Why BN Supporters Defend Their Leaders
It has been a good 8 years since 2008, 17 years since PKR was formed and 59(!) years since DAP was founded. So indulge me for a moment as I ask – what is this “fair fight” that you want?
Kenneth Lee
I had to read the article by Mr. TK Chua entitled “Why Opposition Supporters Defend Their Leaders” as published in Free Malaysia Today three times just to be sure, that if you replaced every single reference to “Opposition” or “DAP” in there with “Ruling Government” or “BN” that his views are not exceptional to those of the supporters of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his incumbent government or Barisan Nasional, and that they could actually be speaking the same lingo after all.
Like Mr. TK Chua said in reference to opposition politicians accused of corruption, all of pro-Najib supporters have been demanding for is “a proper investigation to find the truth, despite whatever misgivings (real or imagine) they may have about the investigating authorities”.
And yes, I would agree that we should not “censure [PM Najib] when nothing has been proven”. I would also agree that, “when [BN] supporters close ranks and defend their leaders, it is not to endorse lack of accountability or malfeasance as claimed. To say so is to put the cart ahead of the horse. You are accusing and judging when nothing has been proven.
Has it ever occurred to you that [BN] supporters are rallying against potential false accusations, machination and intrigue?” Well, isn’t this what so many pro-Najib and BN supporters have been trying to say all along – that conspiracies upon conspiracies are afoot and that we are urged to place some faith in our established institutions to do their work.
So I think Mr. TK Chua and I are indeed in agreement, even if we may be referring to the opposing sides of the political field. But certainly the principles are the same. Just as no one can deny Penang CM Lim Guan Eng justice, no one should deny PM Najib of his.
I will attempt here to say what perhaps Mr. TK Chua feared to say – that the difficulty lies in his false assumption that because PM Najib is the Prime Minister the machinery is his, and not those of the Opposition. Here I would beg to differ from him (if that is what he meant to say but did not). If indeed the machinery were truly his, the whole donation and 1MDB story would not today be the most talked-about topics in all of Malaysia’s recent history, 1MDB would not be the most investigated company in Malaysia and there would not be such a thing called the 1MDB PAC Report. MACC has maintained their independence throughout the investigations, despite initially being seen cosying up to Opposition leaders. Bank Negara Malaysia has also maintained their independence, as well as non-partisan stance. Likewise the Attorney-General, and the IGP.
If you want to argue with that – then at the state-level, could we also not say that Penang CM Lim Guan Eng is in full control of the Penang state-machinery? Could we not fear too that state government offices, like his economic planning unit, land offices or development corporations and other bodies relevant to the investigations of his case, are also under his thumb?
So yes, we may argue till the cows come home on this point, but the fact remains that no evidence of wrongdoing has been found against PM Najib and to imply otherwise will be to deny him justice. And so it is – that to prejudge the outcome of Penang CM Lim Guan Eng’s case is also to deny him his.
I digress to say, that for the longest time, the country waited for the Opposition to grow strong so that it may be a viable and true challenger to the ruling coalition of BN. We first laid our hopes on the largely Chinese voice of DAP and then onto the Reformasi ideals of Parti Keadilan Rakyat. 2008 was indeed a defining year where the Opposition coalition of Pakatan finally showed their mettle in what was termed the “Chinese tsunami”. It was so grand a result that Opposition could rule in Penang and Selangor, two of the country’s most prized states.
It has been a good 8 years since 2008, 17 years since PKR was formed and 59(!) years since DAP was founded. So indulge me for a moment as I ask – what is this “fair fight” that you want?
Opposition has had years and years to build a stronghold and to show Malaysians that it could do better. Instead it has been a case of “harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi”.
Whilst I must admit that economic growth in both Penang and Selangor appear to have been maintained since 2008, there have been no great leaps that were expected. Opposition leaders have also shown to be equally as questionable as to conduct despite portraying themselves as whiter than white at elections time.
Whilst Penang CM Lim Guan Eng faces allegations of corruption in Penang, Selangor CM Azmin Ali has to explain about state fund DEIG (modeled in the likes of 1MDB). Their infighting and divisiveness as to territories with DAP in Penang and PKR in Selangor has shown that their coalition is not a true alliance, but one merely for convenience so that they can mark their respective turfs for bread and butter.
Now one Opposition leader has decided to breach the Official Secrets Act just to be a martyr, whilst another who served on the PAC inquiry into 1MDB signed off on the report but now choose to continue his witch-hunt post fact – really seriously really? Are these really the standards the Opposition is setting?
I think Opposition leadership should look at themselves and their failings before subjecting us to more political rhetoric. It makes them sound like they are already campaigning for PRU14 even before the time has come.
So the real issue, I think, is not about which side gets more sympathy but about how Malaysians seem to have lost faith in their leaders – be they from incumbent government or opposition.
Instead of working together, they are just suspicious of one another, and keep telling the world their suspicion to gain political mileage instead of allaying them. So now the rest of us Rakyat simply don’t know who to believe anymore. And it’s a bloody vicious cycle and waste of time to pin the blame for this tragedy back on the politicians.
It’s time for us Malaysians to dig deep and ask ourselves how long we want this kind of distrust to continue, because the alternative is we all lose. Can we be the agents of our own change by sowing some faith back in the system and learn to trust our institutions again? However idealistic it may seem, we can start small by looking at the strangers next to us and not wonder which political party they support before offering them our smiles and smidgen of faith in the true Malaysian way.
