COMMENT To say that Malaysians generally want a change is not an understatement.

Based on the last general election, it is obvious that 51 percent of the country’s voters are ready for a change of the federal government. The growing dissent within Barisan Nasional (BN) is also showing that they, too, cannot allow their leaders to remain in power for too long.

As Lord Acton once said, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely!” When one party or a coalition is in power for too long, there are bound to be elements of corruption and abuse of power. The laws are interpreted according to the whims and fancies of the people in the corridors of power.

However, we know that Umno and BN is also trying very hard to retain federal power for as long as they can. The BN government has been in power since 1957, and in just two years from now, would have been in power for exactly six decades.

From the good old days of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj to the tyrannical era of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and now Najib Abdul Razak and Rosmah Mansor’s time, we have seen things getting from bad to worse.

Scandals, one after another, are reported and each time, it involves not only federal funds or the Petronas coffers but even our savings and pensions in billions of ringgit.

For example, till today, there is no answer as to where the huge sum of RM42 billion has gone from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). It is mind-boggling when you think of the amount of money that has reportedly gone missing or unaccounted for, in particular, one that is chaired by the prime minister himself.

As the Malay proverbial saying goes, “Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi” (False hopes in the fence that is supposed to protect the padi from being stolen”).

While the fire is raging, there are also others who are working towards a split in Pakatan Rakyat, upon which we, the rakyat, have pinned our hope for them to form a new federal government.

I wish to highlight in this article some of the efforts that I have observed, so that people are in the know and not get sucked in.

Umno Trojans?

There are definitely a lot of Umno Trojans even within Pakatan Rakyat who are there for some good reasons known to themselves. This is, after all, about politics and people would do whatever they can just to stay in power.

But as ordinary men in the street, we have to keep our eyes open to see what is happening in the country.

First, without even elaborating further, we know that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is a Pakatan spoiler. According to DAP’s Lim Guan Eng, Hadi’s heart is very much with Umno .

This is a ‘fact’ known to the grassroots, even when Hadi was the menteri besar of Terengganu, riding on the crest of Barisan Alternatif. All we need to do is to listen to the grapevine.

For this reason, it is the first time in the history of PAS that the party president is facing a challenger in a more pro-Pakatan candidate, Ahmad Awang, who has already faced numerous obstacles during his campaign in the lead-up to the PAS muktamar come June.

PAS members were said to have been warned against attending Ahmad’s ( photo ) meetings by the pro-Hadi faction. It will be an uphill battle for Ahmad, but even if Hadi wins, it is not going to be easy for him as most of the senior positions in PAS will likely be helmed by the Erdogan faction of the party.

The working relationship between Pakatan Rakyat and the Erdogans has always been much easier compared to Hadi, who has ruffled some feathers during last year’s menteri besar of Selangor saga.

Hadi’s record of attendance in Parliament is not something that he can boast about. In fact, when we look back in the past seven years since Pakatan Rakyat was formed, Hadi has made almost zero contribution towards the political development of the opposition coalition.

Much of what we see today about the 1MDB and objections against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) have been raised by younger politicians like Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah Anwar, N Surendran, Dr Ong Kian Meng and Tony Pua.

People close to Hadi should ask what does Hadi even know about the 1MDB or the GST as there is not a single record where he had spoken up! It is no wonder that the one-term former menteri besar of Terengganu, even if he were to become the prime minister of Malaysia, would dash the hopes of the people for a better Malaysia.

DAP has already severed all ties with Hadi , although it is still in working relationship with PAS as a party. In just two weeks’ time we will know whether DAP will continue with the ongoing relationship with PAS.

The question of Pakatan’s breakup should never arise at all, as both PKR and DAP can continue its working relationship with the NGO known as PasMa. There are also other options open for both parties to work with parties in Sabah and Sarawak, after PAS is dropped.

PAS will die a natural death once it is dropped from Pakatan Rakyat.

Little people, big egos

There are also the Barisan Nasional strategists who have already been infiltrating groups, including religious groups, to neutralise the political and social activists. We just have to watch out and be aware.

The strategy is to draw people who want their ego stroked. This is something that the BN government can do, with all the goodies including financial or honorific titles as rewards. Or, a signing ceremony or two with the prime minister of Malaysia.

It is after all a good feeling to be addressed “Yang Berbahagia Datuk”, “Senator So-and-So” or even “Menteri”, with a chauffeur to drive you everywhere around, at the expense of our taxpayers’ money.

Ask one of Hindraf’s leaders, P Waythamoorthy, and he will tell you why he decided to quit the cabinet, while others go to the extent of using biblical examples as the excuse for not quitting.

I have no grouses against these people in person, whether they hold important positions or not, provided they are doing a good job. I treat them as friends.

However, with the modern version of the sinking Titanic , that appears to be cracking at the hulls, what are these men telling the prime minister about his mistakes? Or, are they too comfortable that they choose to do nothing about it? Even if they are doing something behind the scene, is there any headway? No?

Recently, I received an invitation to a function organised by a group of people who now go under the guises of peacemakers. It was a banquet function as usual, which will be attended by (bingo!) the prime minister himself.

Imagine, the prime minister has no time to even tell the Attorney-General’s Chamber to instruct the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to return the confiscated Bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia, after the AG’s Chambers said the case was closed. Why does he now have time to attend a big do with the leaders, who unknowingly have accepted the invitation?

Or, when the Taman Medan church was being pressured to remove the cross, did Najib press the issue further after saying that the protesters would be investigated under Sedition Act 1948?

Has the case gone to court, or were we told that these demonstrators were mollycoddled because they “cooperated” with the police (by not informing the police 10 days in advance), and you are telling me that former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreeneevasan did not cooperate with the police and had to be detained for one night!

We know of Justices of Peace, but within this NGO, some of them have even been appointed as Peace Ambassadors for their own states, which is well and good, if this has its merits or there is sincerity in the first place on the part of the prime minister. At this juncture, I am a little sceptical.

Here again, I have no objections to anyone (some of who are my personal friends) who believes in the cause, but within the context of what is happening to this nation, do we care for our nation or our ego? I will not condemn anyone but this is a serious question, which each of us will have to answer before God on judgment day.

As times are challenging, we have to watch, less we, too, are being sucked into the system instead of being salt to preserve the rotting moral values of this nation.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.