The defence of basic principles

What is Bersatu? Nothing, if not for Pakatan Harapan. Nothing, too, if not for pregnant concepts like Malay, Islam and the sanctity of the royalty and the Constitution.

Bersatu, for want of a better description, is doing all the heavy lifting to keep Malaysia intact.

Since Malay and Islam are equally important, Bersatu has to defend them, when PAS and Umno have abandoned them wholesale; not least due to their addiction to monumental corruption.

Now, what is Bersatu beyond the above templates and principles? Once again, nothing, if the party is built not to replace Umno and PAS wholesale = both of which have become near incestuous, short of a "kahwin lari" (elopement) to Haadyai prior to and after the 14th General Election on May 9 2019.

Now, what is Bersatu if it does not embrace the original spirit of Bersih, Reformasi, the Citizens' Declaration, and even the movement to catch Jho Low. Again, nothing, if Bersatu does not encapsulate the principles of reforms, justice, inclusiveness, progressive policies and moderation.

Bersatu, in other words, means the unity of all that is good for Malaysia, with or without any reference to any specific figure.

If anything, Bersatu is a party that is premised on the spirit of Merdeka, the construct and context of the Constitution, Wawasan 2020 and potentially Wawasan 2025, now that the large national debt has crippled Malaysia.

It is due to the amalgamation of all that is "virtuous" and "true" that Bersatu could form a tight coalition with everyone opposed to Umno and PAS. Therefore, Bersatu formed Pakatan Harapan with Amanah, PKR and DAP. Why? Simple. The best strategy is honesty.

Consequently, although prime minister Mahathir Mohamed is seen as the one against the toxic combo of Umno and PAS, one of the original architects of Pakatan Harapan in Malaysia - subsequently in London after many rounds of talks, some of which resulted in a manifesto - was Nurul Izzah (below).

Thus, when she announced that she will end her last parliamentary term in Permatang Pauh, those who had fought side by side with her are obliged to explain the context of her inclination, even though this is her personal and professional decision based on her own politics of conviction.

It was in this spirit of camaraderie, and collegiality that Nurul Izzah was explained, not attacked.

Key to this compassionate approach is the simple fact that Pakatan Harapan is losing a strategic talent.

It was Dr Mahathir himself who affirmed: "I regret her decision to resign from the Public Accounts Committee" in parliament. Dr Mahathir would not have expressed his lament if he did not believe in his acute assessment of Nurul Izzah.

Thus when someone leaves Pakatan Harapan, it drives a stake not only through the likes of Dr Mahathir’s attempt to reform the country, but the entire civil society is affected too; not to mention Anwar Ibrahim himself who has seen her daughter blossomed into an icon of democracy.

Thus any attempt to shield Nurul Izzah from attacks from within Bersatu or her party PKR, is but a call for unity. "Bersatu kita kukuh, bercerai kita roboh." Those who unite shall stand firm and those who divide shall fall.

Nurul, like any politician, ise not indispensable. What makes a country powerful are the institutions at work.

But if the likes of Nurul Izzah can feel the acute burn of slow reforms, then obviously some ministries are not performing; as Dr Mahathir himself has admitted.

In Pakistan, he argued that the Muslim world was too reliant on the West, not unlike many Muslim countries. In Malaysia, Mara has a five decades long relationship with entities like Oisca in Japan, but the one organization that has fired power up to Look East appears to be the Alumni of Look East Policy (ALEP).

What happened to the Malaysia- Japan Look East Council? Why don't ministries have a specific Look East unit?

When Nurul was in charge of the Technical, Vocational and Educational Institutions (TVETS), a role assigned to her by the Minister of Education, this was the closest equivalent to taking Malaysia to Industrial Revolution 4.0 which runs on information technology and services.

Not many gave her the necessary support, and TVETs remain as divided and dispirited as before. Thousands of TVETs are now languishing.

In speaking up, one is lamenting the brain drain of the country, especially at the upper reaches of politics.

Anything more is just an attempt to create the calumny that Bersatu has a strategist who defends others, but not Dr Mahathir. 

In all fairness, Dr Mahathir does not need any defending, not unless the negative criticisms are under the belt.

True to form, Umno and PAS have tried to raise the spectre of a split in Bersatu. Since this was not true, as Pakatan Harapan is as resilient as before, it goes without saying that Dr Mahathir has to be defended too.

In the same breadth, why can't one explain Nurul Izzah, when Bersatu feels that such a loss will lead to further depletion of political talent.

Regardless of who is in or out of the cabinet or government, the current bench has drawn a drawl from Dr Mahathir, with no specific animus against anyone.

This much is clear. Harapan has to buck up soon, without which it can buckle under its own pressure of failing to live up to some of its key manifesto.

This is the importance - to keep the bench deep and the talents sharp to respond nimbly to what Malaysia Baru wants. Definitely not "Malu Apa Bossku" with PAS now trying to wriggle out from Umno, knowing it is tarred and entangled by corruption.

Anyone who has done a sweep of all the articles I have written will have seen not just scathing attacks against PAS and Umno, but occasionally on the internal disagreements of Pakatan Harapan too.

When Dr Mahathir was right on the money, articles have highlighted his strengths. Indeed, Mat Sabu isn't way off to affirm that under the new Malaysia, Dr Mahathir has been too "democratic" sometimes.

Instead of pushing through his own appointment as the minister of education, Dr Mahathir walked away from it to conform to the manifesto. He is seeking a two-third majority to reduce the terms in ofice of future prime ministers.

But PAS being PAS, whose specialty is the tarring of another person, of another faith, indeed, of one's own religious brethren, anything inconsistent with their politics of machination is deemed a tactical space to exploit.

Hence an article by their hatchet man, one pseudo analyst Kamarul, that even the strategist of Bersatu is not supportive of Dr Mahathir, when in fact, the strategy of Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu have always been guided by principles.

In the many articles I hve written, I have clearly explained, refined, and supported the many ideas of Dr Mahathir on his rescue plan for Malaysia. So for this pseudo analyst Kamarul to write something to the contrary, in fact, blatant lies, shows his quality, to put it mildly.

Thus, it is both baleful and shameful that PAS’ Harakah has picked up my writing on Nurul Izzah to showcase the supposed disunity of Bersatu or Pakatan Harapan. 

There is none. 

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RAIS HUSSIN is a supreme council member of Bersatu. He also heads its policy and strategy bureau. - Mkini