S Thayaparan
"Tactically we must join with anyone that can give Harapan victory. It is a tactic we must consider by any means to win the most seats."
"Tactically we must join with anyone that can give Harapan victory. It is a tactic we must consider by any means to win the most seats."
– Tian Chua
COMMENT | The big tent strategy would only be pragmatic if we were dealing with honest political operatives.
I do not mean honest in a moral sense but rather honest in their agendas of stopping Umno from regaining power and a belief that the current system in place needs reform for whatever reasons.
So far, only Pakatan Harapan – albeit weakly – supports this agenda.
All the rest of these political parties are the results of the fracturing of the Malay political establishment because of the results of the last general election when Harapan and Dr Mahathir Mohamad broke Humpty Dumpty.
The problem was that Mahathir and his acolytes wanted to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, and Anwar Ibrahim and Harapan were gaslighting the base that everything was fine and dandy.
What is the big tent anyway? Why is PKR being pressured into going the big tent route?
Well, it is because PKR is seen as a stand-in for the race-based parties of the establishment and the big tent is by definition, a collection of Malay uber alles types who want to supplant Umno.
Anwar with his “do not spook the Malays” narrative and his machinations with various Umno potentes give oxygen to this belief.
The key to this can be found in the words of various political analysts, but the words of Academy Science of Malaysia fellow Shamsul Amri Baharuddin will suffice for now.
He said: "Rafizi (Ramli is Anwar's protege [...] raised in the world of politics under his umbrella and patronage. The politics of Malay patronage is still very strong, that is, obedience to its patrons and protectors.”
I do not mean honest in a moral sense but rather honest in their agendas of stopping Umno from regaining power and a belief that the current system in place needs reform for whatever reasons.
So far, only Pakatan Harapan – albeit weakly – supports this agenda.
All the rest of these political parties are the results of the fracturing of the Malay political establishment because of the results of the last general election when Harapan and Dr Mahathir Mohamad broke Humpty Dumpty.
The problem was that Mahathir and his acolytes wanted to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, and Anwar Ibrahim and Harapan were gaslighting the base that everything was fine and dandy.
What is the big tent anyway? Why is PKR being pressured into going the big tent route?
Well, it is because PKR is seen as a stand-in for the race-based parties of the establishment and the big tent is by definition, a collection of Malay uber alles types who want to supplant Umno.
Anwar with his “do not spook the Malays” narrative and his machinations with various Umno potentes give oxygen to this belief.
The key to this can be found in the words of various political analysts, but the words of Academy Science of Malaysia fellow Shamsul Amri Baharuddin will suffice for now.
He said: "Rafizi (Ramli is Anwar's protege [...] raised in the world of politics under his umbrella and patronage. The politics of Malay patronage is still very strong, that is, obedience to its patrons and protectors.”
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
The big tent is really about Malay patronage and the ketuanan system. And the ketuanan system is a fickle mistress.
PAS, for instance, is part of the PN government but in Kelantan, it is facing the big tent of Umno led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Amanah and whatever other minions they can scramble together.
Give credit to PAS, they do not seem perturbed.
It is as if PAS understands that treachery and betrayal of supposed comrades are all part of the racial and religious game that Umno/BN wants to continue to play.
Every time Umno has managed to destabilise a Harapan state government, cries of “demi bangsa” and “agama” have wafted through the corridors of power. The cash helped as well I suppose.
What the big tent really is?
The big tent is really about Malay patronage and the ketuanan system. And the ketuanan system is a fickle mistress.
PAS, for instance, is part of the PN government but in Kelantan, it is facing the big tent of Umno led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Amanah and whatever other minions they can scramble together.
Give credit to PAS, they do not seem perturbed.
It is as if PAS understands that treachery and betrayal of supposed comrades are all part of the racial and religious game that Umno/BN wants to continue to play.
Every time Umno has managed to destabilise a Harapan state government, cries of “demi bangsa” and “agama” have wafted through the corridors of power. The cash helped as well I suppose.
What the big tent really is?
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kt comments: Atuk knows all about 'Big Tent' and more importantly, how to 'exploit' it - read on:
"Dr Mahathir is still the kind of dictator whose thinking is 'Those who support me will prosper, but those who go against me will die'.
"That is why Dr Mahathir keeps praising Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng for becoming ‘no longer extreme', because during the Pakatan Harapan administration, the Lims were obedient and submissive to him," he said.
........ Dr Mahathir had said that if Umno could work with MCA, which was "once extreme", it could also consider working with DAP.
Dr Mahathir’s claim of MCA being "extreme" is thought to stem from the party's efforts to seek citizenship rights from the British colonial government prior to Independence.
"That is why Dr Mahathir keeps praising Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng for becoming ‘no longer extreme', because during the Pakatan Harapan administration, the Lims were obedient and submissive to him," he said.
