Many governments in the world have established some sort of democracy and Malaysia has her own peculiar version which cannot be branded with any particular name.
It is not even a Malaysian version of democracy per se but purely and totally - it is an UMNO’s version of democracy. And sad to say, Prime Minister Najib Razak's party knows little about the subject, hence the great controversies and boorish clownishness.
What UMNO has done to “democracy” is not to practice it but to institutionalize the facades of democracy, including regular multiparty elections to give the appearance of being a democratic country. These multiparty elections have never been free or fair, resulting in the formation of an authoritarian government.
Many people - within and outside Malaysia - may take these democratic facades for real. Many others, however, do not. More than anyone, the Opposition parties and candidates here who have suffered the worst consequences of the cheating know very well that the present government is only playing a game and not practicing legitimate democracy or democratic elections.
A new era of adversity where courage must be the first quality
It is time to call a spade a spade. It is time for those in the Opposition who say 'but what can we do' to stand aside and make way for people with stronger gumption. For example, you may have been brave in the past and went to jail for so and so, but are you brave anymore - NOW? Or has your gut grown thick and fat like those in the UMNO-BN?
Such a question may seem rude, but it is a very legitimate one for Malaysian voters to ask. As we often slam the Umno-BN, perhaps it is now timely to cast the spotlight on the Pakatan and what t has to offer Malaysians in the face of a rabid Umno-BN, even more arrogant and dangerous now that it has 'won' another 5 years in power.
But boils must be pricked and pus must be expelled otherwise gains made in the past few years will be lost and we become like the past generations - silent because we were afraid when we came face to face with danger!
Pakatan has to continue playing the game but they have to change their game plan. Otherwise, it is tantamount to allowing yourself to be cheated over and over again. And that is a mark of insanity.
It is also a mark of cowardice and bad faith faith with voters who supported you because they wanted a change in government. What would help and are really needed are fresh ideas to be get the county moving forward and not round and round in circles.
The drastic responses from Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan Rakyat in the immediate aftermath of the recently-concluded 13th general election marks the start of an era to break the impasse and to shatter Umno's dominance. This is a tack that they must hammer through and ferociously!
Right direction but not yet there
For the first time in Malaysia's history, the Opposition dared to say no. Anwar and Pakatan voiced their rejection of the election results. They mobilized their followers to protest the fraudulent electoral process and its outcomes and launched the Black 505 rallies. But have Anwar and Pakatan succeeded?
So far, the desired outcome of their actions has not materialized but they must not give up. UMNO-BN still formed the government, they continued to cheat with the election of the Speaker, making a laughing stock of themselves by forcing their own reps to sign a so-called secret ballot so that all would toe the line and vote in a controversial toady back into office.
At the same time, it was ironic that as the re-elected Speaker was pompously calling for 'change' in his acceptance speech, 32 youth activists were roughed up and arrested by the police outside Parliament. In other words, nothing has changed.
And meanwhile, the Black 505 rallies seem to have lost steam despite clear evidence of public support. No doubt, the crowds are no longer so large but obviously, if you have attended one or two such 'ceramahs', you won't want to go again unless there are new issues or speeches to hear. So the right medicine to take is not to dump the rallies but ask, what are the strategists doing? In fact, if the crowd size tapers down to more sustainable levels, that's fine because there may be another 5 years to go before the next general election, so don't throw away this powerful and precious early momentum.
Also, has there been enough 'outreach' to all the towns in the country yet? Who is really losing interest here - the Pakatan leaders of the people? Who is feeling the fatigue? Why are there no effort to galvanize public interest with new issues? Why zero search for new tacks to keep the flame burning? Also, why are only PKR and PAS involved and not DAP?
Pulling wool over the people's eyes : Following the bad example of the Umno-BN
Seems like Pakatan may also be experiencing a dose of 'over success' among its ranks. It is obvious that the pretty boy and girls of the Opposition, and a good example of this is in the DAP, seem to care more about the frills and fancies of being in Parliament, no?
The test is simple - what is the point of raising motion after motion on the haze? What real or concrete result can Teo Nie Chieng or her rival Wee Ka Siong from MCA achieve here other than a fleeting puff for themselves? Face it, even Singapore strongman Lee Hsien Loong and his dad Lee Kuan Yew are powerless to reduce the haze in their precious republic.
Malaysian Opposition leaders should be honest and ask themselves - do the people want them to keep pointing out corruption case after corruption case, one cheating scam after another, haze year in and year out but at the end of the day be the same powerless people unable to make a real or concrete difference? We see Pakatan leaders at risk of failing in their primary duty, they may lose sight of the main goal because of their desire for the fluff, and a good example is Bakri MP Er Tech Hwa who was apparently so terrified of being left out from Parliament that he broke party line to attend a briefing.
Really, what is the point of being in the fight if the Opposition is only making the motions of trying to win the federal government. Just yesterday Pakatan could not even stop Najib from cheating again in the secret ballot for the Speaker. And yet some of the Pakatan MPs brazenly and a tad arrogantly declared their priority to 'solve' the issue of the haze or to 'combat' corruption!
Seems to us that all the Umno-BN needs to do is to just threaten arrests, label an issue or event illegal and that's the last you see of some of these so-called "brave but at the same time kiasu" leaders from the Opposition! We say why should Malaysians vote for 'kiasu' leaders at all - be they from the Pakatan or the BN?
