Harapan - the road ahead

The new cabinet has been formed and new Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin appears to be secure with the support he has from MPs. What should Pakatan Harapan be doing now?

I am sure much of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's energy is being spent trying to cobble together the numbers to mount a challenge when Parliament convenes. But that is a long way away. And the PM has the power and prestige of his office to dispense patronage to secure his position.

What should Harapan be doing for the long term? They are now the Opposition. Mahathir's unity government will remain an unrealised dream. He opened the doors of the stable and the horses have fled. It is now back to Harapan. But what remains of it?

Bersatu is in an uncertain state. Party elections may resolve the issue. Its members Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Mukhriz Mahathir may be expelled from the party. They may need a new home. Mahathir himself will probably need a new home. What is that to be? That is the question. 

Mahathir must also realise that he rode to victory on the bandwagon created by PKR, DAP, Bersih and other civil society organisations. By resigning as prime minister to form the unity government, he has neutered them. Like PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, he must now play the role of senior statesman and allow young leaders to emerge with energy, idealism and new ideas.

So, for now, it is Harapan minus Bersatu.

PKR will need to consolidate its membership. It will have to close ranks after the departure of former deputy president Azmin Ali and his allies. It is important to see what remains. Will we see the re-emergence of vice-presidents Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar? Both are much needed to revitalise PKR. 

Anwar should consider a different role for himself. Difficult as it may be, he should consider and allow the emergence of a younger set of leaders. Nurul Izzah and Rafizi, for instance. The fight for succession took us to this sad impasse. He, like Mahathir, must step up to the role of mentor and senior citizen.

Amanah will have to re-examine its role. How will they take on PAS? Do they have the machinery to reach the grassroots? Do they have the message to convince rural Malays that PAS is no longer the party of the past? It is no longer the party its former leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat would recognise. It no longer subscribes to the values that are important.

And then there's the DAP. What should the DAP be doing? If nothing else, the DAP should have learnt one lesson from the past two years. That it is easier being in the Opposition than being in government. But there were other lessons. Perhaps not so obvious then. The deep antipathy of a substantial number of Malays to them. That should have been expected to some extent, given the decades of demonisation of the DAP by the BN government and the vilification of the Chinese and Indians by the BTN (national service) type of conditioning.

There was also the fact that, since 1969, the races have moved along different pathways. The non-Malay numbers in the civil service dropped to less than 10 percent. 

And Chinese children moved away from government primary schools to Chinese vernacular schools. The 60-odd Chinese secondary schools are packed to overflowing. Those who go on to government secondary schools do not socialise as much with Malay or Indian kids. At universities and colleges, there are more Chinese students in private learning institutes. And finally, most Chinese adults work in the private sector. 

There is less interaction among the races than there was in the distant past. Alongside that is the changing face of Islam. Influences from abroad brought about not just a more conservative Islam but also an Islam that developed in countries and societies where there is no diversity. This Islam is less tolerant and accommodating of differences.

Then there is the widespread belief among many Malays - a belief fostered by some Malay politicians, including Mahathir - that Malay dominance in politics is essential to the survival of the Malays. This belief stemmed from Mahathir's own belief that the Malays could never compete with the Chinese. This is despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Even accepting that dominance is necessary, the fact that Malay leadership has always been a dominant factor in every government since independence is not appreciated. The fact that the Chinese or Indians are not responsible for whatever holds the Malays back is also not appreciated.

The DAP must address this issue. There must be a long-term plan to convince the Malays that a multiracial government committed to good governance will be good for the Malays. Better than the old-style government that has not been able to deal with poverty in the country - where there are many poor Malay households.

The DAP, as the party that represents most of the Chinese in the country, must have a vision that is accepted by the Chinese and works for the Malays. Clearly their Malaysian Malaysia vision has been rejected by the Malays. And since they also represent all other races, what is their plan for the others?

The organisational ability of the Chinese, their energy, resources and skills should be harnessed to support charities that are doing incredible service supporting the poor, the infirm, the handicapped and the old throughout the country. Embrace all the races here and demonstrate that good exists in different cultures.

All parties in Harapan will have to thrash out a vision for Malaysia that will work for all. A vision that will allow every community and every individual to achieve their God-given potential. They cannot each move in their separate ways. Conflicts and contradictions will destroy them as we have just seen.

It is time to move away from the politics of deceit, duplicity, distraction and manipulation. There must be a place for honest politicians who are truly passionate about helping the poor and doing public service. It is time to move away from the belief that politics is the way to make big money. The alliance between big business and politicians should be broken.

In the long-term, race-based parties and politics should end. For now, the question that should be asked is - is it possible to break the hegemony of Umno without a Malay-based party? Mahathir clearly believed so. In the immediate aftermath of GE14, it was Umno member Khairy Jamaluddin who said that Umno should consider becoming a multiracial party. That was then, and it did not happen. There was also the hope that Umno would reform itself. That also did not happen. The leadership remains the same.

So, with a government that is not Harapan in place, where does Harapan go from here?

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DAVID DASS is a lawyer, Malaysiakini subscriber and commentator. - Mkini