Unity govt’s shortcomings also contributed to polls’ failure

 

From Loh Wee Thim

I refer to the letter to the editor, After Umno’s capitulation, here’s what Anwar must do, published earlier.

The writer focused on what Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should be doing to steer the country, especially economically, following the recent conclusion of the state elections in six states.

The writer also cautioned the unity government against stirring up 3R (race, religion, royalty) sentiments for political ends that was once the domain of Umno, given the party’s “capitulation” in the recent polls.

But it would be unwise to lay the blame on PH-BN’s failure to draw Malay support squarely on Umno.

In fact, based on the results of Saturday’s elections, not only did the Anwar-led coalition fail to capture the imagination of the Malay electorate, there’s widespread, if latent, discontent among Malaysians at large. The poor voter turnout rate corroborates this sense of disillusionment and disappointment, including among the Chinese.

In other words, beyond reflecting on a future with a “capitulated” Umno, the unity government needs to also be honest about its own shortcomings, including within PH.

Start with the voter disillusionment as engendered by the low turnout in the polls. The current government can’t keep winning elections by playing the role of the “lesser of the two evils”.

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It needs to pick up the pace on the reforms it has promised. But for now, all voters see is more of the same. Whatever happened to the “no political appointment in GLCs and statutory bodies”? What is the roadmap to move away from race-based policies? Where is the blueprint to overhaul the education system?

Also, how does the government justify the use of draconian laws such as the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act to silence dissent? How can the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission be turned into a political pawn to quell critics, including little-known political activists such as Salim Iskandar? How can a minister threaten to send a police patrol car to the homes of TikTok trolls?

For non-Muslims, the one advantage that the unity government had over the PAS-dominated PN is that the former is more moderate. But events in the past few months have started to chip away Anwar’s moderate image, which culminated in the government’s recent decision to ban Swatch time pieces that carry the LGBTQ theme as it is “prejudicial to morality”.

This is the kind of senseless rhetoric one can expect to hear from turban-clad PAS leaders, not leaders from a so-called more moderate political bloc. And Anwar empowering Jakim? Had the BN government done this in the past, DAP leaders would have taken to the streets and asked for the prime minister’s political head.

But DAP is now reduced to being MCA 2.0 as the party becomes more pliant to the whims and fancies of the subtle and overt Islamisation that is being rolled out by the Madani administration. Anwar and DAP are confident that the non-Malays will continue to support the unity government as they continue to paint PAS and PN leaders as Taliban wannabes.

But this is not sustainable in the long run. We need systemic changes in the country and Anwar must show the courage to institute reforms that will benefit the country.

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We do not need hypocrites performing tricks using smoke and mirrors. We need real democrats and reformists if the Anwar administration wants to have a second term. Otherwise, it will not just be Umno which is “capitulated”, the entire unity government will be too. - FMT

Loh Wee Thim is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.