Mahathir never formally apologised

This is unprecedented in Malaysia’s history of elections. BN, the longest ruling coalition in the system of democratically-elected governments, has fallen. The people have spoken, and our voices ring strong, resolute and clear. Enough is enough. For the first time since independence, we have a change of guard, even if the new guard looks a lot like an old one.

Watching the historic moment of Dr Mahathir Mohammad being sworn in as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia was an entirely surreal experience. Are we really putting all our faith into the very person who had a hand in eroding institutions and curtailing freedom during his time of governance?

Yes, we are, because we have chosen to believe that he is not that person anymore. We have chosen to believe that he will be a leopard that changes its spots.

I was sceptical when Mahathir decided to re-enter politics in a bid to rescue our nation from being driven to the ground by Najib and his cronies. I was among those who thought his resurgence stemmed from his immense desire to eliminate Najib because of certain personal reasons, and restoring the nation only came in at a rather distant second place.

However, as other Pakatan Harapan leaders, leaders who had been systematically undermined, demonised and persecuted during his time, came together to establish their faith in him as the man to lead the coalition, and to be prime minister-designate, the scepticism gradually decreased.

Of course, there are lots of other factors that resulted in Pakatan Harapan’s acceptance of Mahathir - the necessity of a political alliance to secure certain factions of voters was chiefly among them - but on one level, it signified that he does share the same vision, and the same goal, that is to lead Malaysia out of the suffocating darkness that Najib and the ruling coalition had dragged us into.

Mahathir never formally apologised, but he admitted that were mistakes made during his tenure of stewardship, and one of the reasons of him mounting his comeback is to rectify some of those mistakes. For a man of his pride, that probably would be the most that anyone could get out of him. And for what it’s worth, ‘sorry’ is, but a word, and words are only words. What inherently matters more will be the actions that follow.

He did not choose an easy route for his comeback. He opted for the seat of Langkawi, a seat that BN had won with an 11,861 majority in the last general elections. Even if he had the sentimentality card to play, it was undeniable that there were safer choices if he wanted to guarantee himself a seat.

At his age, Mahathir could have opted to turn a blind eye, and continue living comfortably in retirement. Instead, he catapulted himself back into the stressful realm of politics. He fought everything that Najib and his lieutenants threw at him, from the refusal to recognise the opposition coalition to the deregistration of his party.

He embarked on a gruelling campaign trail. Day after day, night after night, he went on one stage after another, in different states, in his bid to convince the people to give change a chance. It was a campaign that would be physically testing for anyone, what more for a nonagenarian with heart issues. Even his fiercest doubters and critics have to be awed by the sheer will and fortitude of this man to see the election through.

It isn’t as if being the prime minister is an easy, breezy job. The country’s current situation makes the premiership even more overtly taxing than it already is.

It has to be more than a personal vendetta or a quest for revenge. It has to be borne out of a regret seeing the nation he once helmed with so much pride deteriorating into a global laughingstock. It has to be because he has genuine love for his country and could not bear to sit aside while BN rots it to the ground.

I have always held the opinion if Mahathir was sincere about saving the country, he would truly advocate for institutional reform. The institutional and governance reforms outlined in Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto, to me, is an indication of Mahathir’s commitment and sincerity. Formerly enforcing an autocratic form of rule, he now agrees on limiting the terms of the heads of federal and state governments.

He was the man who invoked the 1988 constitutional crisis that brought the independence of the judiciary to an end, but he now supports the restoration of judicial independence.

He recognises the immediate need to re-establish the function of the Parliament as the true representation of the electorate. Among the list of reforms is the proposal to give opposition parliamentarians more power in House, when he had the past history of jailing and persecuting his political opponents.

Public institutions such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Election Commission, institutions that had been the bane of the people’s existence in their refusal to carry out their designated duties fairly, have been targeted for long-needed reform. Autonomy will be returned to these institutions, and they will no longer have to bend to the will of the executive.

And, perhaps when the 15th general election comes around, Malaysia will finally be able to hold a free and fair election.

The above are just some of the crucial institutional change that serves as the election promises of Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan, and it is on these promises that they have obtained the mandate to lead from the people. Democratic reform has been undertaken with the power of the people, and institutional reforms are now needed to begin the new era of transparent governance.

Realistically, Mahathir and the newly-minted government are not going to be able to achieve this with a snap of their fingers. Time will be given, but these reforms must be implemented, for they cannot merely remain as campaign slogans.

It is a long road to recovery, and the country needs an unwavering leader to lay the foundation of our reform. And I believe that Mahathir is that leader, for he has the experience and the willpower, as well the stubbornness, to see it through.

I am no longer the bright-eyed, naïve and worshipful teenager who thought of Mahathir as the epitome of perfection. But her optimism, and her hope that Mahathir will propel Malaysia to greater heights, has been reignited, and surely, I am not the only one who harbours these hopes. We have been wandering in the wilderness for far too long, shrouded in the clouds of nepotism, authoritarianism, corruption and kleptocracy, and we are now seeing the breaking of a new dawn.

With the efforts of all the other Pakatan Harapan leaders and the support of all Malaysians, I fervently hope that Mahathir will rebuild, reform and reconcile our nation, and reinstate the pride and dignity of our beloved country.

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The writer is a senior analyst at the Penang Institute. The views expressed are entirely her own. -Mkini