The trouble with ‘being equal’ in Pakatan Rakyat
The PAS administration in Kelantan and Kedah also proved that a government dominated by one party was more stable compared to Selangor and Penang where the three parties were often in disagreement over power sharing.
Noor Hayati Muda, Malaysian Mirror
The voicing of dissatisfaction by several quarters in the DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and PAS recently points towards cracks in the relationships of the opposition coalition.
There may be some who feel that the voices heard in the states under the opposition rule is just part of a process for them to know each other and would not disrupt the cooperation forged.
However to several political observers, what was happening in the coalition now stems from the non-dominance of any party to set the direction for the coalition.
The situation, they say, causes each party to act to out do each other and this disrupts the cooperation amongst them.
No dominance
Senior Lecturer of Anthropology and Sociology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, said the three parties are trying to get equal standing like in the federal ruling party.
"In the Barisan Nasional, Umno is seen as being dominant based on demographics and history but in the opposition coalition there is no dominance so maybe each wants to play the same role," he said.
From the aspect of leadership, Dr Sivamurugan said now the coalition depends on PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim as the general leader.
"But there are questions on this issue, that is, is Anwar being given full freedom to determine the direction of the pact, given that each party has its own policy that needs to be upheld.
"In the BN there is a captain, but in the opposition coalition we can't see one, unless they agree that each state administered by them be led following the ideology of the party that has the majority of state seats," he said.
However, according to Universiti Teknologi Mara lecturer, Prof Madya Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin, it is difficult for the opposition coalition to implement the dominance concept as practised by the BN.
He said this is because the pact was built on the concept of fairness, that is each party shares power equally.
Own party ideology
"The relationships in the opposition coalition must show being fair and square as the people in the last general election rejected the BN due to Umno being too dominant," said Dr Shaharuddin, a lecturer in the Faculty of Administration Science and Policy Research at the UiTM Shah Alam campus.
He said not having a dominant party would cause splits given that each still held on to their own party ideology.
"Without dominance, each has to hold to the concept of discourse, that is to discuss among themselves," he said.
However, if recent developments are observed, the concept of discourse is only on paper as shown when PAS shoved aside its two partners by proposing to sit with Umno and discuss unity.
Although the issue was resolved via an emergency meeting among the three parties, it is clear it left a mark to the point that they had to organise a gathering to show they were still firmly together.
Besides that their leaders, especially from Pas, made statement after statement that it was all Umno's doing to split them.
The truth is, say political observers, Pas had sent a message that it did not need the DAP to get the people's support as in Kelantan and Kedah.
The PAS administration in Kelantan and Kedah also proved that a government dominated by one party was more stable compared to Selangor and Penang where the three parties were often in disagreement over power sharing.
More time needed
Commenting on the viability of the opposition coalition, Dr Shaharuddin said the three parties were still learning to cooperate and would need more time to fully reach understanding.
"They are still young, just some months. It must be remembered that the BN also took decades to reach the cooperation level they are at now.," he said.
Sivamurugan of USM, however, was of the opinion that it was difficult for the opposition to strengthen their cooperation in a short time as each party was led by the old generation that was bound by individual party ideology.
"Maybe in the future when the parties are led by a new generation they can find understanding and more tolerance," he said.
Formulating the views of the two academicians, it could not be too far-fetched to say that parties in the opposition coalition are caught up in their own words to champion equal rights but at the same time were demanding 'power' for themselves.
