A FEW DAP and Amanah leaders have recently called for a reboot of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership.

This follows a string of failures to recapture power amid much bravado and publicity, such as the failed attempts to defeat the first, second and final readings of the budget and any of the committee stage vote, and the inability to reach consensus on the direction of the opposition, PH or otherwise. 

This call could not have come at a timelier juncture.  

Despite the number of parties and factions doubling in the opposition and the growing splinter movements, the actual number of representatives has steadily dwindled since the general election – mostly from defections, both before and after the collapse of the federal and four state governments, and from losing the Sabah elections, apart from a couple of MPs dying in office. 

Yet, through it all, several highly publicised attempts were made to take over the government, from right after PH’s collapse, a cheerful double decker bus ride, to an audience with the king and a claim of having “strong, formidable and convincing” numbers of taking over.  

That was three full months ago, and PH had better be ready to move on because everyone else has. 

Somewhere along the line, three more hats were thrown into the ring for the prime minister’s post  – Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Dr M and Ku Li are statesmen, but neither commands the support they once did. Shafie would have fared much better had he delivered a victory in the Sabah elections, where his party unfortunately could not match the success of the coalition components, costing him both the chief ministership and the clout to trigger a government change at federal level. 

We are coming to a year of the present government’s rule, and any government change will only last two more.  

The hassle to replace a sitting government yet again may not be worth the trouble.  

Apart from the advantages of incumbency, there is little advantage to gain. 

With the shifting political ground and political lethargy, it will also be difficult to assess voter reaction to any major political manoeuvre at this point.  

Throwing PAS-Umno out of their comfort zone, back into the Opposition also means a return to race and religion-fuelled debates taking the political centre stage again, at the cost of discussions on the economy or the handling of the pandemic. 

Instead, what the opposition needs is strong direction, either from within or beyond the PH fold. 

Pejuang, Muda, Warisan, DAP, PKR and Amanah need to take a long hard look at themselves and what they stand for. Parties need to speak out for their respective electorate and for Malaysians. 

There are pressing issues – the dying tourism industry, drastic beating taken by SMEs, vaccination for the pandemic, and the list goes on. 

Instead of being transfixed on the idea of taking down the government, perhaps the focus should be to take it on. 

Covid-19 numbers have skyrocketed, the number of active clusters from just a few to 199, the number of active cases from four to five digits and the number of total infections hitting 100,000.

With this, we have joblessness, infected front-liners, a sluggish economy and entire industries threatening to sink within months. 

There is also the issue of vaccinations and treatment, and the logistical issues surrounding them. These are the “numbers” we should be discussing. 

In the medium term, there needs to be a clear direction for the future – formalisation or semi-formalisation of a political pact or coalition with common issues with a common platform.  

There is far greater promise in fighting for a common cause then there is in taking down a common enemy, and far greater wisdom in strengthening yourself instead of trying to weaken an enemy.  

Wishing all readers a very merry Christmas. – December 23, 2020.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.