From Terence Netto
“It’s better to jaw-jaw than to war-war,” argued Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime leader who led his country from the brink of defeat in the Second World War to a weary victory at its conclusion.
Simply put, he was saying that negotiation, however interminable, is a better option than a resort to armed hostilities.
One is reminded of this piece of wisdom in sifting through the call by 15 DAP branches in Jasin that the Madani coalition should reject “extremists” when choosing candidates to contest in the next state election in Malacca that’s coming soon, and in GE16 which is expected earlier than its due date in late 2027.
Nobody would be surprised to learn that the call by the DAP branches in Jasin was aimed at Umno Youth leader Dr Akmal Saleh, the state rep for Merlimau which is a ward in Jasin.
Akmal has been a bone in the throat of not only DAP but also other partner-parties in the Madani coalition government.
His divisive rhetoric and sectarian concerns have been the bane of the Madani government, with no senior leader in the federal coalition willing or able to deflect or mollify him.
What’s more he revels in his assumed role of guardian of all things Malay/Islamic such that he does not seem to care if his robust stewardship riles the sensitivities of partners in the Madani coalition.
This role-playing has come to be denounced as “extremist”, and so there was no mistaking who the DAP branches in Jasin that called for the rejection of “extremist” candidates meant when they issued that call.
But not to be undone, Akmal rose to challenge by proposing conditions for the acceptance of candidates on the Madani slate – that they be conversant with the Malaysian constitution and be fluent in Malay.
Needless to say, these strictures are aimed at pulling up DAP candidates as short on the merits to be candidates and therefore unpalatable.
Exchanges of this nature are preferable to the race-baiting and bigotry that foul the discourse when it revolves baldly on race and religion.
With DAP Jasin’s emphasis on rejecting “extremists” and Akmal’s demand that they be fluent in Malay and familiar with constitutional provisions, there is an upgrade to the level of the discourse from what is near provocative to what is closer to being learned.
Nuances are important in this struggle to steer the discussants from what is low and a goad to crudity to what is subtle and an invitation to nobility.
The Churchillian dictum about jaw-jawing being always preferable to war-warring is wisdom for all seasons.
Terence Netto is a senior journalist and an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.