The Roots of Resilience: Party Machines and Grassroots Politics in Southeast Asia by Meredith L Weiss

Author:Meredith L Weiss [Weiss, Meredith L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Advocacy, Political Science, Political Process, World, Asian
ISBN: 9781501750052
Google: _PqzDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 52786919
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2020-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

Linkages with Voters

It is not just structural features rendering legislators relevant that matter; so do voters’ relationships to politicians. Deep, everyday penetration acculturates citizens toward perceiving and assessing legislators not as policymakers or even party functionaries, but as dependable patrons, and keeps a personal vote salient notwithstanding strong parties. Politician-voter linkages remain heavily clientelistic, de-emphasizing platforms and policies but accentuating accessibility, responsiveness, and simple presence. This pattern is pervasive. By the mid-1970s, opposition MPs had learned to counteract the BN’s resource advantage by providing “services to the little man,” broadcasting effectiveness “by the number of people who approach him, the services he provides, and the appreciation shown to him” (Ong 1976, 419). Specifically, affective, not merely material or functional, patron-client ties remain part of the “modern” party-political system, absorbing traditional leaders and operating symbiotically with the machine-oriented governance described previously.

Clientelistic linkages operate within parties, too, particularly UMNO, helping explain how leader-led the party is and when personalization fosters stability. Intraparty contests determine access to resources and nomination for election. Consequently, it is ingrained among UMNO aspirants to consider fellow members as potential rivals.129 Those chosen to stand owe loyalty to the party president—but they need to convince the local branch to accept them and not sabotage their candidacy had the branch preferred someone else.130 Branch-level gatekeepers may block worrisomely competent applicants from joining the party; their desire to keep perks for themselves—including the around MYR800/month for leading JKKK—has led some branch leaders to deny applications to join the party (submitted at the branch level) if applicants seem potential threats, diluting the party’s talent pool.131 Across all parties, activists note having been recruited by a particular party leader—a personal approach that builds capacity but can also solidify “camps.” Factionalism in UMNO and other BN parties—for instance, the MCA, periodically riven by succession crises and splits (Heng 1996, 45)—empowers regional “warlords” and makes maintaining the loyalty of midlevel power brokers key. Even amidst the massive 1MDB corruption scandal, an internal October 2015 poll found that 154 of 191 division heads backed Najib; 147 divisions signed a declaration of support in March 2016. Branch chiefs, closer to the ground, seemed less committed—several demanded Najib’s resignation (Funston 2016, 118). However, with divisions in line, the prime minister could (he thought) relax.

What most clearly signals persistent clientelistic linkages—and marks these as inefficient, but not nefarious—is the extent to which the personal touch matters across Malaysia, beyond what a given politician delivers.132 A politician’s presence makes “the government” seem approachable and concerned. Such appearances often involve money, but less welfare payments on behalf of or in lieu of the state (though those also feature) than gestures to demonstrate generosity, reliability, and cultural probity. Regardless of distance and other duties, MPs return to their constituency as frequently as possible; when they cannot come in person, they send a trusted political secretary or assistant. Being truly local—not just from the state or a nearby town—is a clear advantage; an “outsider” may struggle to establish credibility. Typically, MPs stress

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.