IT has been a short and rather brutal campaign in the run-up to the 14th General Election (GE14) but by now, both the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition pact would have already stated their respective cases and all that remains is for Malaysians to decide which of the two is the more persuasive.
But, this being Malaysia, all isn’t what it seems. As usual, the more things change, the more they appear to stay the same. As the nation progresses, we now have our fourth prime minister aspiring to be the seventh! Except that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 92, is hoping to make that unprecedented leap as the leader of the opposition against BN, which elected him prime minister before. In so doing, he has upended the national political narrative that has sustained the nation (and Umno, the backbone of BN) since Merdeka. Or has he?
What has made the GE14 campaign brutal is the singular focus the opposition pact has zeroed in on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, almost to the exclusion of all the relevant everyday issues that Malaysians care about. On reflection, this is perhaps not as surprising as it appears. Najib, after all, is the most prominent — perhaps the only — major issue the opposition can be united against.
Thus, even as the opposition issues its clarion call for “change”, one wonders what it means aside from removing Najib.
The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) which Dr Mahathir now leads, sticks out like a sore thumb within the opposition pact, composed of two ostensibly “multiracial” parties and a religious-based offshoot of Pas.
What Dr Mahathir is hoping to perpetuate is obviously a BN-like set-up with PPBM in place of
Umno and himself in place of Najib.
This may be furthest from the minds of the partners in the opposition pact. For them, Umno is the hated head of not just a toxic but evil political force that somehow manages to rule Malaysia all these years.
They and the supporters who sustain them are not about to finally succeed in unseating Umno only to have it replaced by the same party in all but name.
In the minds of the opposition pact and their supporters, Dr Mahathir is not so much their leader as their figurehead — a credible ex-leader of Umno, and, therefore, one who may be able to defeat Umno. Thus, the narrative being bandied about that Dr Mahathir is in effect now cognisant of his past “sins” and making belated amends. Never mind that he has hardly said or done anything to actually repudiate his life’s work in politics.
The leader of the opposition is, therefore, nothing but a tactical ally to his opposition pact partners. One must assume this is a sentiment Dr Mahathir shares about his new political allies. It fits into what has driven him throughout his long political career: an almost messianic belief that his political ends justify whatever means at his disposal.
Ironically, what this means is that questions about Dr Mahathir’s age, and with it, his continued political longevity are a factor for both his new-found supporters in the opposition and those who are confident he represents continuity for the national narrative.
For Dr Mahathir’s current supporters, his advanced age is a plus. If he succeeds in helping them to be rid of BN, he may consider his job done and quickly hand over power to his protégé-turned-nemesis-turned-successor again, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. That is their hope.
For Dr Mahathir’s former supporters in BN who may see in him a continuity in a new political outfit, the age factor is a risk. Even if Dr Mahathir remains his feisty self today, how long more can that continue? And, if it does not, what follows?
Malaysia has always has been between those who believe in the pre-Merdeka political bargain that was struck and the basis for the political narrative (and stability) that has followed since, and those determined to change the government and introduce a new political narrative.
GE14, therefore, is that momentous for all Malaysians, regardless of political persuasion. It is telling that even as they express cheery optimism, opposition supporters acknowledge some foreboding about an election outcome.
They know what they hanker for is a change of government in Putrajaya, but this may not happen, and they fear it.
The writer views developments in the nation, the region and the wider world from his vantage point in Kuching, Sarawak