COMMENT There has been a lot of talk about the third force, even before the second force is strong enough to capture Putrajaya.

The latest is the talk about Ikatan, a relatively small party, trying to woo the Islamist party PAS to form a coalition that can become the third force.

With all due respect to Zaid Ibrahim, this idea about which the former Umno minister spoke so zealously is at best laughable, if not a totally illogical solution to the Malaysian politics.

All that Ikatan and other smaller parties can do, as in a three-cornered fight, is to split opposition votes against the BN votes. It can also happen vice-versa.

What Zaid was referring to was more of being a tie-breaker, especially when both Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional wins the same number of seats. Then, the idea of Ikatan becoming the kingmaker would be plausible. It can move either way to help form the government of the day.

In my opinion, Ikatan would not have the slightest chance of winning even a seat, although PAS on its own may still win a few federal seats in their strongholds. But with the emergence of the Erdogan group under Mohamad Sabu, the ulama faction of PAS under the leadership of Abdul Hadi Awang would hardly attract any non-Muslims in the coming general election.

Hadi is a spoiler to both his own party and the former Pakatan Rakyat, and it is unlikely that he will be able to lead PAS to wrestle more seats from Umno.

The present scenario

In Malaysia, we are talking about one coalition which has ruled the country for nearly 60 years. To most of us, Barisan Nasional has overstayed its hospitality far too long. It is time for BN to go.

Over the years, we have seen one scandal after another, and the country’s wealth being plundered and ‘burnt’ in projects that were hardly beneficial to the rakyat; yet, no one is punished for it. As someone said in my article yesterday, “Enough is enough!”

As the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal thickens, and the latest investigation by Singapore begin to show the missing link, it is too obvious that current Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is involved one way or another in the scandal himself.

Simply explaining away that Najib did not know the money had flowed into his account would not do. Did he take the initiative to investigate why the money had gone into his account, now that he is aware of it? As noble as he is, returning the money to the Saudi prince although Islamic State (IS) is still a major threat in the country, did he even consider returning the money belonging to SRC International at all?

No one with some common sense these days would believe in the fable of a generous prince or a king of Saudi Arabia donating handsomely to a fellow Muslim leader for helping to fight IS.

Malaysians will not forget how Najib himself had allegedly even praised the suicide bombers linked to IS for their courage; therefore, the fairy tale about the donation being channelled into his account in order to combat the IS can simply hold no water.

It is too mind-boggling to even think that anyone would donate RM2.6 billion to a single person. In fact, if what the Wall Street Journal reported is to be believed, over RM4 billion has gone into Najib’s account, but we shall be kind to give him the benefit of the doubt if he explains.

A donor with even some intelligence would not have donated to an individual, but to the state’s coffers so that its war machinery could be used to fight Islamic extremists. What can Najib, receiving RM2.6 billion, do to combat IS? The job is not completed yet; therefore, for him to return the money to the Arab prince simply makes no sense at all.

In order for the rakyat to remove Najib and Umno/BN, it will be the third force who decides who will win the next general election.

We are the deciding factor

We are the third force. We are the deciding factor on who will run the country. I have written at great length yesterday that those who complain that the opposition is weak and divided should do something to help strengthen what is still weak to a point that we have a formidable force that will rival the BN.

A reader posted a comment on the article which I would like to quote here: “I attended my first ceramah in 2008 and has not stopped since. Have served as polling agent in 2008 and 2013, donated much and will continue to donate. As for the by-election, already on stand-by to donate to Amanah.

“Pakatan Harapan is not perfect, but Barisan Nasional has gone so bad that it cannot be salvaged and 1MDB showed us plenty of reasons why BN must leave Putrajaya.”

Until that can happen, any political party or non-governmental organisation jumping in and saying that it is the third force, is simply a dream. A third force, with the rakyat becoming the boss, can only happen after the opposition takes over Putrajaya for at least two terms to give it time to clean up the mess, and to humble the elite Umno and BN leaders.

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