One colourful PAS, one Black Malaysia

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COMMENT Once again, I find Malaysian politics so full of irony and even bordering towards plain stupidity.

In defending PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s brandishing an oversized mock keris to cut the pulut cake, party vice-president Idris Ahmad could only offer the suggestion that the keris added more colour to the political landscape.

I have never heard that the Malay keris can be so colourful, have you?

What shocks me the most is that PAS, especially its party president, despite being backstabbed by Umno, could not full comprehend what could have transpired within the four walls of the cabinet meeting, and what is being played out in front of our eyes.

These ulama, compared to the more streetwise Mohamad Sabu faction which has already formed Parti Amanah Negara, were too engrossed with their multi-coloured president’s mock keris than anything else which is detrimental to the country.

Cabinet approved the Private Member’s Bill, no?

According to Azalina Othman Said, who merely followed through her bosses’ instruction without making a stand, it was Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi who instructed her to bring forward the bill.

The speaker allegedly follows instructions from the top because it is all part of a game. If he had acted independently, he would have thrown the plot out of the window.

This is expected, because we know that the speaker of our August House has allegedly never been independent, even with the present speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, who had spoken so much about reforming the Parliament, but it has all the while been ‘no action, talk only’.

At the very least, Pandikar Amin has never risen to the occasion. He is after all part of the elites who continue to play on the people’s sentiments with sweet talk.

What transpired within the cabinet is not known to any of us, but one can only guess why Azalina was told to bring forward Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill.

To me, it is obvious that it was due to the twin by-election in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar. In order to fight PAS and Amanah, Umno had to win the Malay votes since they realised that Amanah would likely field its candidates, too.

It cannot be seen as opposing hudud or Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill especially when there is a three-cornered fight. Without the support of the Malays in these two constituencies, Umno would have a tough time winning the election, especially since the non-Muslim votes have already departed from Barisan Nasional (BN) and are likely to favour Amanah.

Two-edged sword

Therefore, Azalina’s move was merely to create a situation where both sides in BN could be seen to debate amongst themselves, and at the same time, distract the people’s attention from the Citizens’ Declaration and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

They are trying to use the same strategy used by Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem, who “condemned” Umno openly, but still remained in the same bed with Umno. Umno leaders were allowed to campaign in areas where people knew nothing about 1MDB, but Pakatan leaders were barred from entering Sarawak.

The ministers from the non-Muslim faction of BN threatened that they would resign I-F the Hudud Bill was passed. Most people would have taken notice of the B-I-G ‘I-F’ except for the few hopeful PAS leaders who are trying to also use hudud to win the hearts of the Malays.

Note that none of the ministers, including both Liow Tiong Lai and Wee Ka Siong from MCA, Dr S Subramanian (MIC president) and Gerakan chief Mah Siew Keong have resigned from the cabinet, nor have they threatened not to campaign for Umno in these two by-elections.

They know well that they will not be able to hold on to their positions if the entire cabinet collapses and Pakatan Harapan takes over Putrajaya.

Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill was merely used as a catalyst for the BN’s sandiwara, as far as I can see it. It is all part of a bigger plot trying to confuse the people and to divide the people so that they are not united against BN as a whole.

We will see more of this strategy being employed in the coming general election, which has to be called within the next 24 months.

One Black Malaysia if Amanah does not win

Twenty years down the road, the younger generation of Malaysians can only look back and condemn us if we fail to give the full support to Pakatan Harapan, especially to the party which has been given the ‘amanah’ (mandate and trust) to stand in the by-elections.

When they look back into the two 2016 by-elections, will they be able to see what transpired and blame my fellow Malaysians in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar for being so naïve and easily deceived by some sandiwara plot?

One would also find it so hard to believe why the Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Yunos, who had so-called championed the Malay cause, yet he was not picked to represent BN in the constituency. Why? Because everyone has a different role to play in the scheme of things.

If our children were to ask us why did Amanah not win both Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar, where would we put our face? Who will be able to answer them? Would we say that Umno and BN machinery was too powerful so much so that the people in these two constituencies were too easily swept away by Umno’s perception campaigns?

Will they look with regret to see how foolish we have been to fall into the trap set up by Umno war strategists?

In 20 years’ time, after the Goods and Services Taxes have ‘solved’ our country’s woes, then the burden of these taxes may rise to as high as 14 percent.

It would be ‘One Black Malaysia’. The younger generation would not only have to pay the debts of the country, but to also continue to pay for the lifestyle of the elites.

Therefore, my fellow Malaysians, we have to see what is happening to our country, especially with one alleged plunder after another, we are now facing a very delicate financial situation.

Within the past few months, foreign investors have left our country for greener grounds elsewhere. Whether they return or not, depends on the new government to win their confidence - something that is unlikely to happen with Najib’s administration.

Unless something drastic is done at the top, this country could become One Black Malaysia, and forget about the past PAS, we now have to accept a new splinter party minus the ulama and move on with Mat Sabu and his colleagues.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.- Mkini