Round and round in circles
It takes a lot to be called a hero but what Malaysians need and deserve are heroes in their Opposition. This is the sad fact of politics. So do wake up, Pakatan. Also, wake up Malaysian voters. There is no doubt the so-called drastic responses that Anwar had tried to initiate are vital.
To stay relevant, some in the Pakatan - and they know who they are - must look at new strategies and stop the hot gas and rhetoric to mask their sheer political cowardice - no one is fooled! Look in the mirror and stop tricking themselves and the people. All Tony Puas in this world could never stop the corruption in KLIA2 or in the ministry of defense if he continues to keep his head buried in the sand. The cheating and backstabbing only increases and as he and his Pakatan colleagues including Rafizi Ramli holler out the Umno-BN's worst secrets, do you think they are scared? The Umno-BN doesn't care because they know - as proven in the past 5 years - the Pakatan can blow the whistle as much as they like but they can't do anything more than that. Who wins, who loses? Umno-BN gets the illicit cash, Pakatan gets the publicity, the people lose.
Really, the time has come to stop being 'clever children'. Political prodigies are a waste of time. Malaysia is near bankruptcy and no one has time for 'smart-alec' stories that yield no concrete results in the end.
So what can Pakatan do?
Pakatan will have to go back to basics and try to learn from the examples of other countries that managed to shake off the shackles of political dictatorships.
Let's have a quick look at just one. Let's go to South America and take a look at Brazil where the citizens have marched on the streets, blocked roads and halted traffic in more than a half-dozen cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia, as well as swarming past the Congress and Presidential Palace because of a hike in ransport fares from 3.00 to 3.20.
We highlight this example because like in Malaysia, the ruling politicians in Brazil only defend their own interests, wasting public funds and unlawfully enriching themselves while the various law enforcement officials are known to be equally as corrupt. However, the economy is active. Money is easy to earn and the people can manage to get a piece of the economic pie. Hence, it was easy to close an eye on the new government which had inherited the sound economy from ex-President Lula. But the new government, like Najib's, failed to sustain real or developmental growth and had to keep on spending without having priorities in order to hide the truth from the people.
If the Brazil protests were just about transport fares, few would be taking notice. But the fare increase was merely the last straw –there were so many issues that had outraged the Brazilians. Ultimately, it all boils down to “their dissatisfaction and total disbelief in politicians.” This was why the protest became so massive - enough to pressure a real solution, if not a complete change in government.
Sense of urgency vital
Street protests are not the only way. Sometimes, street demos are counter-productive because they make the ruling regime be more authoritarian, resolute, vigilant and inventive in maintaining the status quo. Unless massive enough, street demonstrations are seldom enough to constitute a serious threat to the regime survival.
At the moment, the Black 505 peacful gatherings are not a threat and cannot spark any immediate governmental changes. But they sure make a helluva statement. And with the right tack and development, they can be built to harness enormous and sustainable public support plus an all-important sense of urgency that is still sorely lacking despite Malaysia being in a really precarious position - socially, democratically and economically.
The lesson to take home from the Brazilian example is that the focus of their protests was on "collective grievances”, not just about transport fares. For the Black 505 gatherings here, the focus was on the “common grievances” suffered by voters due to the lack electoral reforms and the frauds perpetrated during the election. The scope of Black 505 can easily be expanded because the chest of wrongdoings of the UMNO-BN is too deep and way too wide.
And another key point is that the Black 505 must retain its core feature of being a peaceful gathering. Given the amiable nature of the Malaysian people plus the good track of the rallies held so far, this should not be beyond the organizers.
Mass civil pressure exerted peacefully, with dignity and regularly can achieve dramatic results. There is no need for the violence of the Arab uprisings to bring about change here. All it takes is for Malaysians to keep on repeating their demands to the government in a very VISIBLE way - stop the nonsense. Enough is enough!
How to fight a 'law unto itself'
In Malaysia, where UMNO is dominant, it is almost impossible to change the government through the ballot box because of the past gerrymandering by unscrupulous people including Mahathir Mohamad and even Abdullah Badawi.
However, the Umno legacy of “collective grievances” inflicted onto the rest of the country may in the end be its own undoing. This is the crucial common denominator that unites 51% of Malaysia against them.
The second tie is the social media network that helped to communicate down the line the latest developments and happenings in the Opposition, uniting it with the people of the county and the rest of the world.
Without freedom of speech and a free press, the Umno-BN government could take any action or make any laws it wants unobserved by its own people and the outside world.
It is ironic that in GE13, Pakatan has won 7 more seats and taken 51% of the popular vote while Umno-BN has slid further. Yet in the next 5 years, the going will be even tougher for Pakatan than for Umno-BN.
The call is very clear for greater courage from the Pakatan. It not yet time for it to rest on its laurels and to 'enjoy' the fruits of its hard work yet. Otherwise, Malaysians voters will dump the PR in GE14 for not doing enough to fulfill their primary request - which is to take over the federal government and make real broad-based structural reforms to save this country.
The test before Pakatan MPs as they doll themselves to take their oaths in Parliament is far greater than for Umno-BN, which by now is practically lawless being a law unto itself having managed to get away scot-free despite all the outrageous tricks and stunts they pulled the past 5 years.
So Pakatan MPs, especially the 'boys and girls', please get savvy and learn 'guerrilla warfare' real fast because you will now be fighting a completely lawless and amoral entity.
Malaysia Chronicle
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