Taxpayers, commoners would have to bear heavy price for PH’s victory in KKB by-election

 

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is obviously glad that the Madani government won the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election over the weekend (May 11) without him having to turn up to campaign for the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

This is understandable because there were speculations that the PH/DAP coalition had the chance to lose the election. Anyway, the result in the favour of the government is nothing extraordinary.

Low voter turnout among the races ensured that both the PH and the opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) retained their share of the votes.

Anwar must thank the Chinese voters because the lack of serious political alternative prevented them from experimenting with the other political parties or coalitions.

It is unfortunate that the Chinese voters are still caught in the entrapment of the DAP representation. Yes, DAP wants to be more Chinese than the MCA or Gerakan without offering the Chinese a future in the country.

The DAP by falsely labelling itself as a multi-racial political party has disowned other ethnic groups in the country such as the Indians and Malays.

Sweeteners

Some pockets of the Malay society might have been enthralled by the “bribes” offered by Anwar in the form of salary increase for the civil servants but the vast majority of Malays stuck to the identity politics represented by PN.

Low voter turnout and absence of outstation Malay voters might have decreased the voter majority of PN. At the end of the day, PN remains the best option for the Malays ss opposed to UMNO or even PKR.

By-elections in the country during both the Barisan Nasional (BN) days and under the present unity government provides the best opportunity to “buy-elections”.

This is exactly what happened in the KKB polls. The announcement of RM5.21 mil for development projects in the Hulu Selangor area and the announcement of 13% salary hike for civil servants which amounted to a whopping RM10 bil were nothing but “bribes” to the voters to shift their loyalty to the PH coalition.

How does one explain allegations of the shift in the support of uniformed personnel of the military and police towards the PH coalition?

The rise in the salary was the main reason. However, the Malays by and large were not swayed by material benefits as they stuck to identity politics as represented by PN.

Anwar who talked endlessly about reforms should be ashamed of himself for “bribing” the voters in favour of the unity government.

Even the announcement of a RM75 mil estate housing project in the Bistari Jaya vicinity to entice the Indian working class was not successful.

Paying dearly for victory

In the KKB polls, Indian support from a voters’ turnout of less than 50% was split between PH and PN. As a protest that began in the 2023 six state elections, Indians were daring enough to cast their votes in favour of the PN.

The Anwar government might be mistaken that throwing bread crumbs at Indians might eventually win their votes. Like the Malays, economic and social deprivation has manifested in identity politics among the Indians.

Years of discrimination and neglect as well as insults hurled at the Indian community have wounded Indians in the country.

Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy

This includes calling them as “Keling”, warning them not to raise sensitive questions about the admissions into the matriculation programme, the religious conversion of an Indian youth presided by Anwar, the non-appointment of an Indian Tamil minister and even reminding the Indians not to be jealous of the Malays.

These are the reasons why an Indians shied away from the PH coalition. What is there for Anwar to be proud of this pyrrhic victory in the KKB by-election? Essentially, the government “bought” the victory through the allocation of public funds.

I would not be surprised that there will be political parties wanting to take the government to the Electoral Court for contravening election laws. We well have to wait and see.

The KKB by-election is not about winning but rather what awaits the unity government in the future. Malays and Indians are dissatisfied on the question of identity politics. The question is: how long the Chinese community is going to put up with DAP’s political stunts.

As someone remarked recently, while the Indians are quick to desert the PH coalition, it will take a while for the Chinese. There is dire need to expose DAP’s shameful and disgraceful representation.

The KKB victory is something temporary for the Madani government. When the dust settles down, the realities of the country will become obvious.

 

Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the Urimai (United Rights of Malaysian Party) Interim Council.

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

- Focus Malaysia