Can Pakatan win GE14?

Pakatan must realise that Umno is a formidable opponent with deep pockets, large armies and an uncanny ability to go into the elections with all the positives stacked in their favour.

COMMENT

“Based on present redelineation, Pakatan Rakyat should aim to win 135 parliamentary seats in GE14 to capture Putrajaya, with PKR, PAS and DAP each winning 45 seats and a parliamentary majority of 48.

“The performance of the Pakatan parties in the 2008 and 2013 GEs have shown that the three component parties have their basic strengths.

“If we are prepared to persevere in a common patriotic cause – to save the country from corruption, cronyism, abuses of power, exploitation of the poor and downtrodden regardless of race, religion or region, extremism and intolerance.

“And put in place good governance, public integrity, accountability, respect for democracy, human rights, moderation and tolerance, we have no reason to be pessimistic about the future of the country or the outcome of the GE14.” – DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

Based on this statement made by Lim Kit Siang, it would seem that Pakatan has already won the GE14 and will form the next government come 2018, or thereabouts.

Lim is quite confident even as the Umno-led Barisan Nasional is slowly but surely dismantling whatever “basic strengths” and “common patriotic case” that Pakatan may have to save this country from the corruption, cronyism and abuse of power perpetrated by the BN government.

Let’s examine the facts.

Am I to believe that with all the overwhelming overt evidence of foul play, vote rigging, phantom, pendatang’s and illegal voters that number in the thousands (so Pakatan tell us), nothing can be done to present irrefutable evidence to the courts to overturn ANY of the GE13 results?

If not the courts, why not present the evidence to the people and let us make up our own minds?

To date, nothing worth talking about has been done to substantiate the claims of vote rigging.

If Pakatan claims that the Malaysian courts only do the bidding of their political masters, then can someone explain to me why Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of Sodomy Two?

The irresponsible actions of Pakatan in convening the Blackout 505 protests very quickly lost its momentum and became a predictable washout once the public realised the futility of it all.

Energy could have been better spent if Pakatan had responsibly galvanised the 53 percent electoral support they received at the GE13 and channeled it into an orderly structured mass movement that would eventually make BN understand that Pakatan is a political force to be reckoned with.

But this would require a massive, sustained and disciplined effort by Pakatan -something I suspect Pakatan is unable to do.

BN consolidating its hold

What has BN been doing since then?

Najib Tun Razak is firmly at the helm of Umno and BN. Given that he was unable to take back Selangor nor regain two-thirds majority in parliament, that by itself, is testament that BN is seriously consolidating its hold on power and making necessary adjustments to the realities of politics as it is post GE13.

Attacks on the Chinese voters have not abated – a politically astute decision by Umno given that MCA lost the Chinese votes to DAP.

Umno has given notice that their focus for voters will be in the rural hinterlands for the Malay votes and of course in Sabah and Sarawak given the need to keep them on their (Umno) side if BN is to retain the government.

The other races will be catered for on a need-to basis, the operative word being “need” as in “political needs”.

The attrition of Pakatan’s hold on Sabah and Sarawak politicians has begun with a vengeance and we already know the predictable outcome.

Money spent on Sabah and Sarawak politicians is, as far as Umno is concerned, money well spent as it diminishes Pakatan’s political hold on the pliable politicians there.

As always, in Malaysia, political affiliations and loyalties are broken down to the basics – how much is on offer and damn the electorates, “good governance, public integrity, accountability, respect for democracy and human rights, moderation and tolerance”…all that Lim Kit Siang talked about at the Empire Hotel Ballroom, recently.

Pakatan’s hue and cry

From my perspective, I have yet to see Pakatan build on the “popular support” they garnered during GE13.

If anything, loss of that popular support will be the only sure thing that Pakatan can count on given that BN have all the necessary financial and logistical means to rein in that “popular support” into the BN basket.

BN have not been remiss in providing opportunities for Pakatan to highlight their failure to keep their election promises and BN’s preoccupation on the usual things – corruption, money politics and bad governance.

But I see that these are too tedious a task for Pakatan to pursue in parliament. They would rather continue with their sabre rattling and cry of having been cheated in an election that is over and done with, many months ago.

Enough of the “what ifs” and start with a reality check.

Can Pakatan “stay the political and electoral course until we succeed in bringing about political change for Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or class to achieve the common Malaysian Dream – a Malaysia for all Malaysians where there is democracy, good governance, socio-economic justice and where every Malaysian can achieve his or her fullest potential for the collective good and greatness of the nation? (to quote Lim Kit Siang).

It is not for me to say that Pakatan has already lost the GE14 even before it has begun but Umno is a formidable opponent with deep pockets, large armies and an uncanny ability to go into any election with the positives stacked in their favour.

And that ability, in politics, wins you elections.

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