May 16, 2013
| Praba Ganesan is Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Social Media Strategist. He wants to engage with you, and learn from your viewpoints. You can contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @prabaganesan |
MAY 16 — BN is experiencing a taste of its own medicine, possibly for five straight years more, and the coalition may expire at the end of it.
Because at the end of the term, the toll on the psyche of the party faithful could be too much to bear — and force the party on a path of no return, at least no more back to mainstream politics.
For its leaders can't catch a break. For the next few days the new Cabinet will be the main punching bag for the Malaysian public. Few of us can define inspiration but most of us can sense it, and a full cavity search of those named to lead the country will lead to a simple conclusion, there is little inspiration let alone aspiration among those selected to lead this country through the better part of the second decade of the new millennium coming up.
But the Cabinet is not my focus today even if its members are right, front and centre of my dissection.
It is that after 10 days of being declared the winners of the national election by the body which reports to their prime minister, they feel like anything but winners.
The prime minister, his deputy, his former and present Cabinet, they all appear a bit woozy — a little like second hand akin to a Sunday after a drinking binge without the drinking binge.
When they lost the popular vote in 1969, Umno had time to regroup because of emergency law in effect following street violence. This time the emptiness enveloping the Putra World Trade Centre must be overwhelming.
There may be only 47 per cent of Malaysians in favour of BN versus the impressive 52 per cent for Pakatan Rakyat, but the divide becomes even more pronounced when factoring the unprecedented levels of activism coupled with restraint from Pakatan supporters that for a casual observer arriving in Kuala Lumpur after awhile it may appear that BN have indeed lost the election.
The BN medicine
It is a fairly direct one, win only a single election every four plus years — all-or-nothing contest pitting the massive state resources of BN versus the rest — and tell everyone to clam up between the elections.
It does put into perspective when analysed, between 1970 (post-New Economic Policy) and the Sunday before last, over 43 years Malaysians were allowed 10 times or 10 general elections or 10 voting days to give their say.
Between those days — the years that pass — BN will kindly inform the people they have the popular vote and everyone should respect the situation.
BN justifies the limited opportunity for the millions of Malaysians to speak out by arguing that they whether by a close or clear count have the majority of the votes. Why have elections so many times when the people always end up voting for us anyway, that's an exercise in futility.
Now, with enough seats but not the popular vote BN must carry on while a very informed majority is opposed to them, an impatient majority that will remind them of that unshakeable fact.
How will they spin that now?
They have no capacity to change
The handicap is further inflamed by the continued obstinacy of the present regime to change.
Change is anathema to them, they are literally holding out till the rest of the population revert to the old reality of just accepting them, just because.
The appointment of Khairy Jamaluddin was to echo a willing BN, but a swallow does not make a summer and the party ruled that he was guilty of some internal election infringements. Khairy may just regurgitate reform as a basis to differentiate himself from the rest of his party leaders and plan his own rise.
Umno is not a party of reform.
So two swords are pointed at the party, which was not before this election. That they are not changing their ways quickly enough, and for the general public to give a long sigh and comment that this is why they are the first functioning minority government ever (while the Alliance lost the popular vote in 1969 the pursuant link up with the usurpers Gerakan, PPP (People's Progressive Party) and PAS made them a unity government).
Quietly I admit it does endear to me seeing BN struggle, still I realise that the country will pay the price of the government of the day.
Even now, the prime minister is unwilling to compromise his own intentions to stay as Umno president by undercutting the key strength of his presumed opponent, his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the race card.
Four years of 1 Malaysia may have raised Datuk Seri Najib Razak to being a person markedly more popular than his party, but it has upset many inside the party. Muhyiddin's direct and simple race focus left him as the more Umno-like leader.
And the day after winning the election, Najib went for the jugular by blaming them. No Umno leader is ever weak inside his party when he is attacking the Chinese community, and Najib knows it only too well because his father wrote the playbook.
Najib does not hate the Chinese anymore than he hates Transformers toy sets, but he did not waste any time to get into his Umno election mode.
So for all those who did vote for Najib because they did honestly believe he would change would be ruing the lost opportunity.
Mind you, after retaining the Umno presidency he will revert to Mr 1 Malaysia without missing a heartbeat.
Four more years, or maybe not
Umno and the coalition it lords have four years, or they may decide sooner the present power equation is too annoying.
There will be more permutations in the country as video streaming becomes more prevalent. The extent of what the general public can know, and then interact and hit out at government will spread.
That and seeing Datuk Nazri Aziz as tourism minister, have we ever lived in more interesting times?
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
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