By Liew Chin Tong
In the aftermath of the twin by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar yesterday, it is undeniable that the opposition is at its lowest ebb from the heights of the 2008 general election. The Opposition and the nation are both at a crossroad.
We will either soon be defeated by the Old Order or we will rise from the bottom to create a genuinely new Malaysia with new political and economic ideas.
It would have taken a miracle for Amanah to defeat the Umno candidates in yesterday’s by-elections. The hope was to help realign the political forces in a clearer manner, but the splits in Umno and in PAS did not result in sufficient votes for Amanah’s candidates.
Hence the political scene is still murky and messy.
The mainstream media and Barisan Nasional leaders want Malaysians to accept their reality that no change for the better could happen in Malaysia and that Umno-BN is the only ruling government.
Among other things, they said that Najib Razak was not going to step down, regardless of how corrupted he is said to be; that there is no way for Pakatan Harapan to win support from among Malay voters in the semi-urban and rural areas, for whom the only choices are Umno and PAS; that Malaysian politics is defined by race and religion, and that therefore non-Malay voters should all support BN component parties such as MCA, Gerakan or MIC.
It is certainly the most difficult time for Pakatan Harapan. With the mainstream media and Umno-Barisan Nasional leaders playing the race and religion cards, some in Pakatan Harapan may feel that they are compelled to join the game.
It is important for Pakatan Harapan to define its progressive ideas for Malaysia more clearly so as not to fall into that divisive race-religion downward spiral.
Being in opposition in Malaysia has never been easy. Malaysia is not a fair and free democracy and there is no level playing field. But we can either choose to succumb to realities defined by the Old Order or we present a clear alternative to overcome two major challenges:
1. Voters must be persuaded, a change of government is right for Malaysia.
Many have forgotten that prior to the 2013 general election, the majority of ethnic Chinese voters in rural and semi-urban areas supported BN: Umno and its associates survived on rural and semi-urban voters.
The challenge is to keep the non-Malay swing of 2013 while at the same time persuading Malay voters in these areas to switch.
2. Overcoming racial and religious divisiveness
Since 2008, Umno has worked overtime to demonise the DAP, to prevent any possible support from among Malay voters for DAP and its coalition partners. The challenge for Pakatan Harapan is to articulate a new agenda that brings ordinary Malaysians of all ethnic background together with common purpose and a shared destiny.
There is no easy way out. We in Pakatan Harapan must convince all Malaysians that a change of government is good for the majority of Malaysians.
The choice for us is between accepting the idea that no change is possible or to work towards rebuilding the Opposition, its ideals and ideas, strengths and influence, to create new impetus for a new Malaysia.
To those who hope that Pakatan Harapan would fall and disappear after the debacles in Sarawak and in the aftermath of the two by-elections, my reply is that we are faced with either a 1995 or 2007 scenario.
In 1995, the opposition was decimated and it took years to come back. In April 2007, after losing the Machap and Ijok by-elections, no one would have thought that, less than a year later, a political tsunami would happen on March 8, 2008.
At difficult moments like these, we must not give up but rise to provide leadership for a new and better Malaysia.
Liew Chin Tong, MP for Kluang, is national political education director of DAP.
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