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Our Vote in the UK Election

‘Abiding Times’, theSun, 30 April 2010

CITIZENS of Commonwealth countries in the UK have the right to vote in local, parliamentary and European elections: a right not extended to EU or US citizens, ‘special relationships’ notwithstanding. Thus, someone from Kota Bharu can vote in Newcastle, and on 6 May nearly 50,000 Malaysians—but not Indonesians or Thais—will have the chance to vote in the UK general election.

They should use this opportunity, not only because the UK is still one of our biggest trading partners, but because of our enduring military relationship, and because the mamaks are perennially packed with acolytes of English football. The majority of our Rulers and Prime Ministers have received a British education: still the aspiration of upwardly mobile Malaysian families. Our judges rely on their legal precedents, and their honeymooners lie on our beaches. The Queen has conferred Malaysians with OBEs and MBEs, and the Agong has bestowed brave Britons with the PJM.

Although Malaysians constitute a tiny proportion of voters, we are concentrated in the university towns like Nottingham, Warwick, Bristol and London. But as the polls indicate a hung parliament, every vote will count.

“Citizens of Commonwealth countries in the UK have the right to vote in local, parliamentary and European elections.”

Remember it was a Labour government that foisted the Malayan Union upon our war-torn peninsula, intimidating the Rulers into signing the necessary treaties. Conservatives like David Gammans, John Foster and Lord Marchwood led opposition to the centralised pseudo-republican entity in the British Parliament. Lord Reid belonged to a party in alliance with the Conservatives, whereas Lord Cobbold was a crossbencher.

In 1967, the Labour government announced an end to British defence arrangements east of Suez: a decision reversed by the subsequent Conservative government in 1971, as Edward Heath became the first British Prime Minister to visit Malaysia. The Five Powers Defence Arrangement reaffirmed the military cooperation vital during the Emergency and Confrontation, and remains strategically beneficial today. In 1973, Tun Razak (ironically a Labour Party member) made an official visit to the UK, and the following the year the Agong made a State Visit.

The ‘dawn raids’ of 1979 and 1981 caused jitters, and my generation remembers well the ‘Buy British Last’ mantra, which was only resolved after a chat between Mahathir and Thatcher, who also visited Malaysia. The monarchs of both countries then took turns to make State Visits, and John Major was the last British Prime Minister to officially visit Malaysia, as no Labour Prime Minister has ever visited Malaysia whilst in office. Since then, the Queen has visited Malaysia to close the Commonwealth Games and the Duke of York attended our 50th Merdeka Day celebrations.

For now, one of the biggest priorities for Malaysians in the UK is higher education. Malaysians already pay full tuition fees at British universities, and that won’t change regardless of who is in power. The more important aspect is access to those universities, especially in terms of obtaining visas. Recall that Malaysian visa-on-arrival status was under threat last year, meaning it would have been a hassle even to visit the UK as a tourist. It’s even more vital for Malaysians seeking work experience in the UK.

The Conservatives want to place a cap on economic immigration; yet, they are also the most likely to value relationships with countries of the Commonwealth. Leveraging the Commonwealth connection will be far more effective with William Hague—on record for wanting to defend and expand the Commonwealth—rather than David Miliband. The ferociously pro-EU Liberal Democrats are unlikely to commit to the Commonwealth in the same way. Yet, the Commonwealth Games was our greatest triumph on the international stage, and unlike ASEAN, the Commonwealth actually takes action against undemocratic regimes. It’s an association we should seek to enhance.

Many Malaysians will be content to criticise Labour for its role in the invasion of Iraq—I, too, marched in protest on 15 February 2003—but for Malaysians living in the UK with families, domestic issues are paramount. There are clear differences between the parties on health, the environment, cleaning up politics and education: the Conservatives’ plan to enable parents to set up their own state-funded schools is very exciting and worthy of emulation. But any party’s manifesto would be delayed by a hung parliament, which would also cause economic uncertainty, threatening bilateral trade and investment in the long run.

Our relationship with the UK will be fine regardless of who wins. But our record with the Conservatives seems more successful than that of Labour, and that is why Malaysians in the UK (and Brits in Malaysia) should vote for economic stability, freedom for parents, a stronger Commonwealth and the continuation of an enduring friendship.