A Time to Decide: It’s Our Future Together

by Johan Jaaffar@http://www.nst.com.my

TIME TO DECIDE: Parliament has been dissolved and before us lies the choice we have to make on the country’s direction

 ON exactly his fourth year as  Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the dissolution of  Parliament. You can almost hear the cry, “at last!” from both sides of the political divide. And a collective relief. Now, the showdown begins. To battle stations!

The truth is the 12th Parliament is the longest in history in normal times.Although the 1974 general election was called after five years and three months, the circumstances were, at the time, different.

Malaysia was still reeling from the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 riots. For almost three years the country’s governance was under the National Operations Council.

In 1971, Parliament was restored and it took another three years before Tun Razak Hussein called for an election. The coalition that was once known as Perikatan (Alliance) became Barisan Nasional (BN), and survived to this day.

It is true that the 13th General Election is one of the most anticipated in the land, perhaps for more reasons than one. The country has never been this divided. Partisanship has never been this pronounced. People are more vocal and articulate. They know their rights better. They understand the power of their votes. In short, our society is inching towards political maturity.

The good news is a democracy can only work in an environment where the right of every individual is respected, whoever she or he is.The bad news is democracy can be a double-edged sword. It is interpreted as anything goes. Freedom is perceived as the right to condemn and to humiliate.

The cyberworld, too, is changing the dynamics of campaigning. There is lawlessness in the cybersphere. Nothing — not even fairness and rationality — matter anymore. The realm is one that is fast becoming the underbelly of gutter politics — no rules, no laws, no respect whatsoever.

Why should this election be the mother of all elections? It is supposed to be just another one, for we have gone through 12 of those since independence.

Elections are never easy and perhaps this one is even tougher.For Pakatan Rakyat — a loose coalition of fiercely combative parties — this is going to be their chance to prove that 2008 was not an aberration. The political tsunami will continue.

And more importantly for its de-facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, this is supposed to be his final race to political nirvana — premierhood — for five years down the road, he’ll be 70.

All along, he believes it is his birthright to lead this country. A wounded tiger with lots of skeletons in the closet, Anwar is determined to pursue his ultimate dream, with his political partners coyly supporting him, while suspecting each other, and him, too. Well, that’s politics. There is such a thing as perfecting the art of the impossible.

BN was well aware of what happened in 2008. It was more than a wake-up call, it was a trauma. Before BN, Perikatan was deprived of the two-thirds majority in 1969, lest we forget.

It was  Razak  who took over from Tunku Abdul Rahman and rebuilt the coalition and UMNO. History is repeating itself.Now, Razak’s son has  to shoulder the responsibility to rebuild BN and UMNO from the drubbing of 2008.

It was a tall order. Morale was low and finger pointing was rampant. And time was not on his side. Known for his cool head and conciliatory approach, he worked harder to address issues.

And he talks the talk and walks the walk. You can’t fault him for not trying to mend the rifts among our people, to ensure a better future and to provide stability and prosperity to this proud nation of ours.

His “1Malaysia” concept caught  fire and is perhaps the most popular catchphrase ever  to galvanise a nation anywhere in the world.

Rome was not built in four years. Najib does not have a magic wand to change everything.   But he was ferocious in pushing for change — his transformation agenda  is just the   beginning.

“Our national transformation is still only a story half-told. With a strong mandate in this election, we can finish the job,” he promises.

Come polling day, 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats are up for grabs. There are 13.3 million eligible voters this time, almost four million are new ones. They will decide the destiny of Malaysia in the next five years.

Let us decide. And let us decide wisely. Remember, this is not about the Malay proverb “menang jadi abu, kalah jadi arang” (win, you’re ashes, and lose, you’re charcoal). This is not a zero-sum game. It is about our future together.