Zaid may be right about Zahid, but…

He probably can't convince opposition supporters and reformists that the DPM is better than Najib.

COMMENT

As the Save Malaysia campaign gains momentum, it has become clear that we are painfully lacking in leaders. The movement has lately been pressed to name a candidate to replace the Prime Minister, at least till the next general election, in the event that the push for Najib Razak’s resignation is successful.

Zaid Ibrahim, the architect of the campaign, writes in a blog article that there is a case to be made for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the current Deputy Prime Minister. Of course, that suggestion has been met with derision. Zahid is not a popular figure amongst opposition supporters and reformists. His condescending attitude towards voters pleases only the hardline right-wing crowd he usually plays to.

Zaid reasons that it is Zahid’s handlers who are responsible for this negative public image. “Sometimes those responsible for managing his image do not position him well as a potential Prime Minister for all,” he said, adding that Zahid was actually a nice person.

Zaid will have to excuse the rakyat for taking those claims with more than just a pinch of salt. If he is intent on promoting Zahid as Prime Minister material, he will, without a doubt, face an uphill battle even with people who have supported all of his previous initiatives.

When we talk about Zahid, we are talking about the man who told voters in 2013 to leave the country if they were unhappy with the GE13 results. In another famous instance, Zahid was alleged to have declared a shoot-first policy against criminals if the police had evidence against them. He claimed he was misquoted, but several news outlets had recordings of his remarks.

Zaid will find few allies in his struggle to convince the people that Zahid is not in fact a worse alternative to Najib Razak. If indeed Zahid’s PR team is responsible for his less than savoury image, then the burden of proof rests upon the DPM himself to show the people he is not just someone who bullies the press and writes letters to other governments allegedly endorsing criminal gambling kingpins.

His strongman image is popular with the right wing, granted, but a Prime Minister is supposed to represent all sections of the public, and Zahid is hardly someone who can gain that kind of varied, multi-ethnic support. Like it or not, opposition supporters and even moderates would be leery of him. Many are convinced that he would be far more iron fisted than Najib could ever be.

That being said, however, it’s true that we have hardly given Zahid a chance. It may be that he truly is a great, dignified, and understanding leader, but one who has been bent by the politics of the time. But whether or not he’s a nice guy, the onus of proving that lies not on the rakyat but on the one who would seek our acceptance of his power. We are hardened and cynical now, and there will be no easy acceptance of the notion that Zahid is acceptable as a replacement for Najib.

The DPM will require a complete repackaging if he hopes to win hearts and minds for a run for the PM’s post. But even then, in the digital era, memories are long indeed, and his past will hang on him.