Hope vs fear – which is more effective?

THERE'S been a lot of bickering over the similarities between Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) and Barisan Nasional's (BN) manifestos for GE13, with each side claiming that the other is copying its original vision.

For sure, there are similarities. Even the title is somewhat similar, with both incorporating the word "hope". The PR version is titled "Pakatan Harapan Rakyat" while the Barisan Nasional version is "Menepati Janji, Membawa Harapan".

Caretaker Deputy Education Minister of Higher Education and Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah puts a good spin on this: "This shows that both sides are becoming more centrist in their approach to win the general election."

He's got a good point and it's partially true. Although Umno elder statesman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been dishing out regular doses of fear, especially in his comments about DAP leader Lim Kit Siang's candidacy in Johor, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been more careful in his comments.

From the get go, Najib has understood the importance of projecting a moderate stance. He's done this at the global level, calling for a "Global Movement of Moderates" at the United Nations and at the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting. And at the local level he came up with the famous 1Malaysia slogan.

He's also promised lots more handouts if BN is returned to power. But in general, the tone and core message of BN is fundamentally still one of fear, with constant and stark warnings that things could go haywire in this country if the electorate were to vote for change.

This is not to say PR does not peddle fear. It also warns that the country cannot afford to have more of the same. That Malaysia will no longer be globally competitive if BN were to continue to rule the country.

Still, much of its message hinges on hope, with lots of promises for a brighter future under a PR government. Whether it can actually deliver on such promises is another question. But it's a positive message.

Which sentiment is more effective, hope or fear? That's an age old question, not unlike Machiavelli's question of whether it's better to be loved or feared.

Machiavelli concluded that it's safer to be feared than loved on the grounds that when it comes to being loved, it's up to the people to have such feelings for you; whereas with fear, it's not something people have control over. In other words, you can impose fear but not love.

Can the same be said of hope and fear? That you cannot force hope upon people but you can invoke fear. Perhaps, but as society matures it's much harder to rely on such simple conventions.

To illustrate this point, let's look at the country's biggest bogeyman for the past half century: the May 13, 1969 racial riots.

For far too many elections, the spectre of May 13 has loomed large. And it was effective. But such warnings of doom and gloom don't have the same impact on today's generation.

Perhaps this is something Mahathir is not fully aware of when he warns of "conflict and antagonism between the races" and "an unhealthy racial confrontation" if the people of Gelang Patah were to vote in Kit Siang as their member of parliament.

It's a remarkably outdated approach but Mahathir is not alone with this mindset. My friend Zan Azlee recalls in his latest column for The Malaysian Insider a recent experience talking to an Umno member in his neighbourhood, who actually lamented the fact that people no longer feared May 13.

This was Zan's response: "It's true youths like myself did not experience the kind of racial tension the older generation did. We are the post May 13, 1969 generation. We are a generation that wants to experience our own experiences instead of what you did. We are the generation that sees and recognises each other as equal fellow Malaysians. So, please, do not come to us and preach the relevance of racial politics. And, definitely, please do not come and tell us to be scared of history instead of learning from it."

I don't think Zan is an anomaly. He's not some outlier. Or some fringe liberal who's out of step with the rest of society. Rather, I think Zan's views are representative of how many voters – regardless of whether they experienced May 13 or not – feel today. That's something politicians vying for votes from today's generation would do well to realise.

-thesundaily