Pakatan's internal problems

Malaysiakini - Opposition’s challenges in overthrowing the kleptocratic regime

by Commander (retd) S Thayaparan (brief extracts)

I read this comment piece about game changers in 2017 and it was just overly optimistic. There is really no evidence that the opposition can overthrow this kleptocratic regime or if the variables mentioned in the articles would fall into place, thereby facilitating a Harapan victory.

This is not meant as an attack but rather a rejoinder that we are sailing through very dangerous waters and if we do not get our act together and move beyond simply cheerleading a disorganised opposition, we could end up in a whole world of hurt.

A couple of points that I think needs clearing up and the article merely glosses over.

(for discussions on this post I've picked only one of his points - you can read the others at Malaysiakini):

6) Race and religion. While my views on these issues are spread across various articles, I think there are deeper issues here than just Umno spreading racial and religious discord. 

I think that Umno is the main purveyor or racial and religious disharmony but I do think that what the opposition keeps running into a deep-rooted cultural and historical issues from within Pakatan that they have not dealt with hence are not able to come up with a convincing strategy to win over the majority Malay demographic.

It had been and still is very difficult dealing with Malaysia's complex racial, religious and cultural issues when a Pakatan Rakyat (then PAS, PKR and DAP) was fairly balanced in strength, unlike BN which has an overlord and master in UMNO who bullied and still bullies other BN component parties into toeing the UMNO line and to keep their mouths shut tight, wakakaka, which has been why BN still doesn't have the problems Pakatan has.

That's why there is an old Chinese saying that 'Two tigers cannot be on one mountain', or in simpler parlance, 'There can be only one Captain to a ship' which exists in BN and previously in PR when Anwar Ibrahim was around.

Much as I don't like Anwar Ibrahim, I have to admit he had the skill to lead PR in a certain way less dictatorial that in BN. But with his exit from current politics, there is no one else currently able to impress upon the component parties to stick together.

There is also no denying UMNO has been sabotaging the PR's previous cohesion by wooing either component party A or component party B, or even both, wakakaka.

But the author, my Aneh's point, is correct. Unless Pakatan Harapan can succeed in dealing with deep-rooted cultural and historical issues within Pakatan itself and come up with a convincing strategy to win over the majority Malay demographic they won't be able to win GE-14.

For example, a misogynistic party like PAS would find it extremely difficult to accepted Wan Azizah as the MB of Selangor, let alone PM of Malaysia. That's cultural and to some extent, religious.

Secondly, on historical aspects, I suspect overly ambitious blokes might also not taken kindly to Wan Azizah as Pakatan's leader, because of her hubby's previous sour relationship with other Pakatan and Pribumi leaders whether it's Pak Haji's long time suspected jealousy-resentment of him or Maddy's very acrimonious relation with his erstwhile deputy (plus Maddy's current personal agenda).

Now that PAS has abandoned Pakatan, and we don't know whether PKR will do likewise with Azmin rumoured to be in a Malay Unity pact with Uncle's party Pribumi, PAS and Ikatan, Pakatan has effectively lost the support of the Heartland.

Let me correct the above paragraph slightly - even with PKR in Pakatan (or what's left of it) the Heartland votes will still be out of reach.

For more than 16 years, PKR (and its predecessor KeADILan) has never succeeded in winning over the Malays in the Heartland, depending mainly on urban Malays and Chinese/Indian votes. I am not sure what the hell it was doing but what is clear is that UMNO has continued somehow to have a firm grip on the Heartland's support, despite its blatant corruption and incompetency.

Maybe PKR as 'a son of UMNO' has been equally incompetent?

And neither has PAS won over the Heartland, which is why it's only a provincial party confined mainly to Kelantan and perhaps Terengganu. Oh, it will now have to forget about Chinese support which was overwhelming in 2013, wakakaka.

As for the DAP, its reputation as an anti-Malay party has been nurtured by UMNO since 1969, more so now when UMNO worries that younger Malays have joined the Rocket Party.

It warmed the cockles of the Heartland when Maddy chastized Najib for doing far too much for anti-UMNO Chinese and instead to concentrate on Malays. In Malaysian racist politics, Chinese = DAP (and vice versa) so that has screwed up DAP kau kau.

But that's Maddy, being anti-Chinese when it suited him and pro-Chinese when he needed/needs their support.

But Malaysia and Malaysians have been bred to be racist in a highly racist environment, so Pakatan will continue to have difficulty dealing with deep-rooted cultural and historical issues within itself.