The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: ON June 30, a full-house audience at the Popular bookstore at IPC Mutiara Damansara (in Selangor) witnessed the launch of Tunku 'Abidin Muhriz's book, Roaming Beyond The Fence. This book, his third, is a compilation of his columns published in The Star, with additional articles and speeches. Roaming Beyond The Fence underlines Tunku 'Abidin's intellectual prowess. It contains a variety of subjects that are of key concern to Malaysians, presented with passion and cohesion based on the libertarian ideas that he advocates. The book is neatly divided into chapters on royalty and history, patriotism and service, democracy and politics, decentralisation and Federalism, freedoms, religion, culture and art, youth and education, and travel and international affairs. Tunku 'Abidin is founding president of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), the first local think tank dedicated to promoting market-based solutions to public policy challenges and with a cross-party advisory group, including members from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. In the current political climate, which is too partisan and adversarial, his independent and non-partisan approach to issues is indeed very refreshing. True to his principles, Tunku 'Abidin invited two politicians from opposing sides to write the foreword for his book: YB Tony Pua, DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, and myself. Both of us were also invited to the book launch, which was conducted with a difference. Instead of the usual speeches, Tunku 'Abidin moderated a BBC Question Time-style forum with both of us as panellists. He quoted parts of the book as the basis of questions that were posed, and gave us both the opportunity of rebuttal. And mind you, his questions were by no means easy! What I like most about this Negri Sembilan prince is that he is reform-minded. He is perhaps the only person who has published a paper on the reform of the Dewan Negara (Upper House). On the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House), he wrote, among other things, "Disobeying the whip occurs routinely in advanced democracies where MPs think of themselves primarily as servants of their constituents rather than lackeys of their party leaders, and it could ... mark a moment of maturity for our Parliament". Today, and especially upon the completion of GE13, we are in dire need of a new conversation on the state of the nation. Because the one we have been having has lost all sense of clarity and purpose. We need to put aside our differences and start a conversation that is based on progressive ideas and thoughts that will move us forward and , in Tunku 'Abidin's words, in which "real issues are discussed" and "for policies and issues to be debated instead of this obsession with personalities and ethnic or religious paranoia". Roaming Beyond The Fence contains ideas and thoughts that are creative and critical. It is an invaluable contribution towards taking our social, cultural and political discourse to a higher level. Let me end by quoting a thought-provoking paragraph from the book: "Bersih 3.0 until 3.30pm seemed like a graduation ceremony for Malaysian democracy, but the mortarboards didn't quite make it into the air. There may be one or two more tests yet." Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah is the former deputy higher education minister and ex-MP for Temerloh, Pahang. |
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