“If you always vote for the lesser of two evils, you will always have evil, and you will always have less.” ― Ralph Nader
Perikatan Nasional’s secretary general Hamzah Zainudin said this about the results of Sungai Bakap polls, “this result is also proof of the people’s rejection of arrogant and haughty leaders, who purposefully close their ears and hearts to the suffering of the people, burdened by the rising cost of living”.
When you think about it, it is what made the Malays come out to vote in large numbers and made the non-Malays, for the most part, sit out of this by-election.
Umno veteran's association leader Mustapha Yaakub blames DAP for the lack of non-Malay voter turnout but doesn’t stop to think that by sitting out of this by-election, perhaps the non-Malays were sending a message to DAP and of course, the Madani state.
After all, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow claimed that the coalition government lost the narrative to PN, but this is ridiculous considering the reality that the propaganda organs of the state are controlled by the government, hence, the government has a huge platform to present their ideas.
Meanwhile, the opposition has cried political persecution whenever their leaders are targeted by the state security apparatus and have used social media influencers to highlight not only the hypocrisy of the Madani state but also the policies that have disenfranchised a young voting bloc through “surprise” economic policies that still favour the elites.
The national narrative as defined by the Penang chief minister,“…. the subsidy, perceived inflation, cost of living, and the burden the people have to face with all this…” is the local narrative and you can either believe that these issues do not matter to the non-Malays or that something more is at play.
The fact of the matter is, that DAP has been hamstrung in this coalition government. The DAP is supposed to be a moderating force but all it has done is attempt to carry water for the “don’t spook the Malay crowd” while the Madani government panders to the PN base secure in the belief that the non-Malays have no choice but to vote for them.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, for instance, said the Harapan coalition had locked down the non-Malay vote.
He comes off in the press these days sounding like one of those “arrogant and haughty leaders” Hamzah talked about when Rafizi said that for Sungai Bakap, PN was a lost cause.
Rafizi said on the campaign stump, “It’s very evident that PN has lost direction in this by-election campaign, as they are not focusing on issues that are more important to the residents of Sungai Bakap.
“These are local issues. It is also a testament to the ability and capability of each candidate to provide the best service to voters here..”
Now, of course, Rafizi after dissing PN, laments the low turnout of the non-Malay voters which just goes to show how out of touch the best and the brightest in PKR really are.
Harapan alienated its supporters
Harapan has been doing everything in its power to alienate its non-Malay base and screw over the progressive Malay element in Harapan. Non-Malay operatives have been bending over backwards attempting to project a benign face of Chinese influence in Harapan.
Admittedly, Anwar played the liberal, reformist and progressive Muslim when he was on the campaign stump and this elevated him to cult-like status amongst the non-Muslims.
However, after coming into power, either as a handmaiden to the old maverick or into his own, his obsession with securing the Malay vote has driven him and Harapan further right, which has been accepted by the non-Malay Harapan base but met with indifference by a majority of Malays.
To be fair to Anwar and his team, beyond the obvious pandering, the prime minister has been attempting some sort of class dialectic within the Malay community.
But the problem, as expressed by some PKR political operatives privately to me and more recently publicly by the United for the Rights of Malaysians Party (Urimai) pro tem chairperson P Ramasamy, is the mistake “... of reducing identity politics to material growth in the form of increased foreign investments and job creation”.
Of course, the Malay vote is important and Anwar and Harapan should be chasing it like they would any other vote, but the fact that the rural Malay vote is unequal makes Anwar’s pandering to the Malays and their rejection of him even more tragic or comical, depending on your point of view.
He has done everything from overseeing a religious conversion to lecturing a young Indian girl on the social contract to milking ethnic sacred cows but the majority community still does not buy what the Madani state is selling.
While all politics is local, what the federal government should be doing is ensuring the Harapan base that voted for them (even when they were losing, but managed to break Umno's two-thirds majority in one of their defeats) is satisfied with their performance.
Instead, what the federal government is doing is attempting to replicate BN-style politics for a base which has no use for it. A base which believed that the reign of Harapan would move them away from the race-based and religion-influenced politics of Umno-BN.
Demonisation of DAP
Non-Malay politicians tell me they have to walk on eggshells when it comes to certain issues. They tell me the demonisation of DAP seems to be working. Well, here’s the thing - if people are going to hate DAP, they are going to do it regardless of whether Malay uber alles coalition is in power or not.
The narrative that the majority of Malays hate the DAP has always been around, but the DAP has survived and even thrived. Instead, what the coalition government does is bend over backwards attacking the very demographic which could change the narrative and encourage a new paradigm of mainstream Malaysian politics.
Honestly, if Anwar carried out the reforms he promised and carried out these drastic subsidy cuts, voters regardless of ethnicity would be inclined to give this government a chance.
But the problem is, that Anwar attempts to have a crusade against corruption but has Umno in his pocket.
And he attempts these drastic subsidy cuts but leakages abound in organisations under the government’s control and of course, plays the race and religion card while attempting to court the non-Malay vote. People who vote for PN know exactly what they are getting and they are fine with that.
What this government has to understand is which side their bread is buttered. - Mkini
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.