PKR should dissolve itself for losing the plot
Ahmad Mustapha Hassan, The Ant Daily
Never in the history of any major political party in Malaysia has there been such infantile happenings like what is going on now in PKR. Once the party is made to be a one-man show whereby PKR is Anwar Ibrahim and Anwar Ibrahim is PKR, the party comes to a virtual standstill. This stagnation had resulted in the party having zero political ideology and also very blur in what its political mission and goals are.
It is sickening to see what is taking place in Pakatan Rakyat. It was supposed to be the alternative to the already bankrupt BN, but it is showing signs of immaturity. The bickering among the coalition partners had been off and on and is making all those who support this coalition getting frustrated, annoyed and very disappointed and also very much disillusioned.
PKR with the consent of the other partners had placed Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as the menteri besar of Selangor when it captured the state in 2008. Khalid, a former corporate leader, had administered the state as a corporate entity. He had not embraced the realities of politics into his management style.
He had done well in the sense of making the state stable financially. It is the culture of corporate leaders never to consult before decisions are made and implemented. Khalid having that culture naturally went ahead with decisions that he had made and he simply expected the Exco members (like board members of companies) to just endorse whatever decisions he had made.
He did not change into a consummate politician where consultations and discussions need to be first carried out before anything is implemented. It is the fault of the PKR not to have outlined the role that he should play as the chief executive of the state. The party simply relied on his capability as a corporate leader to administer the state in the best possible way.
From what can be seen and assessed, PKR is not a party that puts discussion and consultation as part of its political culture. It was more like a one-man show. Khalid was simply following the culture practised by the party.
PKR as from before has lacked discipline and moved very waywardly. Things could have worked more solidly for the party if it had a united, consultative leadership rather than just depending on one man.
PKR started off very well and showed a lot of promise but it was too soon for it to be suddenly thrust into running a state. It was in all aspects not ready to helm a government. The coalition partners simply backed the candidacy of Khalid as he had a good track record as a corporate man.
The immaturity of PKR leadership has caused voters to be most disappointed in having put the party into power. Instead of the leadership concentrating on placing the welfare of the people as the goal of the state administration, it was more interested in tarnishing the image of the state’s chief executive.
PKR should have assessed Khalid after his first term and if they had discovered weaknesses in his style of government, they should have opted for a politician to run the state.
The “Kajang Move” was ill conceived. It had not solved anything at all. If at all, it added more confusion to the whole situation. Was it that difficult to have discussions and consultations before the so-called “Kajang Move” was initiated?
The “Kajang Move” would not have happened if there was openness and sanity among the PKR leadership.
In the current situation, the only solid partner is the DAP. PAS is always changing its course. It has not come to grips yet that its ideological struggle will never materialise.
DAP made a good choice in putting a seasoned politician as the chief executive of Penang. The state has achieved progress in almost all aspects.
PKR should dissolve itself as it had shown it was unable even to institute discipline in the party. The party came into being comprising among others the ragtag exodus from Umno and therefore they were very much suspect in quality.
Let the members join the existing parties and then we would be able to identify who these people really are through their choice of the parties they will be joining.
Malaysia is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious in character and composition. PAS’ ideology has no place in such a situation. PAS just like Umno Baru feared that it would lose the support of the Malay/Muslim electorate if it were to modify its original goal. This is a fallacy.
Let Umno Baru and PAS form a political partnership but that partnership will be a very uneasy and shaky one as both will be eyeing only the Malay/Muslim majority areas. And each will want to outdo the other.
Malaysian voters will soon be more sophisticated than today and once the older generation leaves the scene, the political scenario too will change. Religion and ethnicity will be less attractive to the younger voters. They want the country to advance and achieve a first world status. This cannot happen if the emphasis is still on race and religion.
The focus should be on science and technology. Malaysia cannot match the advanced Asian countries like Taiwan and Korea if it only advocates race and religion in everything it does.
DAP as a long standing party will become more solid on its own. It is multi-ethnic in character and has shown maturity in its political standing. It has a strong disciplinary tradition.
Ahmad Mustapha Hassan is a former press secretary to second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the writer of the book, “The Unmaking of Malaysia”.
