The 3rd Force – Realities

A wish is empty if it does not possess any chance of achievement. I sincerely wish that there is a 3rd force in Malaysian politics, but the reality is that the opposition as a loose grouping is still disorganized, undisciplined, weak, fractious and quarrelsome. As one MT commenter said – there is no 2nd force, let alone a 3rd force. And as RPK himself says – PR seems quite capable of shooting itself in the foot.

By batsman

There is always a wish and the obstacles to achieving that wish. It is like Murphy’s Law (if there is anything that can go wrong, it will) or Newton’s 3rd Law. Resistance is real in real life. If there is anything that will snag or block the way, it will happen. It is a nuisance to our wishes but is nonetheless necessary for life. That is why life is a struggle. Idealists may not like it, but it is a fact of life. Often if such facts of life are ignored, great disasters or “accidents” await. So it was and will always be for all the great idealistic movements in history.

In the face of it, a 3rd force in Malaysian politics is extremely desirable. Without it, Malaysia looks doomed to be ravaged by predators and vultures without any hindrance. Civil society will not have any strength or even any conscience. There will be no one to stop the rapists and the police will probably look the other way if the rapist possesses wealth and influence. Worse still, the MACC may even blame the victim or charge the victim for attempted seduction of the rapist. This is one of the nastier facts of life and it creates a very strong wish for civil society to control the excesses, corruption and abuses of
power.

Unfortunately a wish is empty if it does not possess any chance of achievement. I sincerely wish that there is a 3rd force in Malaysian politics, but the reality is that the opposition as a loose grouping is still disorganized, undisciplined, weak, fractious and quarrelsome. As one MT commenter said – there is no 2nd force, let alone a 3rd force. And as RPK himself says – PR seems quite capable of shooting itself in the foot.

Introduce an organized or “organizing” start-up 3rd force at this stage and the opposition becomes even more disunited.

The current political environment in Malaysia is characterized by suppression and dirty tricks. While this will motivate some very strong individuals to fight against such injustices, such individuals will still be in the minority.

The environment has to be changed into a more positive one where there is succor and encouragement in a very material sense (not just moral or verbal) before the movement for justice can grow more vigorously.

My argument is that the 2nd force needs to establish its strength and thence introduce greater checks and balances first such that the material conditions for an organized 3rd force to thrive may become reality. Only then may a 3rd force of mature and civilized civil society be openly organized into protecting hard won real (not paper) civil liberties. In the meantime, all strength must be concentrated into boosting the 2nd force. Let the 3rd force just live in our hearts for now.

After all, Britain got its political 3rd force only after many starts and retreats and only after many years of struggle. If not for the damage done by Bush, Blair, Wall Street and High Street, the Brits may yet still be wallowing pitifully in comfort and schadenfreude of the US’s shadow.

You may not agree with me, but I think the LDP is a child of Blair and Brown just as Osama is a child of US foreign policy and Bush.

In our case, the wish for a 3rd force may be a child of Azmin and Zaid, or later on still a child of DAP and PAS, but I think it is a premature child.

There is another scenario in which a 3rd force may become a viable start-up – that is PR not only shoots itself in the foot but becomes permanently crippled and hopeless for a difficult fight. Until this happens, make threats and explore possibilities if you wish, but let us not harbor unachievable wishes.