Perhaps Najib has reason to worry now

Mahathir’s group of citizens may have sounded underwhelming, but the ground may actually have shifted.

COMMENT

Nearly 40,000 people watched on Facebook as Mahathir Mohamad summoned just about every other major political figure and activist to a meeting where they declared that enough was enough. Mahathir, the confessed “government man,” joined hands with close confidantes and bitter enemies to make the unequivocal statement that Najib Abdul Razak must be removed from the office of Prime Minister.

The first thought that must have occurred to some observers was that this was not going far enough. Calls for a new party, an amalgamation of all those opposed to the Prime Minister, had been circling for days before the press conference was called. Indeed, there were netizens on the live feed who agreed with that impression, wondering exactly what this announcement would entail.

But as the news sank in and the group in Mahathir’s assembly began to talk about the details of this new initiative, it became clearer that this is exactly what it should be. The four demands are simple and clear: remove Najib Razak in a peaceful and lawful manner, remove his allies from power, abolish the authoritarian laws established recently that violate the rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, and return the integrity of weakened public institutions like the police and the Public Accounts Committee.

The group announced that it would eschew political agendas in the campaign to remove the Prime Minister, and while one should never be ready to take a politician’s word at face value, the figures involved, from Ambiga Sreenevasan to Lim Kit Siang  to Dr Siti Hasmah, represent the citizens of Malaysia at all levels of concerns and interests. More significantly, the group announced that it would hold a series of meetings, including Zaid Ibrahim’s 27 March meeting, which will determine its direction, policies and strategies.

Taking time to reach consensus and hash out the issues is a necessary task. One could argue that the failure to do so was the downfall of the opposition coalition. The lessons learnt from that failure will be brought to bear in this even looser and potentially more volatile coalition. There will definitely be tension between all the parties involved in the group, but as Mahathir iterated to the press time and time again, this campaign’s first priority, above all agendas and priorities, is the ouster of Najib because nothing can be done without first achieving that.

As long as this group keeps its focus on the four main demands being made, this coalition could actually be one for meaningful, positive change. All Malaysians should remember this day as the one we asked for as far back as 2008. We asked for a way for our politicians to agree on the agenda of the people. We asked them to place the people’s interest above all else. We told them to find a way to cooperate based on that.

This marks a turning point, a small one, perhaps. What remains to be seen is whether these leaders can indeed make good on their declaration and lead Malaysia out of what they see as the most dangerous threat to the nation today. And if they stay on the right platform – one that transcends party and ideology – then perhaps the unshakeable Prime Minister will have reason to worry.