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Friday, February 12, 2016

Nay, the public will not swing to BN's fold



While political analysts like Liew Wui Chern and Tang Ah Chai believe that the public is suffering from political fatigue following the death of former PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and the jailing of opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, I hold a totally different opinion.
On the contrary, I believe that the majority of urban voters are already fed up with what they see being done by the present batch of BN leaders that they do not need any more convincing to know who they would vote for.
Therefore, to suggest that we have gone back to pre-2008 is really naïve, since the political tsunami that hit the country was preparing a political earthquake. Prior to 2008, there was no Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the Malaysian currency was still stable.
However, both the GST and the free-falling of the Malaysian ringgit have caused prices of goods and services to soar, while the incomes of most Malaysians are just moving at a snail’s pace to keep up with the rising cost of living.
Coupled with the 1MDB fiasco and the billions of ringgit being funnelled into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank accounts - as he gets away with the help of his ‘yes men’ - tell me, who is not affected by such news?
When scholarships are being cut and other subsidies removed, the PM is still having a big fat budget. Who will not look at such flamboyance with disgust? After nearly 60 years, Malaysians are still caught in the middle income trap.
While I agree that a number of Pakatan leaders are now taking a back seat, I believe they should now focus their attention more on the rural folk. This includes people in Sabah and Sarawak, because without their votes, it would be hard to make up the numbers whenever there is a law that needs to be passed in Parliament.
With only 89 parliamentarians, it is a sure walkover for BN whenever it wants to push a law through. With this in mind, PAS should think twice, because in my opinion, the party - especially its president Abdul Hadi Awang - has been hoodwinked by Umno into believing that its private member's bill will be passed in Parliament.
With two parliamentary sittings since the bill was first mooted by Hadi, and after the tears shed by Umno lawmakers at the Kelantan state legislative assembly, we are seeing no further progress. PAS members should start raising this subject with their leaders.
Pakatan’s focus
Other states like Johor and Pahang are 'ripe' now for Pakatan to take over. Johor, as we know it, is the seat bed of Umno and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yasin’s homeground. Yet, the opposition was able to make headway into the state.
Pahang, meanwhile, has recently seen a number of major issues and natural disasters that caused the people to become anti-BN. Analysts should not downplay issues like the bauxite mining, which has affected the people of Kuantan.
Had Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh not raised the matter in Parliament, it would have been a bigger disaster for the folk there.
The bauxite mining has also affected the fishing community as their livelihoods were threatened. No thanks to Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, while a few families became millionaires overnight, the majority of people in Kuantan and the neighbouring towns had to endure the pollution caused by unsustainable bauxite mining.
In my opinion, Pakatan should drum up more support from the rural folk - such as the Felda settlers as well as the Sabahans and Sarawakians.
At the same time, PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and Tian Chua should be more prominent in the media. Both have been rather laid-back in recent months. PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail should also appear more in the news.
When Anwar was active, he had been the face of PKR and the opposition; now that he is in jail, his voice should be heard ever more so often, and there is no one but Wan Azizah who can represent him.
Nurul Izzah should concentrate on current issues such as 1MDB, instead of leaving it to only former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to speak up for the people.
On his own, even Pakatan Harapan chief secretary Saifuddin Abdullah should do the same and follow in the footsteps of PKR's Rafizi Ramli and DAP's Lim Kit Siang and his son, Guan Eng.
Other DAP politicians such as Teresa Kok, who used to be very vocal, are hardly appearing these days - even in the alternative media. It is time that they came out from their hibernation.
Besides Mohamad Sabu and Khalid Samad, other Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) leaders should also speak up. People want to hear their voices.
Upcoming and younger leaders like DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, who made news during the Teluk Intan by-election, should also start appearing in the news. I am sure there are others like student activist Adam Adli - who may be entering politics soon - who should also be making their public appearances more frequently.
Others like Hannah Yeoh and Elizabeth Wong may be in the Selangor state government now, but it may be time for them to move on to the federal level. This is why both should be more vocal on issues that they are passionate with, for example, Yeoh on women’s issues and Wong on both the environment and tourism.
The biggest danger in politics is when politicians themselves remain stagnant or become too comfortable with their seats.
Even Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali should start showing us what national issues he is capable of articulating; or else, how can we expect to know that - when a new cabinet is formed by the opposition - the people picked by the new PM are truly capable and competent leaders in their own right?
Selayang MP William Leong merely appears on occasion in the news, despite his numerous successes in fighting for the rights of the people.
Still others from Sarawak - for example, state PKR head Baru Bian - only appear once in a while; there are fewer opposition leaders in Sabah who make it into the news these days, especially on major scandals (that is, the incursion by the Sulu people or 'Project IC').
Casting votes is sufficient
In any case, I am only a sounding bag for the ordinary people. Everywhere I go, people tell me their views. Some of them - knowing that I am actively commenting on current issues - will tell me what they think about a particular development.
Forget about the public storming Putrajaya like in the French Revolution; it is sufficient for the people to cast their votes against BN. That is what everyone is waiting for.
Unlike the periods before 2008 and 2013, there are fewer acts of intimidation that rile up the people. NGOs which cropped up after 2008 - such as Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) - are quieter these days.
Nonetheless, their silence now can never eclipse the jailing of Anwar and the seemingly endless scandals involving Najib himself. It is not only Malaysians, but the whole world that knows about these two major 'disasters' which this country has gone through.
With these two as BN’s biggest weaknesses, it only takes the opposition to double or triple its efforts to print materials (even photocopies) and reproduce DVDs that can be circulated to the rural folk.
At the same time, most people want the opposition leaders to start taking the lead. There is, therefore, no surprise that some of my circle of friends and relatives wonder whether certain members of the opposition are taking too long a hibernation, with the next general election just round the corner.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. -Mkini

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