Where is Pakatan’s direction?
The results of the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections clearly indicated the people’s choice and dissatisfaction.
In disarray, Pakatan Harapan has taken the people’s views for granted. Have Pakatan leaders learned from the outcome? Yes, blame BN over some cash inflows and vote buying, but what about themselves?
As the two by-elections had given confidence to the once-bitten Umno-led BN coalition, the prospects of a snap general election being called either at the end of this year or in early of 2017 seems to be coming into reality as BN leaders have been doing the ground work and dispatching their goodies since.
The major problem here is that the people are very disappointed with the way BN is running this nation because of its corrupt and swindling nature which cause billions of ringgit loss from our nation’s coffers almost every year.
Asides, afraid of its unpopularity and increasing criticism against its administration, BN is moving towards dictatorship to consolidate its power by strengthening of several security related laws, awarding more political security powers to the security forces, in order to purge voices of dissent, freedom of speech and to stem out the influence of opposition figures in order to rid-off support for opposition parties.
The people wanted a change for their nation and voted for the opposition parties to send their representatives into the parliament and state assemblies in the last two general elections in the hope they could place a foundation towards Putrajaya in future.
Unfortunately, Pakatan Harapan has not shown any progress in regards to its common policy, political framework and ideology.
Coalition or just working together?
Pakatan seems like a coalition only for elections, where its component parties, PKR, DAP and Amanah would gather during elections and they would later disperse after the occasion was over.
Is such an opposition coalition an effective machinery to garner support? The parties are still going by what they are used to be called - PKR, DAP and Amanah.
From Pakatan Rakyat to Pakatan Harapan. The initial Pakatan was dissolved following the departure of PAS due to its insistence of hudud implementation. The moderates in PAS who wanted to remain in the Pakatan coalition later quit and formed a splinter party, Amanah in order to continue their stance.
While leading the opposition coalition, PKR was also reluctant to completely dump PAS due to its partnership with the Islamist party in the Selangor state government. Both PKR and PAS have factions who are for and against the current loose formation in the state.
At the same time, a powerful faction within PAS had also handed an olive branch to its once arch rival Umno in order to seek its help to pave way for the hudud bill to be presented in the parliament.
All such moves had in fact thrown our people into deeper dilemma and more confusion over the actual directions of these political parties and what are their leaders’ actual stand on many issues.
PKR-DAP-Amanah or PKR-PAS or PAS-Umno? Our people now seems to be overly confused over the intention of these kind of political cooperations and the parties that they had voted for in 2008 and 2013 respectively.
Umno unleashing its kill
In this situation, Umno had seized every opportunity to put the opposition coalition and its component parties into disarray by first hitting PAS’ head against the wall over its hudud ambition. Umno is indeed successful.
Umno then dispatched PAS to disrupt the current framework in Pakatan by confusing some PKR leaders into supporting their cause, instigating the latter to pull out from the newly-born opposition coalition, force-dissolution of the Selangor state assembly to pave way for a state election.
The attempt was never successful but it had then done a lot of damage in Pakatan and the Selangor state government. As a reward for the “successful sabotage”, the Selangor Umno liaison chief was given a ministerial position in the recently cabinet reshuffle.
No wanting to give up, Umno then initiated yet another attempt to destabilise the Penang state government by implicating Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in corrupt practices over the purchase of a secondhand bungalow and for allegedly the land rezoning.
Citizens’ Declaration and Sarawak clash
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been critical of the Umno-led government under Najib Razak since RM2.6 billion was found in his personal account and the RM42 billion 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
In pursuing for his call for Najib’s resignation, Mahathir had initiated a nationwide Citizens’ Declaration in order to gather support for his cause. To achieve such, he even resigned from Umno and joined forces with many opposition parties and civil societies.
Surprisingly, Pakatan leaders were quick to embrace Mahathir’s pursuit as one of theirs, thus accidentally putting the former prime minister into the position of a “de facto opposition leader” or should we call “effective opposition leader” of our nation.
It seems like the Pakatan leaders had forgotten their de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and the parliamentary Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
This situation had irked many opposition supporters because it has been too awkward and confused. Has Pakatan run out of effective leaders of their own until they have to depend on Mahathir?
The recently Sarawak state election saw PKR-DAP clash over several seats had also disappointed voters and opposition supporters who had hoped that the opposition parties could make some changes in the state. It is a clear picture that the state Pakatan was in disarray as it could not agree over some seat allocations.
The people were asking if similar clashes would repeat come next general election? The people are matured to realise that disorganised opposition parties would never take on Umno and BN effectively.
In the end of the day, BN will still be the government of the day.
Pakatan is unable to stand together as one, with one common goal to change our nation for a better, be accommodating to embrace other opposition parties outside their coalition into their fold.
We are all asking ourselves again, to vote or not to vote? Are we able to change our nation for the better come the 14th General Election?
