The most awaited political battle has finally made its debut with the Barisan Nasional taking on Pakatan Rakyat’s de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency. Many have described the battle as the mother of all elections. Yes, indeed it has stimulated tremendous interest, like never before, not only among the local people of Permatang Pauh but the whole nation.
Everywhere you go the coffee shop talk is about Anwar and his impending return to parliament. Will it materialize? If it does will it be for the better? Can Pakatan take over the government as claimed by Anwar? Can he become the next prime minister?These are the questions in the minds of most Malaysians these days.
This by-election is very different from all previous ones. The voters of Permatang Pauh are faced with a very important task, national duties that must be executed with great discern, as they may be electing, not just Anwar Ibrahim, but the next Prime Minister of the country. It may be just a by-election but it may decide the future direction of the nation.
On the first day when Anwar launched his campaign in front of a huge home crowd of Pakatan Rakyat supporters, there was another campaign being conducted a few kilometers away by the Barisan Nasional(BN) led by Umno’s Mohamed Ezam Mohd Nor, a one time close associate of Anwar.
Anwar in his speech outlined the problems that plague the nation and the people - killer inflation, corruption, judicial crisis, and abuse of power and above all, misappropriation of the country's wealth by an elite few. He pledged to put a stop to all these and he promised to bring down fuel price, introduce a more balanced economic policy for all Malaysians regardless of race, eradicate corruption and check abuse of power.
Anwar’s pledges sound too good to be true but nevertheless we see some hope for change that is so badly needed. He seemed to have understood the plight of the ordinary man of the street in this time of financial crisis and willing, if given the chance, to introduce the reforms to meet these challenges. The thrust of his speech was on how he would bring changes that would benefit all Malaysians.
He repeatedly spoke on the need for all races to unite as Malaysian and outlined his vision of a developed and progressive nation where all citizens regardless of ethnicity are treated equally and fairly so that they live together in peace and harmony. He advocates the concept of ketuanan rakyat and says he is an agent for the Malays, Chinese and Indians alike; in short he is the people’s agent. He talks of Malaysian unity, not Malay, Chinese or Indian unity. These are sentiments that are rarely heard from our politicians these days when race politics have become the norm.
Over at the BN camp the theme of the evening was Malay unity. Ezam labeled Anwar a “traitor” to the Malays because he was willing to do away with the New Economic Policy and bumiputra special privileges as long as he received support from the non-Malays. He accused Anwar for selling out the Malays to the Chinese and Indian communities. He asked the Malays to reject Anwar in the coming by-election in Permatang Pauh as he cannot be trusted.
It was a time for Anwar bashing and nothing else. No concrete policies to tackle the economic crisis. No mention of the reforms promised by the government. No proposals on how the government is going to address the increasing racial polarization. It appears that Anwar is the only problem the BN government is facing?
These two totally different approaches have set the tone of campaigning for this all important by election. The Pakatan Rakyat seems to be emphasizing a multiracial approach compared to the racial calling of Umno and BN. This was further highlighted by Penang Chief Minister,Lim Guan Eng who claims himself as a leader not for the Chinese only but for the Malays and Indians as well. Time has come to discard the racial politics of the past and embrace a system of fairness for all.
Umno and the BN have yet to learn from the March 8 verdict of the people, who wanted a multiracial approach to the future of
Umno and the BN must come up with concrete new and sound economic policies to uplift all citizens and not rely on outdated racist policies of the past to take us into the future. These policies of the past, tailored along racial lines, have no chance for success in today’s highly competitive world.
There is a need to change the mindset of the people to accept all citizens as fellow Malaysians without fear or suspicion. This has to start now and the Pakatan Rakyat appears to have a handicap in that race to win the hearts of all Malaysians. Umno and the BN have some serious catching up to do. If they continue with petty squabbles and racial policies, I am afraid they will soon be left far too behind to catch up.
Umno and the BN keep on saying they want to regain their past glory but how can they ever achieve that if they refuse to listen to the people? How can they when they refuse to appreciate and empathize with the plight of the people?
The voters are more educated and better informed now and they are more concerned about good political governance, inflation and corruption that affect their daily lives. They are not going to be tricked into being distracted by the personal and private lives of others.
The voters of Permatang Pauh have been given a golden opportunity to send an effective opposition leader to parliament, who could well become the sixth prime minister of the country. He has promised radical reforms to take the country with racial diversity to greater heights as one Malaysian nation. It is time we give him a chance as we have nothing to lose even if he fails.
The people of Permatang Pauh have this simple but important decision to make, a decision on behalf of all Malaysians, present and future – do they want a change or continue with obsolete policies that are doomed for failure in a world that is highly competitive and where only the best succeed?
Dr.Chris Anthony
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