Is Najib genuine?

The Rakyat benefits from a strong democracy by there being fair competition between different political alternatives, and a healthy UMNO/BN remains very much a part of maintaining that competition. 

Suflan Shamsuddin

In my last article, (Najib, Cricket and the Bitter Pill ), I wrote about how Pandora’s box had been opened under Dr. Mahathir’s leadership. Malay nationalism, intended as an enabler to build the ‘new Malay’, has gone out of control. Patronage and opportunity, intended to create a loyal entrepreneurial class to bolster the economy for the good of all, has led to rampant money politics and corruption. And the quelling of dissent, intended to enable his vision of a prosperous and united Malaysia to be realized, has led to the undermining of the Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers.

But was this his fault alone? I don’t think so. Why? Because he lacked the benefit of having a viable alternative pan-Malaysian opposition to keep his administration in check. DAP were too busy pulling the Chinese and Indians to one side, and PAS were too busy pulling conservative Muslims to the other. And this gave rise to a real threat of communal polarization. So ultra nationalists, opportunists and mercenaries maneuvered to offer Dr. Mahathir expedient ways to manage this threat.  And he succumbed in the name of protecting his vision.

Did UMNO/BN prevent a united opposition from being created, or did these ethnocentric opposition parties cause UMNO/BN to become so authoritarian? It does not matter. That’s like asking whether the chicken came before the egg.

The truth is, that had the opposition been united and pan-Malaysian, this threat of communal polarization would have not existed, and ultra nationalists, opportunists and mercenaries would have had too little space to exploit. Dr. Mahathir’s government would have simply been replaced by an alternative that was viable for all Malaysians were it to have been universally unpopular. Checks and balances would have been effective. But unfortunately each opposition party had its own extremists, opportunists and mercenaries that held sway at that time. Thus such unity was never to be. So the opposition parties were as much to blame as Dr. Mahathir, UMNO and BN.

But DAP and PAS, facilitated by PKR are now making huge strides to make amends, against their own natural inclinations and internal demons, to create this united Opposition that the country so desperately needs, by working within Pakatan Rakyat. So let us congratulate them, and hope they succeed.

But as we hope for Pakatan Rakyat’s success, should we hope for Barisan Nasional and UMNO’s annihilation? Given all that has transpired over the last 30 years and what has happened to Pandora’s box, isn’t their demise desirable? The comments to my earlier article suggest that many would say yes.

I however say no. For the following reasons:

Firstly, if the ideological power-sharing premise of BN continues to resonate with a large population, it cannot be denied its political influence. To do so would be undemocratic, and two wrongs don’t make a right. In any event, this might lead to frustrations being vented by civil strife and conflict.

Secondly, you cannot paint the whole of UMNO and BN with the same brush just because of the current pervasiveness of certain bad hats. Believe it or not, there are still good people that remain in these political entities, whose voices have unfortunately been drowned out, Tengku Razaleigh being just one of them.

Thirdly, nothing will improve if one monopolistic coalition that has ruled for 50 years is replaced by another that rules for the next 50 years! The Rakyat benefits from a strong democracy by there being fair competition between different political alternatives, and a healthy UMNO/BN remains very much a part of maintaining that competition.

Fighting symptoms can seem gratifying, but in reality it does little good. The infirmity in UMNO and BN is nothing more than a symptom, and putting them down like a lame horse, as psychotherapeutically rewarding as it might be for those who hate them with a vengeance, is not the cure to the political leukemia with which this country is inflicted.

Instead the real solution is two-prong. Firstly we need Pakatan Rakyat to succeed to become sustainable as a truly viable political alternative; and secondly we need Barisan Nasional and UMNO to become well again, and to be able to compete fairly and squarely with Pakatan Rakyat for the Rakyat’s affection.

If Najib were genuine about his 1Malaysia vision, he would pluck up the courage to rid his party of extremists, mercenaries and opportunists as a means of securing UMNO and BN’s recovery. He would recognize that Pakatan Rakyat does him great service to help him do so, because the clean up of BN/UMNO and his administration becomes an imperative for political survival. As such, he should not do anything to impede the creation of a sustainable Pakatan Rakyat, no matter how counter-intuitive that might seem to be.  In fact, he should support it. As leader of a party he will not like doing this; but as leader of the country, he will know that that is the only way for the interests of the country to be secured.

The question therefore is: Is Najib genuine in his desire to rehabilitate UMNO/BN and the country? Or is he deceitful, intending only to maintain the status quo?

Najib’s conduct towards Pakatan Rakyat will help us judge for ourselves on which side of that divide he sits.