Recently I read two pieces, “It is lose-lose for Maria Chin and PH” and “Those who told us to trust PAS cannot be trusted”.
What else is new. It was a mistake for DAP and PKR to work with PAS in the past and now, it is an even bigger mistake for them to work with PPBM and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
If I may add, it is also a mistake for them to work with Amanah too, a break-away group from PAS.
The mistakes do not end there. It is also a great mistake for Pakatan Harapan to loop in Maria Chin Abdullah of Bersih into their struggle.
Depending on our political leaning, I guess we will always find a reason to explain anything.
It does not matter that in the process our explanations and justifications appear ridiculous. We largely forget that changes in circumstances in politics are a constant.
We ignore leadership change, betrayal, power realignment, and gravity of situations that are emerging.
And so we talk like a hero to condemn others for lack of principle when it is our own feeble character that is manifesting itself.
I think we must either be quite naïve or hypocritical if we do not know by now who is really fighting for free and fair elections in this country.
I think it is an even bigger baloney to assert that Bersih supporters are “non-partisan” and “unbound by politics”.
It is time to get real. Fighting for free and fair elections is as political and partisan as fighting for better governance and against malfeasance.
Have we ever asked why and how Bersih first came about? I am quite sure it was not due to Ambiga Sreenevasan or Maria Chin getting bored with their lives.
Only the naïve and/or the hypocritical will think that the movement is apolitical. Even “mothers for breast-feeding” is political.
Then we have non-stop condemnation of Mahathir joining the opposition. Some say it will lead to the final demise of a credible opposition in this country.
Mahathir is making full use of the naivety of opposition leaders, according to these naysayers.
But why stop there? Anwar Ibrahim too, was once a very strong man in Umno. So too, were many Umno/BN ministers, including the present PM who were supporters of Anwar and Mahathir.
People who say such things do not really understand what “level-playing field” and “fighting against the incumbency” are all about.
Even with Mahathir “pakat-ing” with the opposition now, success is by no means assured.
Sometimes I think we are so “holier than thou” and so smug in our judgement of others. We forget “politics is the art of the possible”.
It is not just about what is right or what is best. It is about what we can actually get done.
What we can get done is sometimes three steps forward and two steps backward.
TK Chua is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.