COMMENT The old adage, ‘No one is perfect’, still holds true. You can also expect “ups” and “downs” in any organisation. Before a major victory, there may be the occasional hiccups.

No organisation, be it political, religious or social, is perfect. Unless, of course, we are living in Utopia! As long as there are what we call the human species in it, any organisation will have its weaknesses.

 

If we are expecting to see angels in Pakatan, we will easily get disillusioned. In fact, we can expect the infightings, the clashes in personality, and more mudslinging taking place within both Pakatan and BN.

Even the most capable and corruption-free leader can turn out to be a disappointment, because people do change. It is human to err. These ‘promising leaders’ can fail us, but so long as we are anchored to hope, nothing will change our course.

Whether Pakatan will suffer the same fate as Semangat 46 or Barisan Alternatif depends on the support from ordinary people, like you and I.

Beyond the human frailty, I do see the silver lining in every dark cloud. I urge you to look at the bigger picture, as we yearn together to see a change in federal government after 57 years of Merdeka.

Even if Pakatan appears to be of no difference from the BN, when there are, eventually, two equally strong parties, we will have a truly healthy democracy.

With each party equally strong and capable of forming the next government - that’s when we, as voters, become the kingmakers! The balance of power will ultimately restore some sense of humility and sanity into our “invincible” politicians.

Hope for building a new Malaysia

When Pakatan came into power in a few states following the political tsunami of 2008, for the first time after nearly 30 years since 1969, Malaysians saw hope in building a new Malaysia.

The 2008 political tsunami was the result of the Hindraf movement in 2007, and subsequently, the Bersih rallies. In 2013, it was the result of another major Bersih (3.0) rally, where we saw hell break loose on ordinary Malaysian citizens.

Come the 14th general election, both Sabah and Sarawak will weigh in, since the ‘Allah’ controversy and the raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia has awakened the Church in East Malaysia.

In 2008, most of the people who won the seats were “new” faces and this took the nation by surprise. Like David slaying the big giant, Goliath, many of BN’s own Goliaths, including those who were known for good performance, became casualties.

During the last general election, many of us were hoping that Pakatan would easily take over Putrajaya for the first time.

When it did not happen – and we know the reasons why – many of us were disappointed with the Elections Commission. However, now, with the East Malaysian bloc, the final push may happen in GE14!

Along with this new hope for a better Malaysia, there will also be the bad hats – I call them ‘snakes’ from the triads – who will also manouevre their way into the new coalition in the same way that they have already penetrated into BN. They are in there, with a different agenda, other than to serve the people.

There would also be people planted within the ranks and files in Pakatan by the rival party, both to spy and to create havoc in order to disgrace the party. Without these spies, the rivals cannot drive a wedge into Pakatan, and create suspicion between component parties.

Factions within member parties

Even within the same party, there are also factions. In Umno, there used to be the Team A and Team B, but since 1987, most of what remains is nothing but Team A. In PAS, there are the ulama and the Erdogans, who may not necessarily share exactly the same world views.

Internal fighting will always take place, as long as human beings are in these organisations. As a matter of fact, it is good for check-and-balance. Rather than having a hegemony that breeds dictatorship, it is good for the rakyat when different factions within the same political organisation or coalition hit out at each other.

A good example is the water issue. When Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced that water from unused mining pools would be used to supply water into the dams, his fellow Pakatan colleague, Charles Santiago ( left ), hit out at the suggestion.

As a result of that, people became more aware of the possibility of contamination and the authorities have to take extra precautions regarding the use of water from these abandoned mining pools.

Another example is when MCA’s greenhorns started hitting out at Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s suggestion to ban foreign cooks. It took Umno minister Nazri Abdul Aziz to hammer MCA for the illogical arguments that were put forward.

Instead of the dictatorial style under the regime of Dr Mahathir Mohamad regime, this clearly adds a new dimension to an ongoing public debate. This would never have happened during the dictatorship rule of Mahathir, where there was only one voice.

Since 2008, Malaysians could expect to see more of such public debates, involving even politicians from the same coalition. We simply have to learn to live with it.

Life goes on, as before. A fact that we have to accept is that no two persons - even twins - within the same party hold the same opinion about everything.

Political games always played

What we read in the news every day can be quite disturbing at times. However, this can all be summed up in two words: Political games.

Both Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) are apparently set up as lobby groups that are aligned to Umno. There are also other NGOs and even government agencies that at times rear their ugly heads. Their objective is clear: to win votes for BN.

Their strategy is to confuse the rakyat, and blame anything and everything on Pakatan. They create doubts, cast suspicions, and try to shift people’s perception towards Pakatan.

For example, when the Selangor Religious Affairs Department (Jais) raided the Damansara Utama Methodist Church, most people thought that Jais was under the jurisdiction of the Selangor menteri besar just because it carried the name ‘Selangor’.

Only after Jais carried out another raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia in January this year did it start dawning on Christian leaders in both East and Peninsular Malaysia that Jais only has a dotted line to the menteri besar of Selangor, since the state pays the salaries.

Its main reporting line and ultimate obligations, however, are directly to the Selangor Religious Affairs Council (Mais), helmed by an Umno strongman, which ultimately reports to the sultan of Selangor.

This is why until today, Mais and Jais can openly defy a powerless menteri besar and even appear to ignore the attorney-general, despite the latter having instructed that the seized copies of the Bible be returned.

In the lead-up to GE13, we read one episode after another about Anwar Ibrahim: that he was a spy for Israel, he was a homosexual and that he had sex with a China doll.

We can expect more of such ‘fitnah’ as we approach GE14. These are nothing but political games people play in order to create negative perceptions in what is termed as character assassination.

Four waves, and we stand united

However, I see that our country is a nation in birth pangs.

To date, we have already seen four waves. It began in 1998 when Anwar was arrested. The Reformasi movement, which began mainly with the Malays (supporters of Anwar), was not enough to make an impact.

The Hindraf movement in 2007 was the second wave, and that led to the political tsunami of 2008, because we saw the way how the BN government dealt with our fellow citizens during the public demonstration.

The third wave is what Utusan Malaysia conveniently called the Chinese tsunami. Although I beg to differ, I have come to accept that there was somehow a new awakening within the Chinese community.

And now, we see the fourth wave as a result of our ‘pretty much insulated’ brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak becoming more aware of their plight after 51 years since Malaysia was formed.

The ‘Allah’ controversy and the raid on the Bible Society has opened their eyes for the first time, that they have no choice but to stand in solidarity with their fellow citizens in Peninsular Malaysia that we need a change of government.

Perhaps, with all the four waves, we will see what I coin as a great ‘political earthquake’ come GE14. The tsunami of 2008 hit the coastal states, but could not reach Putrajaya, Sabah and Sarawak. What a tsunami failed to do, the earthquake, which follows thereafter, will be able to reach.

Pakatan Rakyat may falter time and again, but if the rakyat wants to see a force strong enough to challenge the status quo, it will yet again rise above the occasion. The more injustices that we see, and the more we are provoked, the more resolved we have to become in order to propel Malaysia into a new era.

It will be an era where every rakyat knows the power of his vote, and politicians from both political divide will have to listen to the people, or risk being thrown out of Putrajaya. It is the citizens who will form the third force, not any political party or NGO.

Whatever it is, we have to stand united. United we stand, divided we fall!

STEPHEN NG is a chemist by training. He dealt with printing ink, paint and emulsion polymer for 15 years before becoming a freelance writer.