I have the same inclination to believe what Dr Lim Teck Ghee has written in his article today.
However, the reason I believe it is going to happen sooner than not is because of a recent signal given by a deputy minister that the general election (GE14) will be very soon.
This snap election which some say can be as early as March next year may find Parti Pribumi Bersatu still ill-prepared for GE14. Although Umno is at its weakest point at the moment, they will get away with one simple announcement.
This is why I think Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will also announce his resignation before the GE14, promising the people that he will leave his office if Barisan Nasional (BN) is given the mandate once again to win.
In their calculations, this will solve a number of issues, without having to change the status quo of the party in power, but Malaysians can no longer trust one who continues to lie to the nation one time too many.
And Najib has not been telling the truth to the people. Hindraf know it, and we know it, too. During the lead-up to the last general election, it was Najib who said that money for political parties should never end up in anyone’s personal accounts, yet it is obvious now, whose accounts the ‘donations’ had ended up in.
Bersatu to lose its moral ground to campaign?
Besides not having its party registered in time, Bersatu will lose its moral ground to campaign amongst the rural Malay folks.
The question will arise as to why former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is still harping on Najib’s scandal, after he has announced that he would resign immediately after BN is given the big mandate.
The rural Malay folk are said to be simple-minded enough to believe in Umno’s propanganda that Najib’s resignation would be the end of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. Face-saving is all part of the Malay culture.
Even if the man has robbed the nation of billions of ringgit, the rural Malays will just give face and choose not to raise the matter any more. It is only the urban Malaysians who are concerned about their future.
Unless the Bersatu campaign is stepped up now, time is running out for Dr Mahathir to speak the truth to the rural Malay folk. He is probably the only one who can reach the Malay heartland. This is why Umno is very concerned about Dr Mahathir’s influence that will rock their vote bank.
Dr Mahathir would also have to convince the larger Malaysian population that he is sincere about reforming the country’s political, democratic and administrative systems, instead of wanting to just kick out Najib. This has to be communicated again, and it should supersede the Najib agenda.
At this juncture, I do not see Dr Mahathir or former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin have pushed hard enough on the main agenda of national transformation, except to ask for Najib’s resignation.
Muhyiddin would have a tough time as he is nowhere here nor there, unless he joins one of Pakatan Rakyat component parties and wins on a Pakatan ticket, especially in his own constituency.
However, unless prime minister-designate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is a true reformer, there will be little hope for Malaysians to see changes to the country for the next 40 years. The country may take a steeper drop if it is not managed properly.
Unless the rakyat are willing to stand in solidarity behind the opposition to place it in power in Putrajaya, regardless of its weaknesses, we will continue to be under the political bondage of a one-party system.
What remains of our democracy may be further eroded away. We may become another bankrupt nation, joining the league of bankrupted nations.
Pakatan has to step up its campaign now
Pakatan Harapan is currently still in its first gear, but will it move into the higher gears now, knowing that GE14 is lurking around the corner?
A number of its leaders who were in the forefront are not speaking as much as in the past. Around this time just before the last general election, DAP’s Dr Ong Kian Ming was exposing the weaknesses of our electoral system.
People like Tian Chua and even Nurul Izzah Anwar have been keeping quiet for some time. Even Mohamad Sabu is not appearing as often as he should in public lectures. Teresa Kok is also quite quiet these days.
We have only heard from Rafizi Ramli and Tony Pua on the 1MDB expose, and occasionally, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh would appear to speak out against bauxite mining or Lynas.
Bersih is also not harping on the election issues as much as they did in the past general election. TindakMalaysia is keeping silent about the issues, waiting for a financial collapse to wake the people up.
Hindraf is as good as gone. There are no representatives speaking on the behalf of the deprived Indian community now.
My question is - are they losing steam, or is this all part of a bigger strategy?
Like imprisoned de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said, “It is now or never.” This is the time for all the forces to re-align and put up a good fight.
Frankly, we Malaysians had too high expectations of Pakatan Rakyat, and when some things went wrong, we are the first to throw in the towel. We say that we are disappointed with the opposition, but the truth is we are too fickle-minded ourselves, and we should blame ourselves for the country’s woes. We are not desperate enough to see change in the country. We prefer to live in a cocoon so long as we feel safe and comfortable in it.
In fact, we should be smacked for what is happening today. We try to be politically correct by saying that we are “apolitical”, but tell me, how many of us really want to see change in the country?
We say that whether Pakatan Rakyat or Pakatan Harapan, there is no difference with BN. After 50 years in power, we can expect Pakatan Harapan to turn into another BN. While that is true, we are allowing BN another 40 years in power by our attitude, are we not? We can then celebrate the world’s longest one-party democracy.
It is, if I may put it this way, for the sake of having a two-party or two-coalition democratic system, we have to break the jinx for BN to stay in power for another 40 years. We are responsible for our past, and we are now responsible for our future.
I repeat, we are responsible for our past, and we are now responsible for our future.
Put simply, currently we have the best of combinations if the forces stay united - both Pakatan Harapan and the Umno rebels, and the civil society that seeks to see changes in our political landscape.
Why do we look at each other with suspicion instead of going for the common goal?
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. -Mkini
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