Najib looks set to stay

Why would Umno want to rid itself of a leader who won an unwinnable election for Barisan Nasional?

COMMENT

If Pakatan Rakyat expects Najib Tun Razak to accept defeat at the polls graciously, why don’t they graciously accept his victory at the very same polls?

The 13th general election is a done deal. A 44 seat margin win is emphatic! The loss or gain of a few marginal seats would not have made a difference to the final outcome of this 13th general election.

This is not an election where the popular vote of the people determine who should form government. When Pakatan submitted itself to the electoral process, it must do so in its entirety.

This means accepting that the party with a simple majority will form government – an anomaly that would have applied equally to Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.

That it favoured Barisan Nasional is moot. This is a separate issue of rampant gerrymandering to be addressed later.

There are also concerns about voting irregularities and we know that Pakatan faced significant restrictions on access to the media but there is a process to resolve those vexing issues of voting irregularities and that process, however tainted, should start now while BN goes on with the business of government.

The allegations that the Election Commission conducted itself with dishonor by doing the bidding of its political master is an issue to be addressed at a more opportune time – not now!

In the final analysis there are enough people who believe that BN has done a satisfactory job and deserve another term in government.

Will Pakatan and Anwar Ibrahim be magnanimous in defeat and proceed with the next business at hand – that of assisting the authorities to investigate any irregularities in the 13th general election, and start its onerous duties as the Opposition to a weakened and bloodied BN government?

In the end there is no gain for BN as they lost eight seats to Pakatan, but give Najib credit for taking BN through a harrowing 13th general election.

Why would Umno want to rid itself of a leader who won an unwinnable election for Barisan Nasional? It was an election that was Pakatan’s to lose. And lose it they did!

The race card

The elephant in the room that Pakatan refused to acknowledge was the race factor. This is not about whether you or I are mature enough to NOT make race a factor.

We have already established the fact that we do not want race and religion to be a factor in determining the manner in which each and every one of us will be treated by our government.

Meritocracy should rule the day. Unfortunately the reality is that a critical mass within the Malaysian population will make race and religion their criteria in deciding who should govern Malaysia.

Almost two million Chinese voted for Pakatan – largely for DAP really. They voted for DAP in the hope that Pakatan will form government, and that DAP will have effective control of that government.

This is NOT what you or I think but this is what a vast majority of the Malays think. It is irrelevant whether it was Umno that put that thought in their mind or whether they worked it out for themselves.

That is what the critical mass within the Malay community thought would happen if Pakatan won the election – and guess what they did to counter that possibility? They voted for Umno.

Yes Lim Kit Siang won the battle in Gelang Patah but Pakatan did not win the war against BN.

Kit Siang going into Gelang Patah was exactly what Umno needed to get the Malays on side – and they had the DAP to thank for it. DAP spooked the Malays into voting for Umno.

The big losers

The biggest loser of the 13th general election was MCA and PAS.

Najib had nothing to do with MCA being rejected by the Chinese. MCA leaders did it all by themselves without any help from anybody.

MCA will need leaders who can make the Chinese understand that the ‘kongsi’ mindset that had prevailed within the BN coalition is the way to go. They must find ways and means to make it relevant to the times that we now live in.

‘Kongsi’ would be a more comforting war cry coming from the Chinese for the Malays to accept than DAP’s rallying cry for the Chinese to unite and make a difference.

It is what the Malays perceived of that ‘difference’ touted by the DAP that drove the Malays to vote for Umno.

PAS has already lost two states that had come within its ambit – Terengganu and now Kedah. Mohamad Sabu lost and so did Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad in Kuala Selangor.

PAS also accepts blame for Pakatan’s loss in Kota Damansara – a seat that Pakatan could have won if there was no infighting.

PAS’ preoccupation has always been with the after world. Politics is about the world we live in now. The two are usually best separated.

The ultras have won in Kelantan and they will not allow the liberals to control Selangor. PAS has already lost too many seats because of its association with DAP.

Spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat will simply not have the energy to go on anymore. With him on the sidelines, Anwar Ibrahim no longer holds sway over PAS.

And if PAS cannot get DAP and PKR to compromise their way – they are likely to walk out of the Pakatan coalition. After all, Umno beckons!

All said and done, with the announcement of his cabinet yesterday, Najib looks set to stay to lead his BN government.

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.