THE state assemblies of Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu have been dissolved and the Negri Sembilan state assembly will be dissolved on Friday (June 30) – setting the stage for the six state polls in August which would have a far-reaching impact on the future of the nation.
I have said that the results of the six state polls are not going to cause Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government at the Federal level to fall as a vote of no confidence is not going to take place in Parliament as MPs cannot switch parties any longer.
However, the results of the six state polls would have an importance and impact beyond determining which coalition is going to form the new government of the six states.
The results of the six state polls will decide whether Malaysia can be saved, reset and returned to the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia that the nation’s founding fathers (which included the first three Malaysian prime ministers who were also UMNO presidents – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn – have written into the Constitution and Rukun Negara.
Malaysia probably needs 10 to 20 years to end the national decline in the last few decades, become world champions again and be a role model to the world in inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
We have made a tentative start in the seven months of the Anwar unity government.
Are Malaysians going to abandon this great patriotic effort to save Malaysia, to reset and return to the original nation-building principles of a plural Malaysia or are we going to see Malaysia return to the trajectory that will end up in a divided, failed and corrupt state in the coming decades?
The results of the six state polls that I will like to see are either the status quo, with the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in government in Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan and the Perikatan Nasional in control of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu or better still, the PH-BN coalition with two-thirds majorities in Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan and doing better than the 2018 state general election in Kedah, Kelantan and Teregganu.
Malaysians do not want to be world champions and be among the top countries in the world in having the most number of deaths as when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was prime minister during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 but they want Malaysians to win the Thomas Cup again, perform Olympic feats, win Oscar Awards and even Nobel Prizes
I do not believe that Malaysian voters, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender want Malaysia to end up as a divided, failed and corrupt state but want Malaysians to be world champions again and have the best political, economic, educational and social systems as well as the best schools and universities.
That is why Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender should come out to vote in a higher turnout than in the 2018 general elections to voice a clear and unmistakable verdict to save Malaysia so that the nation can be world champions again and be the role model of the world in inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
Furthermore, all Malaysians want Malaysia to punch beyond its weight instead of being dismissed as irrelevant and inconsequential because it is a divided, failed and corrupt state.
I want to see Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah become developed states like Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan. This is not going to come overnight as it will take one or two decades but a start has to be made.
Will this start be made in the six state polls in August? – June 28, 2023
Veteran lawmaker and retired DAP supremo Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang was the former MP for Iskandar Puteri.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
