What’s your alternative to Mahathir?

By Mariam Mokhtar

There are times in life when you have to make tough decisions. Not every decision can be perfect, and you would be naive to think that each comes with a cast-iron guarantee. The most important thing is that you tried your best.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has teamed up with the opposition coalition to try and regain control of Malaysia. His party, PPBM, has managed to unite the leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS-breakaway party Amanah.

While news of Mahathir’s resurgence has upset many Umno-Baru supporters and definitely Prime Minister Najib Razak, many other Malaysians are also displeased with the “new” Mahathir-Pakatan Harapan (PH) line-up. They have threatened not to vote in GE14 because they claim that voting for Mahathir would be a jump from the frying pan into the fire.

Their anger is manifold. They say Mahathir’s policies sowed the seeds of disunity. They claim that PH can win on its own, without Mahathir. They dismiss the projection of Malay loyalty to Mahathir and claim that this may be overstated. They are also angry with the infighting among opposition parties, which seem to be busy trading blows with one another instead of bringing down Umno-Baru.

Are the Malaysians who will not vote in GE14 justified in staying at home, or are they being selfish and irresponsible?

Are they content to do nothing? Are they happy to live with high prices, corruption, incompetent civil servants and rising racial and religious intolerance for another five years?

One human rights activist and political observer disagrees with people who threaten to refrain from voting in GE14 just because they are displeased with Mahathir. He said, “Idealism is a luxury we cannot afford when the house is on fire.”

Like it or not, we are all Mahathir’s children, metaphorically. He was Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, and ruled with an iron fist for 22 years. He opted to resign in 2003 rather than overstay his welcome. His policies have affected all of us, in one way or another.

As a result of his ketuanan policies, the potential of the non-Malays was not fully realised. The Malays were rewarded, irrespective of their worth. When Mahathir left office, he also left a divided nation. He may have resigned, but it was alleged that he kept a close eye on various issues from a distance.

So, what do Mahathir’s detractors want? There is little point in moaning and not offering a solution. Spoiling their vote is akin to giving Umno-Baru/Barisan Nasional (BN) the vote. Abstaining from voting is, again, like giving Umno-Baru/BN another five years of power.

Malaysia is at a crossroads. The opportunity to overthrow 60 years of misrule will never present itself again, because if change does not happen after GE14, chances are that our descent will accelerate.

Mahathir has added to our momentum for change. We should capitalise on that. Many of us abhor his policies, but GE14 is not about us. It is about getting Malaysia back on its feet.

Perhaps the people who reject Mahathir can share their alternative plan for defeating Umno-Baru. What is their Plan B?

Malaysians needs to be reminded that if they vote for change in GE14, they can easily vote for another party in GE15 if PH under-performs.

Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.