Zahid the lesser of two evils?

Zahid the lesser of two evils?

Andrew Sia


COMMENT | Yes, it looks terrible that Umno president and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been let off his corruption charges.

It smells, indeed it stinks of backroom political deals.

Some are proclaiming the end of the Madani ideals. Others call to boycott Pakatan Harapan in the next elections.

People are angry. And they have every right to be.

But honestly, were we so naive to believe that this would not eventually happen when Zahid agreed to throw the 30 BN MPs he controls to support Harapan? To form the unity government?

Is it right? No. But it was probably the price, the pound of flesh, demanded in exchange for that support.

Of course, if Harapan had won 112 seats out of the 222 in Dewan Rakyat by itself in the 2022 general election, they would have been less constrained in going after the corrupt.

But that was not what the voters decided. Instead, Harapan only won 82 seats. And so there was no choice but to negotiate and compromise.


Deals with the dark side

Some more morally pure folks condemn this as “appeasement” and being an “apologist”.

But British prime minister Winston Churchill justified making an alliance with the brutal communist dictator Josef Stalin during World War 2 by saying, “If Hitler invaded hell (the Soviet Union), I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.”

Sadly, in the real world, sometimes deals with the darker side may be needed, however unpleasant they are. For the “greater good”, which in Churchill’s case was the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Zahid and Umno may be a lightning rod for Harapan supporters’ anger. But why do they accept Sarawak’s GPS and Sabah’s GRS support of the UG?

Are those traditional politicians of East Malaysia squeaky clean? Just read Sarawak Report for the answer.

But if corruption cases are launched against Sabah and Sarawak MPs, the coalition government will probably quickly collapse. And incompetent leaders like Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS extremists will take over.

Is that side cleaner? When the national debt skyrocketed from RM1 trillion to RM1.5 trillion during their tenure, how many dubious contracts were given out?

The alliance between former sworn enemies (lawan tetap lawan) Harapan and Umno was bound to lead to a watering down of political ideals.


Our govt reflects us

We urban middle-class voters may scream and shout but the reality is that voting power lies with the rural majority, especially since seats have been drawn in such a way to benefit the latter.

As Amanah leader Khalid Samad said at a Pulai by-election ceramah, the politics of racial fear and hatred has seeped deep into kampungs and even the civil service.

This is the weakness of our democracy, which is mostly a game of emotions, where voters are swayed by the flames of fear in TikTok videos, rather than rational arguments about economic progress.

I doubt many rural voters care about more abstract issues such as abolishing the Sedition Act and political funding reform.

But before judging them, heck, how many so-called “educated” urban voters actually read through the election manifestos anyway? Or did we vote based on our own racial and religious suspicions, that is: fear of the “Green Wave”?

So, we are left with bad options either way, classic rock and a hard place.

Maybe letting Zahid go is the “less evil” option? So that some good ministers like Rafizi Ramli and Anthony Loke can keep working to fix this country? As it is, foreign investment seems to be surging ahead after just nine months under the current government.

The rot has run deep in Malaysia for so long that maybe the only way Anwar can clean up everything is if he has total power, like Xi Jinping in China. But we've had a semi-dictator called Dr Mahathir Mohamad before and money politics got worse under him.

So, what’s the solution? Ultimately, the politicians we elect reflect our society, including its fears and prejudices.

And yes, many are happy to accept handouts, favours (the infamous surat sokongan), and even cold hard cash for votes. Is it society itself that condones corruption, as long as they get their “share”?

Only the voters can change that and vote in totally clean and competent leaders.

But first, maybe they have to stop watching those toxic TikTok videos.

ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com