COMMENT “Pakatan Harapan is far from perfect. In fact, it may not be good enough at this point of time. Yet, it is still our best bet.”

This post which appeared on a chat group resonates well with my soul.

It continued: “If BN still commands power at federal government, people will get more disillusioned and the hope for reform would drastically fade away. This is actually not the worst of it. The worst is yet to come.”

In a recent article, Bersih secretariat member Mandeep Singh Karpall Singh wrote: “We can no longer expect another political tsunami to change the status quo.

“We cannot expect a high voter turnout. The people are tired. They are tired of a ‘corrupt’ regime. They are also tired of a divided opposition relentlessly bickering among themselves.”

A different view

I have a different view on what is happening on the ground. Looking at my own response, I have this to say.

Back in 2008, I was overseas. From where we were, Indians, Chinese and Malays, we were merely monitoring the latest news from several thousands of kilometres away. The excitement of course was in the air as we read the news about the political tsunami that hit the nation.

In 2013, like most people, I started attending political ceramahs. I was there at one where Tony Pua spoke and I was also there at Nurul Izzah Anwar’s fundraising dinners.

At the same time, I also invited some friends to Elizabeth Wong’s fundraising dinner. I was at nearly every function that I could find time to attend. For the first time, I also offered myself to serve as a polling agent.

I was also at Bersih 3 (my first demonstration) and I also went to Bersih 4. However, I did not make it for Bersih 5. Neither did I attend the anti-hudud gathering.

In the lead-up to the 14th general election, I was offered two tickets to attend a DAP fundraiser for Professor Aziz Bari. I have not responded with a ‘Yes’. Does that mean that I am losing steam?

I would like to say to the doubting Thomases that many of us may appear to be ‘dormant’, but the truth is we have already decided who to vote for in the coming general election. I would, for example, prefer that our politicians focus their attention on the rural Malays and East Malaysians.

No point preaching to the converted

There is no point preaching to the converted. I do not mind contributing money to support the Pakatan Harapan, but to spend an evening listening to what I am already know is a sheer waste of my time.

Some of us, including myself, are good at throwing brickbats even at Harapan leaders. No one is perfect. Even Harapan leaders make mistakes. They can sometimes be a disappointment.

On one particular occasion, I even wrote a strong email to a PKR leader, but when the last general election came along, I voted for him. I even gave my time to help him to campaign although I am usually known as apolitical.

Do not be surprised that for the coming general election, I will also do the same to help him with the campaign in whatever way I can including all the manual work.

The reason we throw brickbats is not because we have given up hope on them. We just want them to improve for the better.

As I have often alluded to, even if you put a cat or a mouse to stand for Harapan, I would vote for it. Malaysia needs to have a change of government, or else we are doomed as a nation.

Flywheel

Going by Mandeep’s suggestion, if we let go the momentum now, it may take another 50 years before we see the momentum already built up through the years.

What we need to realise is that Rome was never built in one day. It may take another 20 years before we see in a change of government at Putrajaya, but the momentum has to be built up over time.

It is like the flywheel. The breaking point is when the flywheel has picked up enough momentum that it can take off by itself. What Pakatan Harapan needs is a united front which consists of anyone and everyone who does not want Barisan Nasional to remain in power for the next 50 years.

I have said many times, “Enough is enough.” It is time to change the present government under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

So, are we losing hope in Harapan? I think we need to be a little bit more patient, if we understand that in reality, you can never have a perfect combination.

What is important in Malaysia is the ability of the people to send Harapan to Putrajaya despite all the challenges that they face. As mentioned by Mandeep, “Anwar is back in his old cell in Sungai Buloh, Lim Guan Eng is counting the days before he lands behind bars again, and Rafizi Ramli also has a prison cell waiting for him.”

Even at this juncture, Tian Chua may face a jail sentence. Selangor has failed in its bid to challenge the Election Commission. It is, as we all know, against all odds; therefore, all the more that we should rise up because of the injustices that we see.

Is the opposition Harapan united enough to take on Barisan Nasional in the coming general election? Will PAS finally make a turnaround to join Pakatan Harapan?

We should all realise that even Umno is now facing a major crisis as Umno members are losing confidence in the leadership of Najib over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

The senior politicians in Umno are aware of this, which is why they are trying to court PAS in order to garner votes from its grassroots. Najib is willing to do anything just to get votes. For him, it is his survival.

Those of us who have been following the political development in the country would be able to understand why Umno is now taking the lead in the amendments to Act 355, which in my opinion, whether passed by Parliament or otherwise, will cause a further split to the ruling coalition, especially with the East Malaysians.

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

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.