Commentary
AUG 31 — The surprising thing about the Permatang Pauh by-election result was this: that some Malaysians were actually stunned and shocked that the Barisan Nasional could be defeated so soundly.
Let’s get real. Nothing much has changed from March 8 2008, that watershed day when Malaysians threw off the yoke of fear and conservatism and voted for the opposition in great numbers.
Five-and-a-half months on, this is the scenario on the ground. The Chinese and Indians still believe that the Umno-led government treats them as tenants and that the power-sharing concept of the Barisan Nasional does not protect minority interests.
The young voters still believe that Umno politicians are corrupt, arrogant and consumed by power and position.
Non-Muslims still believe that the country is sliding down the slippery slope towards intolerance and narrow-mindedness. Many Malaysians still believe that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is the prime minister of grand sounding rhetoric, but rhetoric none the same.
Here are just a few examples of what has happened since March 8 to confirm that nothing much has changed.
• The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) is still anti-government despite several overtures by BN officials to a few leaders of the movement. When Abdullah visited the Karu Mariamman temple in Butterworth he was booed by a segment of Hindraf followers. Others upset at the presence of the PM refused to take part in the gathering.
Abdullah, protected by a phalanx of Special Branch and Unit Tindak Khas officials, stayed on for a while but there was little doubt that he was an unwelcome guest.
Several Hindraf officials who were informed of the PM’s visit were dismissed as lackeys of the government. The tone of the protest against the PM showed that the movement still has not forgiven the government for jailing P. Uthayakumar and others under the Internal Security Act and for addressing the marginalisation of Indians seriously.
MIC and IPF members who canvassed for votes in Permatang Pauh conceded that they faced a tough time convincing the 3.300 Indian voters to support BN’s Arif Shah.
In some households, they were simply not welcome, much like during the general election campaign period.
End result: Vast majority of Indians voted for Pakatan Rakyat, just like they did on March 8.
• Christians and other non-Muslims groups. Anecdotal evidence suggest that non-Muslims, upset their religious rights were trampled upon in the years since Abdullah became prime minister, deserted the BN in numbers in March.
They have grown weary of the arrogance of Umno politicians, the impotence of MCA, Gerakan and MIC politicians to stand up for the rights of non-Malays. They have become cynical with Abdullah’s pledge of being the leader of all Malaysians.
Their vote in March was not a protest vote but a vote for change. In their opinion, their best hope for a more equitable country lies with Anwar Ibrahim. In the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-election, all they heard Umno politicians talk about was Malay unity and the need to ensure the rights of Malays enshrined in the Constitution were always protected.
Indeed, Malay unity and not Malaysian unity has been the number one concern of Umno since March 8. On Aug 25, a day before the by-election, Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail spoke at a ceramah and called Chinese pendatang (immigrants) and added that “as the Chinese were only immigrants it was impossible to achieve equal rights amongst races”.
His comments were carried in all the Chinese language newspapers. Predictably, more Chinese voted for the opposition in Permatang Pauh on Aug 26 than they did on March 8.
Since then, MCA and Gerakan officials have demanded strong action against Ahmad Ismail.
Abdullah has promised to remind Ahmad Ismail to be more careful with his words.
His meek response will only serve to drive home the point that nothing has changed since Election 2008. Umno is arrogant and incapable of change.
• Young voters. There has been no attempt to draw up a plan for Umno/BN to win over young voters.
An analysis of Election 2008 results shows that many newly-registered voters and those in the 21 and 30 age-group supported DAP, PAS or PKR candidates.
Their reasons were varied — they viewed BN as corrupt; they believed that the New Economic Policy was only benefiting a select group of Malays; they did not believe that the future of a better Malaysia was dependent on BN running the country.
Since March 8, many BN politicians have been talking about getting closer to young voters. What they don’t realise is that younger Malaysians will only support a political party which shares their aspirations, not one that continues to lecture them.
At Permatang Pauh, some 90 per cent of the young voters supported Anwar Ibrahim.
• Malay voters. In July, the Islamic International University polled 1,500 Malays from across the country to find out their political values.
They discovered that 70 per cent of those polled said that even though the government could guarantee strong economic growth and stability, it was necessary to hold elections and ensure that democracy was alive.
Some 90 per cent of them wanted the special rights of the Malays to be maintained but they also wanted other races to be treated fairly. Nearly 70 per cent said that they did not agree with detention without trial.
Taken together, their views seemed to be closer to what Anwar Ibrahim spoke about in the run-up to the by-election than what Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and other BN leaders promised.
Anwar assured the Malays that their rights were protected under the Constitution but added that needy Chinese and Indians also needed help from the government.
He said that the Internal Security Act must be abolished and more must be done to ensure that the political system was not corrupt.
So like Election 2008, he was speaking a language which found resonance on the ground. In contrast, Umno politicians still are stuck in a time warp, believing that appealing to Malay insecurity is the only way to keep political power.
• Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. How can a leader squander an approval rating of 91 per cent in March 2004 and watch it plummet to 43 per cent in July 2008?
By not fulfilling a raft of promises including the pledge to be a leader of all Malaysians; to fight corruption; to bring about reform in the police, judiciary and the political system.
By the time March 8 came around, many Malaysians had become disillusioned with Abdullah, believing that he was indecisive and could not execute policies.
In the days after Election 2008, he came out strong, saying that he had heard the voices of dissent and was committed to repairing the country’s institutions and tackling the rising cost of living.
After the initial burst of enthusiasm, his unwillingness to upset Umno during the party’s election season has seen him go slow on reforming the judiciary.
His Cabinet does not inspire confidence nor does his stewardship of the Malaysian economy. Cynicism and skepticism accompanies every promise and pledge that he makes today.
So really no one should be surprised that Anwar won by a yawning gap over BN’s Arif Shah on Aug 26.
Malaysians voted for change on March 8. It was not a protest vote, it was a vote for change.
Abdullah, Umno and the BN still don’t get it. So the electorate sent them another message on Aug 26.
Only this time it was more emphatic.
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