THE significance of the 14th general election goes beyond Malaysian shores. May 9 will be remembered as the day the multi-ethnic population of a country ousted the world’s longest ruling coalition through the ballot box in a peaceful atmosphere without a drop of blood.

This is unique in emerging democracies in the global south. It makes one proud to be a Malaysian.

The then-opposition’s victory should be placed within its proper perspective before we try to explain the reasons for it. Also, what are the challenges that the Pakatan Harapan-led government now faces and will it be able to handle them?

Since the early years of independence, Malaysia has had a functioning opposition. There hasn’t been a single moment in our history when there was no one on the opposition benches, not in 1964 nor in 1974 or 2004, occasions when the ruling coalition in the form of Barisan Nasional and its predecessor, the Alliance, won overwhelmingly in parliamentary elections.

Opposition parties forging coalitions to defeat the Alliance or BN has also been happening for a long time. A partnership of two left parties – Parti Rakyat and the Labour Party – called the Socialist Front did fairly well in the 1959 general election.

40 years later, there was a more earnest attempt to create a four-party coalition comprising PAS, DAP, PKR, and Parti Rakyat. Named Barisan Alternatif (BA), the coalition sought to mobilise voters in the 10th general election in 1999 through allegations of abuse of power and authoritarianism against Dr Mahathir Mohamad and BN.

The “black eye” of the incarcerated Anwar Ibrahim was a major rallying point for BA. BA, specifically PAS, made some electoral gains, notably capturing the state of Terengganu. However, it was in the 2008 general election that the opposition really made great strides, denying BN its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time and capturing four states, namely Kedah, Penang, Perak, and Selangor, besides retaining control over Kelantan.

Anwar was an important campaigner in the 2013 contest in which the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, consisting of PAS, DAP, and PKR, remained in power in Kelantan, Penang, and Selangor, and continued to deny BN its two-thirds majority in Parliament. In fact, the opposition increased its parliamentary representation by seven seats.

The issues that brought votes to Pakatan Rakyat in the 12th and 13th general elections were related to allegations of restrictions to civil and political rights, corruption, socio-economic injustices, ethnic polarisation and, in the case of PAS, the inability of BN to implement Islamic law.

These issues were not new in themselves, except that the environment had changed with the alternative media playing a huge role in shaping public perception. They served to erode the support base of the ruling BN.

It is against this backdrop that one should view the defeat of BN in the recently concluded general election. Every issue that was part of the opposition’s menu in the past has now assumed a more concrete manifestation. Thus, the neglect of the bottom 40% of society and the marginalisation of a substantial segment of the middle-class amidst rising costs of living that had become pervasive in the last five or six years found a villain in the goods and services tax introduced in April 2015.

This was undoubtedly a chink in the armour of BN which exposed the government’s vulnerability. But it would not have had such an adverse impact had it not been for the 1MDB scandal. A mammoth money-laundering scam implicating Najib Razak, his family and his sidekicks, the then-prime minister sought to conceal and camouflage it by dismissing political comrades, squeezing out public officials, and emasculating local inquiries.

Not a single person has been charged for any of the wrongdoings connected with 1MDB or its affiliates within Malaysia. It was this utter lack of honesty and integrity on the part of the Najib government that incensed a lot of Malaysians and convinced them that they should oust him. If anything, suspicions about the mismanagement of Felda, reflected in the sale of land and properties and alleged misdeeds in other government-linked outfits, further undermined his credibility.

To put it in a nutshell, a yawning trust deficit had developed between Najib and the people over a period of four or five years. The verdict at the polls was a mirror of that deficit.

What exacerbated the trust deficit was the conduct of the election itself. As in 2013, Najib campaigned as if he was in a presidential race where everything was focused upon him. Since there was already a trust deficit, it weakened his position further. The temporary dissolution of Mahathir’s party by the Registrar of Societies and the ban on his image in the campaign by the Election Commission intensified anger among voters.

Most of all, it was the viciousness with which Mahathir was savaged in the government-linked media that increased their disgust towards the incumbent. There was a total lack of manners and courtesy, which is so integral to Malay culture. This gross and crude violation of “adab” in Najib’s campaign cost him dearly.

Najib had underestimated the strength of the bond between his nemesis and the people. As Mahathir had been at the helm of the nation for 22 years, there was a high degree of appreciation of his contribution to the well-being of the masses, even if many were also aware of the downside of his leadership.

As leader of PH, he demonstrated two dimensions of his leadership which were critical to the success of his coalition. One, he solidified a disparate coalition by endowing the four parties with a sense of common purpose. A common logo was an outstanding achievement. Previous attempts at creating such a unifying symbol among opposition parties had failed. The logo gave PH a shared identity as a result of which the voters’ confidence in the coalition heightened.

Two, Mahathir also succeeded in convincing the people that their overriding mission was to overthrow a leader perceived as corrupt and greedy. It was a simple and direct message which he clinched by telling the voters that Malaysia was doomed if they did not fulfil their mission. Hence, PH’s battle-cry “to save the nation”.

Formulating effective strategies to combat corruption would therefore be PH’s greatest challenge. Its manifesto contains some ideas on this, including making political donations transparent. It also seeks to make the anti-corruption commission truly independent of the executive by providing the Malaysian Parliament with authority over the body.

There are many other office-holders and institutions vital for good governance that PH has identified, which will also be subjected to parliamentary oversight. The Council of Elders that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir has established to address matters pertaining to finance and the economy may also have to provide input on governance and integrity.

There are of course other equally serious challenges that the new government will have to face. The widening income gap between those who have a lot and those who have a little, which has far-reaching consequences for other sectors of society, should be the nation’s priority. Certain laws which subvert the quest for human dignity should also be reviewed. Creating conditions that are conducive for the growth of empathy and understanding among the communities is of crucial importance.

There will have to be internal cohesion for PH to implement the onerous tasks ahead. This is especially true of a coalition like PH. It stands to reason that Dr Mahathir should be given a bit of time and space to strengthen the sinews of the coalition as it leads the quest for a better Malaysia. – By Chandra Muzaffar, May 15, 2018.