The Government Can Change Again, In 21 Months Or Less

Muhyiddin now has to reformat his mindset and understand that he is no longer anti-Umno or anti-PAS and that Umno and PAS are part of his government — and that if not for Umno and PAS, Muhyiddin would have no government.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Malays used to call the “old” DAP-led Pakatan Harapan government a Chinese government. Now the Chinese call the new Perikatan Nasional government a Malay government.

Is this true? It really does not matter. This is not about truth or falsity but about perception. And politics is about perception. And perception is moulded by propaganda.

What is quite clear and is NOT perception, though, is that everything in Malaysia is about race and religion. Every decision you make must balance the race and religion factor. Ignore the race and religion factor and you are headed for doom.

DAP will not accept the fact they are their own worst enemies

DAP ignored the race and religion factor and were blinded by the arrogance of power. And that pushed the Malays — who traditionally were enemies of one another (or at least for 70 years) — into each other’s arms.

Yes, DAP created Muafakat Nasional and eventually Perikatan Nasional. All DAP had to do was to pamper (or manja) the Malay nationalists and the Malay Islamists and you would have had them eating out of your hands.

Do you know how Eric Chia handled the Terengganu Malays when he was appointed the CEO of Perwaja? The first thing he did was he asked the Malays to hold a kenduri and prayers and he paid for the cost. I was told he even paid to build a surau. Immediately the Malays looked up to him as The Great Chief. He then sent these huge Hari Raya cakes around to all the key people in Terengganu on Hari Raya.

After that you should have heard the Terengganu people talk about how a great guy this Eric Chia is.

Eric Chia knew how to manja the Malays and had them eating out of his hands

Eric Chia was actually a very arrogant MF. But when it came to the Malay populace, he knew how to manja them. And he had them eating out of his hands and singing his praises.

DAP, however, thought that now they were in power they could be lord and master over the Malays. And they are still doing this in states they control even though they have been ousted from the federal government. And if not for DAP, Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional would not exist.

One very important point to note is, voters are fickle and have short memories. The honeymoon with the voters can normally last just 100 days, after which dissatisfaction sets in. That is when the honeymoon ends and the grumbling starts.

When the Malays realised that Pakatan Harapan is Chinese-dominated they gave the government to Perikatan Nasional

Voters are also easily conned. Pakatan Harapan’s election win in GE14 in May 2018 was because they believed all the lies (about Umno and Barisan Nasional) and the promises (about the land of milk and honey and roads paved with gold once Pakatan takes over).

But a relationship built on lies cannot last. And promises need to be delivered. And when the lies are exposed and the promises are broken, everything turns to dust.

Let’s what happened to Pakatan Harapan be a lesson and warning to Perikatan Nasional. Malaysians are not a patient lot. They expect the moon and the stars and they expect them today. So, I do not envy PM8 Muhyiddin Yassin and his Perikatan Nasional team.

The Chinese have their needs and wants, and so do the Malays, Indians and citizens of Sabah and Sarawak. And let me tell you now, it is not going to be easy to fulfil this shopping list.

Pakatan Harapan came to power against the backdrop of lies, fake news and false promises

The Islamists want more Sharia, the Chinese want more Chinese education and schools. The Indians want more recognition and not to be treated like refugees. The citizens of Sabah and Sarawak want their MA63 and their oil royalty increased beyond just the measly 5% which they are getting now.

Yes, Muhyiddin Yassin, and by extension Perikatan Nasional, is in power at the pleasure of so many diverse people with so many diverse needs and wants. Needs is not so bad. It is the wants that may prove the stumbling block. For example, how do you merge the wants of the Chinese educationists with that of the Malay nationalists, or the wants of the Islamists with that of the liberals?

Let us see how sharp Muhyiddin is. And to deliver the goods, he will need a sharp team assisting him because running a country is not a one-man job (even if Tun Dr Mahathir Mohmad thinks it is).

And this is where Muhyiddin’s problem is going to start (the so many diverse people with so many diverse needs and wants that I talked about).

Muhyiddin has a lot to do over the next 75 days to make sure his government is not even shorter than Mahathir’s government

Muhyiddin has 75 days before he needs to face Parliament in May 2020. That is even shorter than the traditional 100 days. Hence Muhyiddin needs to be more of a magician than a prime minister to pull many rabbits out of his hat over the next 75 days.

Can he do it? He must, because, if he cannot, then his government is going to be even shorter than Mahathir’s 21-month government.

DAP found it very difficult to shed their opposition mentality when in government. Now they are probably very happy to be back in the opposition where they can bark and foam at the mouth like mad dogs, something they are very good at.

Similarly, Umno found it very difficult to play the role of the opposition over the last 21 months after being in government for so long since 1955.

Muhyiddin now has to reformat his mindset and understand that he is no longer anti-Umno or anti-PAS and that Umno and PAS are part of his government — and that if not for Umno and PAS, Muhyiddin would have no government.