LETTER | Reunion dinners create the opportunity of strengthening the bond within families and patching things up before the start of a new Lunar Year. It is a reminder of what matters most in life – kinship.
Imagine if the 2018 Pakatan Harapan alumni decided to gather and dine in the spirit of straightening things out and decide what is best for Malaysians. Such would have been a tale for Muhyiddin Yassin to salvage his political legacy. What is the price for forgiveness in this country?
The Johor election is the menu of the day and seats are being dished out to those with an appetite to wrestle for power. It is not surprising for Bersatu’s president to excuse himself from contesting as the prospects of getting punished in the Gambir seat may cost him more than his desire to have a taste of success after his humiliating departure as our prime minister.
It is good to reminisce about Harapan's success in GE14 to understand why they were chosen by the voters. Now Umno/BN only needs to retain their support as Harapan, post-Sheraton, has created a split within the vote bank; PKR/Amanah/DAD, Warisan/Pejuang/Muda, and Bersatu. How do we make sense of this on the ballot?
The Malay sentiment has always been leveraged for support by the politicians in this country. Any discussion on the subject matter would take more than just a reunion dinner when now we have the youth voters to be considered as well.
Sadly enough, any deliberation would only be on how their votes can be swayed rather than helping them to live well in this country. With a predominant majority of Muslim leaders, shouldn’t we promote an egalitarian society based on the principles of righteousness? Or have they failed in their respective spiritual test against materialism and succumbing to corruption.
We also fell into the belief that ex-PM Dr Mahathir Mohmad and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim reworked their relationship for the sake of the nation. Their relationship will always be a reference point for political kinship and betrayal.
To borrow the words of Hamza Yusuf in his book ‘Purification of the Heart’, “The cure for hatred is straightforward. One should pray for the person toward whom he feels hatred; make specific supplication mentioning this person by name, asking God to give this person good things in this life and the next. When one does this with sincerity, hearts mend. If one truly wants to purify his or her heart and root out disease, there must be total sincerity and conviction that these cures are effective…”
In welcoming the Year of Tiger, we should all seize the moment to make amends to create room for better things in the future. We want a united Malaysian front and not just an opposition bloc.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
