Central to PH’s political aspiration is for a multiracial and dynamic Malaysia to live in harmony under one roof. Whilst this idealism is generally agreed by the more urban population of the Peninsular’s west coast, it is not a concept that is relatable to the voters in Malay heartland. Without the rural Malay votes, PH would need a full swing to Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH) in the eastern Peninsular states. It was overly ambitious if not near impossible for AMANAH, a PAS splinter party, to defeat its own “big brother”.
Out of this desperation for Malay votes, PH had included the Malay-first Parti Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU) into its coalition. On the surface, it was paradoxical for PH to accept a clone of the very party that it is contesting against – but for the criminal records. In fact, the Malay votes were too important to lose that PH had even selected Dr. Mahathir, BERSATU’s founder and former UMNO President, as its Chairman and de facto leader.
Surely enough, the feel-good factor did not last long despite the PH finally establishing its power in Putrajaya. Dr. Mahathir’s administration did not seem to be able to balance the equitable distribution of wealth to all Malaysians on the need-based basis with affirmative actions which have long favoured the Malays.
Yet what lay in store for us was years of political instability, mired by infighting and conflicting agendas, with the only constant factor being the presence of the elder statesman, Tun Mahathir.
Despite being elected on a platform that promised a more equitable society, we were ultimately barraged with the same-old, same-old “the poor don’t work hard enough” narrative that is synonymous with Mahathir.
What Malaysians actually asked for was a new vision that represents Malaysia Baru - one that includes Malaysians from all walks of life.
Instead we got a return to Malaysia Lama - one that is characterized by Mahathir’s own brand of outdated and dangerous thinking.
As PH began losing a series of by-elections, Mahathir continued to ignore the political realities on the ground and continued his “tried-and-tested” attempt to rally support. However in his reutilization of siege mentality, he inadvertently had a united Malay-Muslim front of UMNO-PAS as a political alternative – which would cost him greatly in the Sheraton move.
Meanwhile, the non-Malays began questioning Dr. Mahathir’s sincerity towards inclusive development. Topics such as Chinese schools and Zakir Naik continued to be left unaddressed and permeated within the non-Malay polity, leading to the disastrous election loss at Tanjung Piai’s by-election.
Tanjung Piai, a thoroughly Malay and Chinese electoral seat – had rejected PH in its entirety in a short span of a few years. A far cry from the exuberance that came with GE14.
There are many factors that contributed to this sordid end, but one thing was for certain – if Dr. Mahathir had stopped playing his old-games and let PH attempt to fulfill its promises. Instead Malaysians once again will have to deal with the lost legacy left by the old man, one that hopefully we may still save in GE15.
Comments
Post a Comment