Not the time for Anwar to take over Putrajaya

 

“What do we do now?” 

– Bill McKay (The Candidate)

For some Pakatan Harapan supporters, there is this idea that it is now Anwar Ibrahim’s time to assume the mantle of leadership of this country together with Harapan. Hourly, the rakyat are inundated with rumours, speculations and sometimes even facts on the manoeuvrings of the political class of this country.

As of the time of writing, Anwar had received the backing of 105 opposition MPs and GPS was making queer noises which just goes to show you how these people think of the role of government in this country, especially now during a time of a pandemic. All this sandiwara while the rest of us suffer. Remember, these cretins still get their fat salaries and maybe even a raise because the winner has to "reach out to the loser".

My question is, why would Anwar and Harapan even want to run this country at this time? The failure of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is a failure of Malay uber alles politics specifically and an indictment of mainstream political operatives in this country.

Whoever leads this country is not only going to inherit the mess of the former government - minions of which have been going on an apology tour - but would also be held hostage to whatever deals they had to make to get into power. Now, ordinarily, the horse-trading that comes with a close election could be detrimental to a government but in this case, it would just be another nail in the coffin for the credibility of Harapan when it comes to governing this country.

Politicians may cynically quote the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in calling for “new politics” but does anyone seriously think that there is any kind of new political thinking in this country? Right now, we have Amanah leader Mohamad 'Mat' Sabu making reconciliatory noises to traitors to return to the Harapan fold. 

We have the Harapan PM-designate apparently getting support from within Umno and the DAP saying that the Harapan presidential council has given the go-ahead for its operatives to talk to its opponents.

If you are a Harapan supporter and had trust issues with Muhyiddin Yassin when it came to his olive branch, surely you can see the problem with this strategy of taking Putrajaya? Or maybe you do not, which is fair enough.

Liew Chin Tong in his latest piece acknowledged that Khairy Jamaluddin was doing a great job but was hampered by the fact that he wasn’t running the health bureaucracy. Perhaps, if the opposition had decided to take the olive branch or at least considered it, issues like this would be addressed instead of the mess we are in right now.

The problem is that whatever coalition Harapan manages to build, Harapan would be spending nearly every waking hour attempting to finesse its minority partners and every day would be an opportunity for flanking attacks by supposed allies for reasons which have very little to do with policy but everything to do with establishment politics, which is hostile to the DAP for various racists and bigoted reasons.

Meanwhile, whatever coalition Ismail Sabri Yaakob manages to patch together, the various clusters within Umno, not to mention the extremists within PAS, would no doubt make demands which have nothing to do with running the country but rather acts that would further undermine the democratic institutions of this country.

Think about it this way. Every day, the legitimacy of Anwar would be challenged for the most ridiculous reasons. If clusters in the Malay establishment were willing to bring down one of their own just to save their own skins, what do you think they would do to someone like Anwar if he managed to cobble together a coalition without a mandate legitimised by an election? The mandate of the last election is muddied because of the presence of the old maverick.

Not only did Anwar manage to deal a body blow to Umno, but he also made it possible for a two-party coalition to govern this country. If you are the establishment you never forgive something like this. 

Furthermore, Anwar's desperation for the top job - especially since the Sheraton Move - has been palpable. I can understand this, but he has made so many fumbles, his ascendancy to the top job is akin to the court jester lounging on the throne. My issue with Anwar is that he behaves like this is his first time in the rodeo.

And does anyone really think that now that Muhyiddin has been chastised, the Malay establishment will not give him a second chance if he agrees to play well with others? If Muhyiddin was desperate enough to attempt to offer an olive branch to the opposition, what makes you think he isn’t desperate enough to accept an olive branch from the Malay establishment?

New politics?

Please do not for one minute fall for all this nonsense about new politics. All of this is another form of gaslighting by the political class. Nobody has any real intention of heeding the advice of the royal institution. Indeed, from what we have seen under the PN regime, political operatives have demonstrated that they really do not need to follow the advice of the Agong or are beholden to democratic norms.

It is pointless relitigating the Sheraton Move but the fact is that PKR was gaslighting the public when it came to its internal divisions and the DAP was dealing with partners whose sole objection to Harapan was that the DAP was part of the ruling regime.

And think of the political operatives who left Harapan, the ones who Mat Sabu is enticing to return. At least with one of them, I knew there were issues but I honestly believed that he would have played the part of the good soldier and taken the hit for Harapan instead of switching camps.

Do not take this to mean that Harapan should not work with whoever eventually assumes power in a bipartisan effort. Do not take this to mean that Harapan should not continue offering constructive dissent to failed policies that continue to haunt us.

What Harapan should be doing is shoring up support from the rakyat, grooming credible potential leaders from its ranks to run the states they control ethically and humanely and preparing for the next election which would be a referendum on old politics in Malaysia.

This way, even if the next election is close, Harapan would be in a stronger position with a mandate from the rakyat who have hopefully seen the economic and health devastation brought on by a Malay uber alles regime.

Harapan should not be part of hitting rock bottom. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.