FOURTEEN months before Malaysia witnessed its first change of government, Pakatan Harapan made history when it accepted Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Bersatu into the coalition on March 14, 2017.

PH’s intentions were to end the rule of Barisan Nasional.

Today marks another landmark in Malaysian politics as bitter rivals Umno and PAS end four decades of animosity to sign the former’s first post-BN political charter.

The two largest and oldest Malay-Muslim parties want to end the rule pif PH.

Like PH, Umno and PAS hope to harness enough Malay-Muslim anger to make the first a one-term government. This is mathematically possible as BN’s last act in government was to gerrymander the Parliament seats in favour of Umno. 

But that’s where the similarity ends. 

When PH campaigned against BN, Malaysia was ridiculed globally for being the world’s biggest “kleptocracy” where state funds could be abused for personal gain. Corruption was rife while state machinery frequently used sedition laws to shut down dissenting voices. The corrupt walked freely while the honest were silenced.

That is no longer the case today.

The frustration and disappointment the people feel for PH today is not because of corruption but because it has failed to honour its promises as well as to live up to its potential. The anger is at inefficiency and inexperience, not impunity. 

On Tuesday night, Ineza Roussile’s M for Malaysia premiered in the cinemas. The documentary was a timely reminder ahead of Malaysia Day celebrations on Monday.

While the movie centres on Dr Mahathir during the GE14 campaign, it also depicts a courage, unity and determination Malaysians have not demonstrated since the fight against the Malayan Union or the struggle for Merdeka.

The movie shows that behind their anger and frustration for BN, Malaysians also harboured hope for a better Malaysia, particularly when they rallied behind the Jom Balik Undi campaign when the Election Commission announced that the 14th general election would be held on May 9, a weekday.

M for Malaysia ends on a hopeful note with former Bersih chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan telling PH that the people have showed “tenacity, bravery and commitment” and it is now up to them to show the same.

Starting today, Umno and PAS will work on a new narrative against the government. 

They will work to fuel Malay-Muslim anger against Putrajaya by highlighting PH’s blunders and inexperience. In the name of solidarity, they will get fringe groups to boycott the goods and services of other Malaysians.

And to make DAP the fall guy, they will blame the Chinese-majority party for all of Putrajaya’s good and bad decisions. 

They will generate fear, angst and hostility.

But unlike PH, Umno and PAS cannot offer Malaysians hope for harmony. Not when the PAS president’s idea of unity is based on racial and religious dominance. 

They also cannot offer hope for a corruption-free leadership when Umno’s past and present presidents are facing corruption charges

They have just one card to play and that is the Malay-Muslim card.

In short, Umno and PAS will generate anger without hope. – September 14, 2019.