THERE has been a sense of hopelessness among many Opposition leaders, supporters and voters at large. It is as if we are waiting for the inevitable, that UMNO in its un-reformed and un-repentant form led by the “court cluster”, in particular Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, is going to win the next general election.
The “court cluster” had succeeded in setting the pace, tone and agenda as soon as UMNO-Barisan Nasional (BN) lost the 14th General Election. Instead of showing remorse and reform, UMNO decided in its June 2018 party election to retain its status quo by allowing Zahid to lead.
UMNO then entered a marriage of convenience with PAS in October 2018, galvanising its ground through a UMNO-PAS joint mass protest against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) on Dec 8, 2018, before formalising their collaboration through the Muafakat Nasional charter in October 2019.
UMNO and PAS inflamed the ground by accusing the-then Pakatan Harapan Government, especially with DAP as part of the ruling coalition, as a threat to Islam while on the other hand, non-Malays and non-Muslims were fed the idea that their identities and way of life were under threat under the Government led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The “scorched-earth” approach paid-off when the Pakatan Government fell in February 2020 through the Sheraton Move which UMNO enabled and empowered.
The “court cluster” went on to bring down the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin led-Government in August last year. Soon afterwards, they engineered snap polls in Melaka and Johor, and won a landslide victory due to low voter turnout, political apathy and fatigue on the part of swing voters and Pakatan supporters.
Cunning schemes
As shown in the battle to remove Muhyiddin as Prime Minister, the court cluster had only 15 MPs on its side at the height of the crisis.
With less than 7% MPs out of a 222-seat parliament, the “court cluster” still managed pulled off one of the greatest political heists and turnarounds by manipulating sentiments and cleavages of their opponents.
Now, the “court cluster” seems to be on its way to break out of jail. Efforts are made to force a general election in the next few months.
The most talked about date is beyond July 31, the deadline agreed by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri to not call for a dissolution as stipulated in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between his Government and Pakatan.
In any case, the current term expires automatically on July 16, next year.
And it looks like Najib and Zahid will be the clear beneficiaries if polls are called after July this year. With Zahid still helming UMNO, he could decide on who would be UMNO’s candidates, thus eliminating the internal opponents of the “court cluster”.
Najib and Zahid hope UMNO and Barisan Nasional will win big, and with the return of the BN Government, they can finally walk free.
The script of the “court cluster” is as clear as daylight. Yet, many of us still play into their hands – feeling hopeless and losing a sense of purpose.
Many seem to think that there is no way to stop snap polls as UMNO will coalesce around the “court cluster” leadership, and Ismail Sabri who appears to be weak, will follow the instruction of the party.
And a lot of people think UMNO will win hands-down in the upcoming general election. Unfortunately, even some in Pakatan have self-defeating thoughts that UMNO would win not only the coming 15th but also the 16th General Election. – April 24, 2022
Liew Chin Tong is the Johor DAP chairman and a former Deputy Defence Minister
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
