster local support, compelling the federal government to be more accommodating," he added.

Constitutional Challenges Remain

However, Anis noted that while these demands for greater autonomy have not yet resulted in full autonomous status for any state, the Federal Constitution does not explicitly define autonomy.

"The Federal Constitution does not explicitly outline autonomy but provides for federal, state, additional lists for Sabah and Sarawak, concurrent lists, and additional protections for Sabah and Sarawak.

"The concept of autonomy is not clearly defined within the Federal Constitution," he said.

Therefore, Anis urged the Federal Government to consider these demands not only with clarity and rationality but also with urgency.

"This is crucial to ensure the sustainability of their political power at both federal and state levels.

"Rather than allowing certain states to exploit these demands, the Federal Government would be better served by proactively examining the possibility of amending the Federal Constitution to grant greater jurisdiction to state governments, which have traditionally been tightly controlled by the federal government," he said.

By doing so, Anis argued, the burden on the Federal Government to ensure balanced development could be alleviated, as state governments would be entrusted with greater responsibility and resources to drive local development.

Balancing Development and Stability

Recently, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has disagreed with recent statements made by the Tunku Ismail that state should be treated as "partners" and the Federal government should be revamped.

Dr Mahathir said these "ideas" could have serious implications for the country's constitutional framework and stability.

"He has released his statement, and it's not something we can welcome. We have set up Malaysia as a Federation.

"He (Tunku Ismail) seems to think that Malaysia should have one monarch and things like that.

"That is going to change our constitution, and that is not wise because when you do that, the whole country will crumble," he said during Sinar Daily’s Fireside Chat aired recently.