Coalition of collusion heading for a confrontation: The new normal

Rais Hussin

14 September 2019 at 6:37 am

Umno president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang at the Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah (Muslim Unity Rally) held at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur September 14, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

COMMENTARY, Sept 14 — Malays, Muslim, even an all Male elites, are all entitled to form a coalition. God, after all, creates the world in different tribes and nations to learn from each other; as the Quran would have it.

But before one “learns” from one another, the coalition has to unlearn and relearn from their past too. In the case of Pakatan Harapan, the very young coalition, which admittedly is having difficulties in adjusting to running both a Federal and state government, after decades of being in the opposition, learned how to unlearn their enmity, their ideological conflicts, and differences in work habits, before they relearned how to operate as a unified body.

Pakatan Harapan, for the better or worse, is still going through this process of unlearning and relearning, to be a better coalition.

The unification of Umno and PAS, which has happened before, has nothing of the above. It began first as a stealthy embrace of the other even before the previous General Election, before morphing into stomping troops of Malay, potentially, Malay hyper nationalists.

If Malaysia needs to look at the danger of the latter, just look at BJP of India, which is now hell bent on transforming the biggest democracy in the world, into a devil-may-care Hindu Shastra, where the rights of minorities are all trampled.

Yet the tyranny of the majority is and must not be the benchmark of a new government. As and when they do, their ostensible numerical superiority will be used as a blunt weapon go silence the voice of all groups from Kuala Kangsar to Kota Kinabalu.

Can the union of convenience of PAS and Umno work, though, granted that it has failed miserably before in 1974-1978, leading to the declaration of an emergency in Kelantan? Yes it can for the same reason how they want to take Malaysia back into a mythical period where “Tanah Melayu” literally meant Malay Land.

Umno and PAS are working hand in hand to dominate 119 predominantly Malay seats in the Peninsular Malaysia first. They believe with a majority of seven, all other races will submit, consequently, surrender to them.

But the actual purpose is simpler. The politicians who coined and conceived this coalition are precisely those who have the most to gain; barring which they also have the most to lose if they don’t reclaim the mantle of government. All of them under criminal breach of trusts, and prosecuted under various forms of Anti Money Laundering Act (AMLA) will get off scot-free — if their plans succeed — or be put behind the slammer if their plans failed.

Granted that PAS and Umno are allegedly complicit in the grand larceny of Malaysia, whether through 1MDB or Tabung Haji, their attempts to win the next General Election by hook or by crook is a dangerous dagger pointed at the heart of rule of law in Malaysia.

Malaysians will soon see identity politics with vehement intensity. Race and Religion will become a dominant discussion items amongst this ever changing political dynamics. Contestation of ideas or policies will soon take a back seat! PH must not fall for these narratives.

PH must technically and tectonically change its ways by focusing on what people want: mitigating costs of living, better quality of living, creations of credible jobs, affordable homes and affordable healthcare.

Malaysians, especially those above the age of 18, must be educated to be the vanguard of Pakatan Harapan; with the voters from other generations and races serving as the navigators to steer Malaysia to a higher moral ground.

The jury is out there! The people!