INTERVIEW | Rais Husin is not your average politician. More comfortable in academia, the head of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s strategy and policy bureau was never extensively involved in grassroots politics during his time in Umno.

This is perhaps why he appears to get it right and is merely voicing the view of most voters when he stresses the importance for all opposition leaders to enter what he terms an “ego-free zone”.

“This is where everyone must throw away their legacies and baggage and rather than being party-centric, they must be coalition-centric.

“Once opposition leaders come into the ego-free zone and discuss things in the best interest of the nation, that is when people will start seeing the opposition coalition as a credible alternative,” the Bersatu supreme council member told Malaysiakini in an interview.

Malaysians, he pointed out, are very much ready for change in light of the various challenges faced over the years.

“People are suffering, the cost of living has gone up, income has stagnated for years and nothing seems to be on the horizon.

“The ground is very fertile and people are ready for change. Since the ground is fertile, now the opposition alliance has to get its act together and provide a credible alternative,” said Rais, who was one of those instrumental in the drafting of Bersatu’s constitution.

What then, is the credible alternative for the people? The opposition’s plans, he said, must be both cohesive and concrete and everything discussed openly before it is presented to the people.

“If that can be done, then the opposition alliance will do good,” said the 49-year-old.

It is important, then, for the opposition to stay focused in the things it aspires to achieve.

“If we agree on saving the nation by forming a new government then all efforts must be geared towards winning the election.”

And it all goes back to being a credible alternative, added Rais, who holds a PhD in business administration.

“The opposition should not only be seen as the credible alternative, but it must be the credible alternative,” he said.

“Perhaps the opposition can offer new hope, a deal to rebuild Malaysia. However, a lot of reforms need to be done to rebuild the country.”

‘On the right track’

Is setting aside egos possible for all opposition leaders? Citing seat negotiation discussions which had gone on smoothly, Rais believes that they are on the right track.

“They are done in a very harmonious way, smiles around, to get things done. There is not much of an issue with regard to seat allocation discussions.”

As for the opposition coalition’s manifesto, Rais stressed that it would not be a “cut and paste” affair.

“This time we have done a lot of studies. Each party has done its respective studies and there are also some independent studies.

“And we congregate and aggregate those studies and then we study the main things that we need to do immediately for the benefit of the country.”

What is it, then, that is preventing leaders from joining the ego-free zone? To this, Rais pointed to the various backgrounds of every leader.

“It’s more about getting familiar with each other’s ways and methods. The group dynamics theory says initially, it would be stormy but in the end, it will turn into something cohesive.

“My appeal to all leaders is that it has to be done sooner or later because we really don’t have much time,” he stressed.

So has the importance of setting aside egos been communicated to the leadership?

Rais, who has since deferred an academic position at a top institution overseas after being persuaded by Bersatu top leaders to be involved in the ‘Save Malaysia’ project, confirmed that this has been discussed in various meetings and presented through the party channels.

“It’s being managed, I must say that it is progressing well. But of course improvement is always needed.

“The faster we enter the ego-free zone, the faster we can be seen as a credible alternative.

This is especially since the people had suffered enough, he said.

“God has given our country so many resources and put us in a geographically strategic position.

“This means that God has positioned Malaysia in a way that is impossible to fail. It can only fail when there is corruption and abuse of power which are common traits in Barisan Nasional, that’s why we are failing.”

Entering the ego-free zone, therefore, should be for the best interest of the nation, he added.

“If they can do that magnanimously, this is an election for us to lose. When I say that, it means that if we don’t get our act right, if we are not magnanimous and do not put the right objectives, we’re going to lose.

“We must make sure that we are credible, cohesive and we need to have a prime minister candidate and a good manifesto that is rakyat-centric.

“If we cannot do that, we are letting the people, the country and ourselves down. Because we talk about reforms, justice, inclusiveness, progressiveness and moderation but we cannot behave as such.

Addressing fence-sitters, Rais pointed out how they could only be won over if the opposition was a credible alternative.

‘We have to give hope to fence-sitters’

“How do we engage fence-sitters? BN will give fear so we have to give them hope. For the rakyat to give us the opportunity, we must be ready to take it up.

“And we can only take it up if we fulfill these things,” he said.

How hopeful is he, then, of the opposition’s chances in winning the general election?

Instead of merely being hopeful, the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) alumnus prays that the opposition will indeed win.

“If we don’t win, this country will go to the dogs or maybe we already are but we cannot go further,” he said, citing issues such as the country’s debts, inflation and unemployment, among others.

“To win, the opposition must negotiate magnanimously, put the people and the country first.

“The party and all other things are secondary. Work hard, win the election, form the government and start the reforms,” he stressed.

Following Bersatu’s incorporation into Pakatan Harapan, the latter had resolved to register the coalition with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

The coalition’s top party leaders have also agreed on having a common logo and coalition manifesto to face the elections.

With preliminary seat negotiations under way, the opposition seems to be on the right track to face the general election.

But whether or not these things are enough for it to win is still very much undecided.