Hats off to Zaid

It must have been quite a challenge to get politicians and activists of diverse persuasions to agree on a common goal.

COMMENT

The so-called People’s Congress held on Sunday will undoubtedly be the subject of much conversation and analysis. The assembled multi-partisan group of politicians and civil society figures came together to deliver what could be considered a unified message that frames the goals of the Save Malaysia movement.

These figures have decided that there is a common threat to Malaysia’s well being and that this threat can be removed only by ousting Prime Minister Najib Razak. They agreed that in order to do this, all ideological differences must be set aside.

This simple unifying factor may not mitigate the infighting between those participating in the movement. Many of them are politicians, and every politician has an agenda. However, this agreement to focus on the goal and to put differences on the back burner appears good enough as a starting point.

As we’ve discussed before, the key to success for Save Malaysia is to keep it simple. The more agendas there are, the less the public will be willing to support the movement. By maintaining its focus on the task at hand, the movement is in effect telling the public, “Let’s get rid of Najib first. And then, when you vote in the general election, you decide which political agenda is worthy of your support.” That can only be interpreted as respect for voters’ rights.

We must take our hats off to Zaid Ibrahim, the architect of the People’s Congress, for his ability to get leaders of such disparate interests to even sit together. Getting them to agree on a common goal without allowing any particular party to set an agenda must have been a considerable challenge indeed, even with Lim Kit Siang doing some groundwork with his declaration that he would not be opposed to joining forces with former PM Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir himself has challenged members of the public to sign the Citizens’ Declaration so that he can show the King that the people of Malaysia have no faith in their Prime Minister. No doubt many would see the incongruity of Malaysia’s ultimate autocrat calling for a people power movement. But these are strange times. What is happening is a redrawing of political and ideological lines like never seen before in Malaysia. Left and right have become intertwined.

Regardless of whether you support the Citizens Declaration, refuse to acknowledge Mahathir, or love the PM, the people have been passed the baton. Whichever position you espouse, you can act in your best interest as a citizen and participate in our democracy, or you can can sit back and watch the Titans duke it out.