Tough ride ahead, PM

 

­­This week, the Prime Minister gave a wide-ranging interview on television.

Anwar Ibrahim seemed comfortable with the questions, and I am sure they were well rehearsed and researched. In general, it felt like the PM had a plan for the next four years. There were a few things though that the PM said, which made me think about the state of our nation.

When asked about enemies becoming friends now in government, the PM answered quite lucidly. For the betterment of the nation reeling from the socio-economic and political outages during the last few years, setting aside animosity to work together seemed to be the only way forward for Malaysia.

He pragmatically suggested that all parties should continue to stand-down on the adversarial nature of politics, at least until the next general elections. Once the polls are upon us, hostilities can begin again.

What the PM is suggesting is not unheard of. Recently, after some 40-plus days of severe closed-door negotiations, the New Zealand government was formed with a coalition of three different parties. All of them have, in the past, attacked each other and right up to the elections, just like in Malaysia, were “archenemies.” In that country, they now even set a new precedent where the deputy prime minister’s role will be taken in turns. The first eighteen months goes to one party and the remaining term goes to another.

But like past coalition governments in New Zealand, hostilities will begin in the lead up to their next round of elections. And these “now friends” will resume their attacking positions.

In a fragmented world where polarisation has crippled nations, perhaps coalitions are the only way forward. We can see this happening all over the world. People take up unrelenting positions with scant regard for decency or common sense.

Right now, it is apparent with Middle-Eastern politics. People around the world simply take up a historical position, hunker down with crass ideology, and argue their case. No one really attempts to understand the puppeteering that takes place behind the scenes or show sympathy to the cost for humanity.

Of course, the world is in this position because of politicians. But as banal as it sounds – it is what it is!

The recent Kemaman by-election also showed this. Whilst many clamour for moderation in our country, the so-called “green-wave” continued to sweep the state of Terengganu. Even with PAS winning all the seats in the state, voters did not deign to give an opposition politician a seat.

The same goes for the polarisation in Penang. Easily, DAP continues to sweep Penang Island clean of all the seats it stands for. Both the people of Terengganu and Penang are Malaysians. But they are poles apart on what they believe this country is, or should be.

How else can moderation be applied in Malaysia, if not for this highly suspect, hastily cobbled together coalition that forms our unity government? It seems that this is the best we can do for now. And at the next election, if the Malaysians who voted for the PM’s coalition decide to pull out their support, it will be a different story. If a “moderate force” is unavailable, the nation might veer dangerously towards even more socio-cultural polarisation.

In the interview, the PM was asked about what he thought of the claim that his government was less “Muslim.” To his credit, he actually acknowledges that this is the sentiment amongst the people in the rural heartlands. But he squarely blames the opposition Islamic party for this kind of “fitnah” or slander.

He explained what his government was doing for the Malay-Muslim community. At the same time, he also accepted that non-Malays in the country feel that reforms should include doing away with the “Bumiputera” agenda. To this, the PM said that his government has to abide by the special privileges which are enshrined in the constitution. However, he gave his assurance about his commitment to not neglect the welfare of the other communities.

Again, his answer was decent, but the communal politics in Malaysia is there, because politicians have nurtured it for decades. Just a few weeks ago, our former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he wanted migrants to “become Malay.”

Therein lies the problem. We all claim to be Malaysian. But ultimately, we take polarised positions of being Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan etc. Perhaps the “Tanah Melayu” narrative that keeps being wheeled out should also be called out. The land mass of Sabah and Sarawak make up 60% of Malaysia. And certainly, the people from both those states will not agree that Malaysia and “Tanah Melayu” are synonymous.

So, yes. The prime minister has his work cut out for the next four years. Perhaps a better set of ministers, who can communicate more effectively about what he has in mind, is needed. But alas, what can be done if the quality of the “raw material” in parliament is of that of the “bottom of the barrel?” - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.