Instead of parties, this man is trying to privatize politicians. Here’s why it might work

If you looked at your voting ballot paper during the elections, you might have noticed some random symbols like tractors, scissors, and pencils. These are the “logos” of independent candidates or calon bebas – MP wannabes who don’t belong to any political party.

While the fact that they’re being represented with clipart from Microsoft Word isn’t bad enough, independent candidates are also usually perceived the same way as joke characters in fighting games… they aren’t meant to win, as evidenced by there only being three independents in the current Dewan Rakyat. And what’s worse than not winning is that they’re often considered vote splitters or troll picks that people blame when their favorite candidate loses by a small margin.

But things might be changing. The Sheraton Move and the political drama and kataking that came sewaktu dengannya have kinda eroded confidence in the existing parties, coalitions, or even politicians; giving an opportunity for a third force opposition or independent candidates to appear as viable options.

But one man has a slightly different idea. He wants to unite independent candidates under his company – not a party – because he believes that politics can be improved when it’s run like a business – professionally, by professionals.

Okay we’ll give you a moment to stop laughing. You’ll also want to catch your breath when we tell you that…

MyKITA doesn’t actually want to take over the government 🤯

Yup, their goal is take 20% of parliamentary seats, for a reason that we’ll get into later.

The man in question is Myocho Kan, who’s had experience mentoring upcoming politicians (one of whom actually became an MP after GE13) and himself ran in Port Dickson as an independent.

Even before it happened, Myocho saw the potential of a Sheraton Move-like event happening, so he set up myKITA (which stands for Malaysia Kita, not the eyewear brand that shows up when you google them), a sendirian berhad company that will “sign on” independent candidates…kinda like employees or contract workers. We know it sounds pretty weird, but here’s Myocho’s reasoning for it:

“For the past 65 years, Malaysians have thought that independent candidates cannot be trusted because they will hop to another party, or that they don’t have the funding, vehicles, or support needed. And that’s why we set up myKITA to be that ‘vehicle’.” – Myocho Kan, to CILISOS.

Basically, Myocho says that a sendirian berhad has more obligations towards transparency, and without the luxury of political immunity; since financial statements have to be submitted by law, and anyone can look up their details with a simple SSM search.

“Since the Government’s job scope can be privatised, from highways to sewage, to public transport, why not privatize politics?  Even better, because now we can remove them if they fail to perform.” – Myocho

But wait, the more politically informed among you might be thinking – “How can a private company run a government? You need a party for that!”. Well………… they aren’t looking to win a majority. 

In fact, Myocho’s idea of a third force is to have independent candidates occupy 20% of parliament for two main reasons:

1. As a buffer so that a few kataks won’t cause the entire government to change hands
2. As a mediator for controversial bills, since many MPs vote along party lines (ie, party whips)

And yes, our next question to Myocho was… how sure are you that MyKITA’s candidate won’t jump to another party?

MyKITA MPs can be sued for up to RM10 million if they katak

Basically, all candidates that sign on to MyKITA also have to sign a performance bond that’s overseen by a board of lawyers. Essentially, this is a legally binding document which stipulates that they can be sued for up to RM10 million if they break the bond after becoming an MP, which includes terms like:

1. Do not commit any observable racist acts.
2. Do not make any racist statements.
3. Do not be corrupt.
4. Do not jump parties (until the 4th year, when the contract ends)

Myocho’s reasoning for this is simple – RM10 million means it would likely turn the MP from Yang Berbahagia to Yang Berbankrap, thus disqualifying them from being a Member of Parliament. He also added that anyone looking to buy over a MyKITA MP would have to fork out more than RM10 million, making the process much more expensive; although we’re pretty sure he was joking.

You may have also noticed in point 4 that the MPs are released from this bond after 3 years, and the reason is simply because the independent MP may have a genuine change of mind.

“Most importantly, we want to make sure that the MP will spend the first 3 years serving the constituency. Even if they join a party, at least the Rakyat still benefited. And who knows, perhaps they can also bring some changes into that party as well so it’s a win-win situation.” – Myocho

But if independent candidates join MyKITA, are they still… independent?

The short answer is yes. Because there aren’t any party objectives other than the bond – which is basic political decency – independent candidates will still have their own identity, stances, and objectives. The only difference is that myKITA can provide them with support that most independent candidates lack, and a seal-of-quality that might help with public confidence.

For one, myKITA will not accept previous members of any political party, as they may bring their “bad habits” along with them. Second, they’re only accepting professionals with management experience in their line of work. Professionals in this sense aren’t just doctors and engineers, but basically anyone who’s had proven experience in their industry.

“Because, very simply, if they’ve not managed any department, businesses or companies, how can you expect them to manage a country?” – Myocho

Not just that, all interested applicants will have to go through a stringent 3-stage screening process which includes a background check and other forms of due diligence done, not just to ensure that they are legit and meet the basic requirements; but also to create a profile on them. Once this is done, the candidate can then head out into their constituency and (try to) win a seat.

But MyKITA isn’t the only one making these assessments, since…

They want Malaysians to start rating their MPs

Remember when we mentioned earlier that each of the candidates will be profiled? The whole concept is basically still a work-in-progress, but Myocho shared that they’ll be incorporating a new feature on their platform that allows people to view a candidate’s profile and possibly even rate them for the work they’ve been doing.

According to Myocho, each profile would basically contain information on who these candidates are, where their strengths lie, and what causes they’re looking to advocate for. So, it’s kinda like if a personality test, google review, and politics combined to create the ✨ ultimate MP dating profile✨

But that’s not all. Myocho also explained that once this platform has been established, they’ll be opening it up to other politicians from other parties to be profiled by myKITA. They see it as a service that would be able to assist people in knowing who to vote for, and also help politicians appear more transparent… but there’s a catch.

These non-independent politicians will have to pay a fee and also sign the same performance bond contract with myKITA. The penalties also remain the same, which means that if they violate the same terms, they could also kena sued for up to RM10 million, though it’s really not that hard to remain loyal to your party, not be racist, and stay clean…

…..right?

MyKITA wants to train non-politicians to contest in the next GE

Some of you might think myKITA’s privatized approach to politics is kinda stupid, while some of you might see it as an innovative breath of fresh air – after all, Malaysia is no stranger to privatization. But if you’ve ever hrrumph’ed after reading the political news or saw your local politician using floods as an opportunity for a photo up and thought you could do a better job, then this is your chance!

Myocho thinks there are many Malaysians out there who can make a difference in the political arena if given the chance, and MyKITA is a stepping stone into making that difference. Of course, there are certain intricacies and costs (such as the RM10k deposit under election laws) that we don’t have the space to mention here, but you can get in touch with MyKITA to find out more.

But to end this article, we asked Myocho what he would do if MyKITA’s candidates actually end up winning a parliamentary majority, since that means they’d have no choice but to register as a political party instead. He was adamant that the answer was still “no” because that would go against all that myKITA stands – an alternative to the biasa form of politics that has come back to bite us time and time again:

“We want to distance ourselves from the typical political mindset, and focus our energy on creating good policies to advance our country.” – Myocho