THE official English name for Parti Amanah Negara is the National Integrity Party and at its annual convention this year, it faces a big test to live up to that name.

Grassroots activists are starting to demand that national leaders – who comprise five ministers and five deputy ministers – use their influence to “help” the party grow.

Delegates didn’t seek contracts or projects to be given to party members in the way that was done under the old scandal-tainted Barisan Nasional regime.

But they spoke of the difficulty funding programmes and setting up branches which are the meat and bones of a successful and popular grassroots network.

This has put Amanah in a moral and political dilemma – if the leadership blindly accedes to their requests, they would be doing the same thing that they used to criticise BN for.

More importantly, they would breach the Pakatan Harapan’s credo of good governance and in essence, cease to become “amanah” – the Malay word for integrity.

On the other hand, if its leaders can’t figure out a way to help its grassroots activists, the party won’t – in the words of Kelantan delegate Che Ibrahim Mohamad – have the fuel to drive the party forward.

In his speech, which other delegates cheered, Che Ibrahim embodied this moral-political dilemma.

“Money is like petrol. No matter how well made your car is, it won’t move if you don’t fill up the tank,” Che Ibrahim told the party’s bosses yesterday.

“Amanah may have the best leaders in Pakatan, the best ideas and the most hard-working members but without money, the party won’t move.”

Che Ibrahim spoke of how hard it was for him to run party activities while trying to feed his family by tapping rubber and harvesting palm oil.

“If the prices of commodities are high, then I have to focus on harvesting as much as I can. I have no time for politics because I have to work hard while prices are high.

“The party must find a way to help its members because if not, it will fail as a ruling party. I for one, will not work in the 15th general election if I do not have enough funds.”

Meeting both demands   

Other delegates and leaders urged Amanah to do both to overcome this dilemma – uphold the highest standards of integrity while creating opportunities for people to improve their lot.

Another Kelantan delegate Hisyamuddin Ghazali said the government should create job and business opportunities for everyone regardless of political affiliation.

“It must be done transparently and properly so that there is a level playing field for everyone to come in,” said Hisyammuddin of Rantau Panjang.

“We cannot go back to the BN era where business opportunities and licences were given only if you are a member or supporter. We also cannot simply give out projects or contracts.

“We want to do better than what was done before by BN so that the public can see that we are indeed better.”

Amanah central committee member Dr Hatta Ramli said the leadership understood the delegates’ concerns and the challenge of finding a viable way to fund the party without raiding the public coffers.

“What the delegates were expressing is that during the BN era, there were people who could not get any opportunity because they were labelled as Pakatan people,” said Hatta, also deputy entrepreneur development minister.

“Now that we are in the government, they feel vindicated and want the situation reversed so that they get the opportunities. But we cannot do that.”

To follow BN’s footsteps would be to continue the vicious cycle of patronage and corruption that ruined the country, said Hatta.

“The leadership will find a way to meet their demands while upholding our principles.” – December 8, 2019.