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Grand coalition - breaking the 'divide and rule' scheme

COMMENT Ask any Malaysian high school student the meaning of the term ‘divide and rule’, and they would gladly enlighten you with a history lesson on the ingeniously devious scheme of the British empire to solidify its political foothold in Malaya.

The Oxford Dictionary adequately defines the term as the policy of maintaining control over one's subordinates or opponents by encouraging dissent between them, thereby preventing them from uniting in opposition.

In the late 19th century towards the early 20th century, what was then known as British Malaya saw a rise in the nation’s economy, in which the British government helped to ship thousands of immigrants from China and India to work in the rubber, tin and oil industries.

The ‘divide and rule’ policy was implemented by the British government with the goal to quash any attempt at a political uprising against British rule in Malaya.

At that time, ‘Merdeka’ was our 'Mockingjay' - a seemingly far-fetched idea to many people back then after a long history of colonisation and repression. But it nevertheless served as a slogan of hope which was embraced by the Malayan people.

Onn's urgings for unity

Onn Jaafar, one of the founding fathers of Umno, knew that racial resentment between different races and Malay nationalism would only hinder the progress to independence. He foresaw the future of Malaya and what had to be done to truly achieve independence.

And that was ‘unity’ - the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians and other minorities staying united and strong. He envisioned a political platform that was able to represent the voices of all people regardless of their racial status, creed and economic status. He foresaw that only through unity, tolerance and civility would we be able to become a peaceful and independent nation.

However, Onn Jaafar’s radically progressive idea did not sit well among the Malays in Umno, which prompted him to resign as an Umno leader.

Nevertheless, his vision for Malaya remained clear and strong in the minds of the Malayan people and, true enough, what was thought impossible became a reality when Tunku Abdul Rahman took heed of his predecessor when he led a grand political coalition known as Perikatan - a historical feat that was believed to have helped catalyse the transition from British rule to national independence.

Parti Perikatan was an alliance among Umno, MCA and MIC - representing the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities respectively. The coalition was a promising progress that everyone rallied behind to ensure its goal was fulfilled - to gain independence. And we all know how it ended.

A happy ending. Or so we thought.

Malaysia at present - progress or regress?

Fast forward to 2016, Malaysians unfortunately are still struggling with the true meaning of independence. Now we are plagued with Umno-BN’s reign, which has since been corrupted by greed for money and power. Lack of integrity and incompetency is too synonymous with the Umno-BN styles of governing. Corruption is rampant. However, Umno-BN manages to remain in power because they know too well that in order to stay in power they must also 'divide and rule' the opposition parties in particular and the Malaysian society in general.

We learned from history that in order for us to gain independence we must have unity and tolerance. There is no secret to this formula. When Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah became an outcast from Umno in 1988, he immediately formed Semangat 46 and forged a coalition with PAS known as Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah, and a coalition with DAP known as Gagasan Rakyat. The opposition managed to gain power in Kelantan and formed a state government.

The cycle repeated when Anwar Ibrahim was sacked in 1998 and the Reformasi movement gave birth to Parti Keadilan Nasional and, in an instant, formed a new coalition with PAS, DAP and Parti Rakyat Malaysia known as Barisan Alternatif to face BN in the 10th general election. The opposition won with a bigger number of seats in Parliament and made inroads in state assemblies and wrested power from BN in Terengganu.

A united opposition equals to a serious challenge for Umno-BN. This formula served the opposition well in the previous two elections, with an electoral pact for all parties in 2008, and working under the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in 2013. The formation of five state governments, denying BN a two-thirds majority and garnering 51 percent of the popular votes - this would not have been achieved if the opposition was fractured and fragmented.

All opposition parties should have understood by now that the only way to win the fight against Umno-BN is by staying united, which can only be achieved if we put aside our differences and focus on the common goals.

1MDB scandal, a pain in the a**

The latest development of the scandalous 1MDB fiasco, which involves the civil lawsuits issued by the United States Department of Justice, and many other issues that arise from the Najib administration, should be a unifying factor for all opposition parties to work together to urge Najib Abdul Razak to step down as the Malaysian prime minister.

The US civil lawsuits, which named a few individuals proven to have direct links to Najib, and a mysterious ‘Malaysian Official 1’ whom suspiciously could be the man himself, showed to us how corrupt the Umno-BN administration is under Najib’s leadership.

In the lawsuits, it was mentioned how the rakyat’s money had been spent on gambling, to produce a Hollywood film and to buy luxurious properties. It made us all wonder how those billions of ringgit could have benefited the rakyat, especially in providing scholarships or grants to deserving bright students who can’t afford to pay for their educational fees, or to fund public projects that would indefinitely benefit the people.

Instead we, the rakyat, have been burdened by the implementation of the goods and services tax and subsidy rationalisation programmes to compensate the losses the government had gained through bad governance and corruption.

Building a 'grand coalition'

Finding common goals to agree on among the opposition parties should not be too hard, but agreeing to the right steps and strategies to achieve those goals as a united opposition pact would require a more delicate approach from the party leaders.

Therefore, all top party leaders must work hard to engage in discussions and remain committed to building a strong opposition bloc and to resolve any conflicting issue for the sake of the rakyat and the future of Malaysia.

A truly united and strong coalition is vital for the survival and success of the opposition bloc, especially in facing the upcoming 14th general election. With all the negativity plaguing the Najib administration, the opposition must seize this golden opportunity to its advantage by educating the rakyat of their rights and power to change the government, and not be fooled by the incentives and promises that would only come once in five years or be intimidated by threats that use racial and religious sentiments to instil fear among the people.

Therefore, I propose for an electoral pact involving all of the parties in Pakatan Harapan and all other opposition parties that are against Umno-BN to be formed before the next election. The goal of the coalition must be clear and simple - to work together to dethrone Umno-BN of its rule through ‘one against one’ fights.

However, there is a long road ahead before we can win back the trust of the rakyat and to prove to them that we are ready to lead Malaysia. The first right step is to show the rakyat that all opposition parties are open to engage in a dialogue to eliminate multiple fights in the next general election and are ready to work together in a strong and unified coalition.

The rakyat’s rejection of Umno-BN must be clear, strong and present. The opposition must prove to the people that we are the right and strong alternative to Umno-BN.

We must bring forward influential political figures - Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as opposition leader, Azmin Ali in Selangor, Lim Guan Eng in Penang, Muhyiddin Yassin in Johor, Muhkriz Mahathir in Kedah, Husam Musa in Kelantan, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in Pahang and Shafie Apdal in Sabah - creating a new resistance front against Najib's Umno-BN in Putrajaya.

These leaders are well accepted by the rakyat with big influence at the grassroots level and they are held in great reverence by the people of the respective states that they represent.

Which is why I truly welcome the suggestion for a ‘ceasefire’ to stop pointless bickering among different political parties which would only benefit Umno-BN, and allow discussions to take place to ensure that we would not be at the losing end come the next general election.

I implore all party leaders to keep the interests of the rakyat in mind and do not betray the trust that we have earned from almost 51 percent of Malaysians in the last general election. Let’s put aside our differences and work together for the sake of the rakyat.


DR AFIF BAHARDIN is the PKR Youth deputy chief and Seberang Jaya assemblyperson.

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