By A. Sivarajan
Parti Socialis Malaysia is shocked and surprised at how quickly the opposition and civil society have agreed to Mahathir Mohamad’s grand declaration.
Their attendance at the press conference with Mahathir only proves their weakness. Unable to settle squabbling amongst themselves and out of ideas to unseat Najib, they decided to ally with any ex-dictator with the same call.
This is the symptom of targeting the individual and not understanding the political economy put in place by Umno-Barisan Nasional.
Any short term plan to remove only the leader but maintain the same dominant party spells disaster.
The rakyat will continue to suffer under the same anti-people neoliberal economic policies. Taxes will continue, more subsidies will be withdrawn, income disparity will continue to widen, minimum wage will remain unrealistic, cheap labour policy will continue etc.
Najib’s administration is a continuation of Mahathir’s authoritarian neoliberal legacy. Both leaders and the rest of the pack share the same economic principles that will further impoverish the rakyat.
What is Pakatan Rakyat and civil society hoping for? Short term gain, long term misery!
On what basis will Pakatan Harapan campaign as an alternative political coalition when they just signed a declaration which indirectly affirms continued Umno-BN rule?
Does the Pakatan Harapan and civil society really believe that:
- Mahathir and the coalition will be allowed to do significant structural changes within the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, police, Election Commission and the judiciary while Umno-BN is still in power?
- Do they expect the deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the rest to stand by quietly while these so-called reforms are made, fully aware that their political future will be jeopardised?
- How will the declaration be executed? What executive power does the coalition have?
- Who is calling the shots? Is it a democratic coalition or is it dominated by Mahathirism?
There have been many declarations before, which did not really make significant changes. The downfall of Marcos and Suharto was not achieved by declarations of political elites alone.
True change can only happen when one political system is replaced by a clearly alternative system, The Umno-BN legacy must end immediately for the entire political system to be overhauled, not merely reformed.
We should not mislead the rakyat by proclaiming that such initiatives will bring changes to their lives. Only a political alternative movement that crushes neoliberalism and builds a truly pro-people economy will be able to sustain humanity and the environment.
Save Malaysia from Umno-BN. True change, not mere reforms.
A. Sivarajan is secretary-general of Parti Socialis Malaysia.
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