........ Dr Mahathir had said that if Umno could work with MCA, which was "once extreme", it could also consider working with DAP.
Dr Mahathir’s claim of MCA being "extreme" is thought to stem from the party's efforts to seek citizenship rights from the British colonial government prior to Independence.
 |
Mind you, this was during the reign of the so-called multi-racial PH government Dr Mahathir Mohamad's remarks on how the Malays were forced to accept orang asing (foreigners) during British rule in exchange for independence is downright insulting and unbecoming of a prime minister who represents all Malaysians, said DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh. Ramkarpal was referring to the prime minister's speech at the Malay Dignity Congress, where Mahathir said: “... Orang asing berasa selesa dengan negara kita dan mereka ingin tinggal di sini. Nak tak nak pun, kita terpaksa terima, kalau tidak kita tidak akan mencapai kemerdekaan.” (Translation of above: The foreigners felt comfortable in this country and wanted to stay. Like it or not, we were forced to accept or we would not have achieved independence) Mahathir's "orang asing" or "foreigners" refer to non-Malay Malaysian citizens (to wit, Chinese and Indian Malaysians) |
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Forget about the trust issues when it comes to the big tent.
What the big tent really is, is a plea for the racists, bigots and religious extremists to join hands with Harapan in the hopes of scuttling the ambitions of the court cluster.
Harapan did not need Mahathir to break Umno’s two-thirds majority and to capture economically viable states. They are sure as hell that they do not need the ketuanan establishment to hang on to power in those states.
Meanwhile, the states Umno/BN or PAS manage are mired in the kind of corruption that makes the lesser of two evils argument more viable.
What the big tent really is, is a plea for the racists, bigots and religious extremists to join hands with Harapan in the hopes of scuttling the ambitions of the court cluster.
Harapan did not need Mahathir to break Umno’s two-thirds majority and to capture economically viable states. They are sure as hell that they do not need the ketuanan establishment to hang on to power in those states.
Meanwhile, the states Umno/BN or PAS manage are mired in the kind of corruption that makes the lesser of two evils argument more viable.
Umno supreme council member Azalina Othman Said
Look, everyone knows the political terrain has changed. Umno supreme council member Azalina Othman Said certainly does.
This is why she says this: "We need to keep an open mind about either a pre-election or post-election coalition agreement, regardless of (if we are dealing) with 'enemies' or 'unfriendly' parties if we want (to have) 148 seats.”
Azalina is referring to the magical two-thirds majority which would allow the government to run riot but this is a good point.
It is not that Harapan should not work with other political parties – even PAS – but rather it should do so from a position of strength.
This is what Umno has been doing since slowly clawing its way back to the top.
When we have these Malay uber alles types clamouring for a place in the big tent, you can bet your last ringgit, that they will all be taking shots at the DAP.
And it is not as if the DAP didn’t bend over for these Malay uber alles types. The DAP did but it wasn’t enough. It never is enough.
Can you imagine what a big tent campaign trail would be?
You would have the bangsa and agama crowd attempting to demonise the Chinese polity because that is all they can do, while the progressive attempting to downplay such criticisms.
Meanwhile, the DAP would be fending off attacks from the outside and the inside.
Nobody, certainly not me, is arguing that Harapan should not work with other political parties to form a federal or state government.
All this should be done after an election, which honestly is part of the democratic process.
The big tent does not sound like pragmatism to me.
It sounds like a suicide pact.
Look, everyone knows the political terrain has changed. Umno supreme council member Azalina Othman Said certainly does.
This is why she says this: "We need to keep an open mind about either a pre-election or post-election coalition agreement, regardless of (if we are dealing) with 'enemies' or 'unfriendly' parties if we want (to have) 148 seats.”
Azalina is referring to the magical two-thirds majority which would allow the government to run riot but this is a good point.
It is not that Harapan should not work with other political parties – even PAS – but rather it should do so from a position of strength.
This is what Umno has been doing since slowly clawing its way back to the top.
When we have these Malay uber alles types clamouring for a place in the big tent, you can bet your last ringgit, that they will all be taking shots at the DAP.
And it is not as if the DAP didn’t bend over for these Malay uber alles types. The DAP did but it wasn’t enough. It never is enough.
Can you imagine what a big tent campaign trail would be?
You would have the bangsa and agama crowd attempting to demonise the Chinese polity because that is all they can do, while the progressive attempting to downplay such criticisms.
Meanwhile, the DAP would be fending off attacks from the outside and the inside.
Nobody, certainly not me, is arguing that Harapan should not work with other political parties to form a federal or state government.
All this should be done after an election, which honestly is part of the democratic process.
The big tent does not sound like pragmatism to me.
It sounds like a suicide pact.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
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