Journal Writing

Democratic Country

          Democratic country is a country which practices democracy as its form of government. Malaysia is typical example of a democratic country. In the democratic country, the citizens play a major role in the formation of the government. The power lies on the people in choosing the government in favor. In Malaysia, an election is conducted by the responsible organization (SPR) for the people to vote for the government that can uphold and retain their rights and well being. The citizens periodically choose officials to run their government. Besides, the people are free to express their opinions and choose their preferred religion. People are free to choose their leaders.  In fact, the leaders can be anyone disregard of their varied personal background, as long as they gain the majority support. Democracy usually provides stage for many different types of citizens to compete for leadership positions. However, in Malaysia, without the approval from the ‘ Sultan’, they cannot govern the country even if they win in the election.  In fact, the presence of election alone is not enough to a country a democracy. For the election to be carried out, it must be free, just and competitive. Even the government and political leaders do not have any controls over the result of the election. In addition, democratic country is ruled by the law. No one including the leaders is above the law. They must obey all rules and regulation fixed by the government. Action could be taken for those who against OR break the law.  Democracies are not controlled by the whims or wishes of a leader, but they are governed by laws that apply to leaders and citizens equally. Democracy is such a unique form of government with the political participation by the citizens. The chosen governments must tried their best to meet the demand of the society in turn of the people believe in them by giving mandate for them to run the country. Examples of other countries which practise democracy are France, Japan, Great Britain and the United States. However, we should bear in mind that for each country, the degree to which it can be considered as democratic might be different.