WHOEVER said that Malaysians who want change for the better are dejected or defeated? That is actually far from it.
Of course, those wanted a better and more responsible Government might have felt defeated when Pakatan Harapan was ousted through the nefarious Sheraton Move.
A move made in the guise of safeguarding race and religion. In practice, it was something else.
Just so everyone knows, not all in Pakatan wanted Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed to lead Pakatan back then. The argument that he was needed to “cross the finishing line” was wrong.
Mahathir is not a changed person but a cunning fox responsible for the fall of the Pakatan Government. Without him masterminding the conspiracy, the Sheraton Move would not have happened.
Unfortunately, Pakatan is still licking its wounds inflicted by Mahathir and those behind the Sheraton Move. Nevertheless, it was not the race and religious champions alone who contributed to the fall of the Pakatan Government.
The coalition, given its lack of experience in the government and political naivety, played a role in its own collapse.
But much water has passed under the bridge since the infamous Sheraton Move. The Opposition has to sort out its internal problems before taking on the UMNO-BN juggernaut.
There is not much time left to conduct a real post-mortem on the issues affecting the opposition as the general election may be called by end of the year.
Needless to say that Pakatan’s leadership is having issues of its own. There are already talks that certain individuals holding senior posts in the component parties must make way for young leaders.
It is argued that DAP has sorted out the leadership matter but not all have done so, which includes PKR or even Parti Amanah Negara, to some extent.
However, it must be understood that substituting old leaders with young leaders is not necessarily a solution, although age might be a consideration. However, the sole focus on age or seniority misses the key point of contributions made by senior leader, with some of them being founders of their respective political parties.
But leadership change with the aim of taking on the UMNO/BN juggernaut needs to come from internal discussions within the respective parties of the coalition.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who happens to be the founder of the party, has been asked to step down and give way to young leaders.
Civil societies lack political astuteness
There is nothing wrong with this request from outsiders who hardly had any role in the birth and consolidation of the reformist movement that was actualised in the formation of PKR.
Outsiders who are not part of the opposition political movement can say whatever they like. However, it is not for them to suggest changes to the leadership in the component parties of Pakatan.
The quest for change has come from within, by way of healthy discussions rather than those trying to effect change from the outside.
Lately, there have been too many civil society leaders asking for leadership change. It is not that these leaders should not make their views known but they should at least respect the internal democratic processes of the respective parties.
Putting the blame on Anwar as the sole cause of the malaise in Pakatan might be a naive attempt to provide ammunition to those that the progressive forces are against.
Even if there is merit in discussing about leadership changes in Pakatan, maybe the timing might not be advantageous to the Opposition in general.
I think that Pakatan has to manage with the present leadership as time is not in their favour.
As it is, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Government and the Opposition might have brought some benefits such as the move towards embracing the anti-hopping legislation.
But at the same time, it has dented the Opposition to some extent for not coming out with its own policy versions of what is needed for the country’s future.
It is not for civil society to determine the direction of politics in the country. They might embrace the Opposition when there is a necessity but distance themselves under different political and social circumstances.
Pakatan functions and operate under trying political circumstances. They cannot move ahead without understanding why they were held back in the recent past.
The path of taking one step forward and two steps back, is a requirement when it comes to political wisdom. – May 28, 2022
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia
