If we can’t endeavour to be heard, then we certainly don’t deserve to be heard

Umar Mukhtar

At a time when we want so bad to tell each other and the civilised world how we really feel about what’s going on in our society so that we can move on to uphold the truth for our sake and those who come after us, right in front of our eyes drops an opportunity to do so.

As been said many times before, God works in mysterious ways.

For those who think that everything is okay and that the disturbing allegations of corruption and abuse of power are just that; allegations, this is the time to check on whether other people who have little chance to speak up agree with you or otherwise.

Conversely, for those who bitch about the truth being choked by a self-serving bureaucracy, this is the time to express yourself without being dependent on the initiatives of others or being blocked by them.

I am talking about the parliamentary by-elections of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar. Both are predominantly Malay constituencies with about 70 percent Malay voters and about thirty percent non-Malay voters. One is in rural Malaysia and the other one in semi-urban Malaysia. Both are on the west coast, almost a perfect representation of Peninsular Malaysia.

An urban seat would be too dominated by Chinese voters whose biases may have too many of sectarian intonations as to cloud the paramount issues. Or constituencies of the Malay hinterland of the north and the east coast will be almost full of Malay voters with similar irrelevant leanings. Both cancel out each other.

But one always has to earn one’s opportunities, even when it appears to fall in one’s laps. What a timely opportunity.

Let’s keep things to a single question to be decided at the two by-elections. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions. The question is simply:

“Do you believe there have been serious acts of corruption and abuse of power in the circumstances surrounding the 1MDB affair?”

Other things can wait. After all, PRU14 is only about two years away. Settle those then. Add in all other extraneous issues then. For now, limit it to expressing yourselves on the 1MDB matter.

Do you believe or not? This is the real court of public opinion made for those who have locus standi, and a hundred times more reliable than opinion polls.

But first, we have to earn that opportunity. Make sure that it is a straight fight between the government party and the opposition. Now who is the right party to challenge the government? That is a sticky affair.

Everyone who wants an effective platform to be heard should chip in. Do your part. Walk your talk and stop thinking that elections are for bitching and releasing hot air only. Only a straight fight will settle the matter of whether you believe or not. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nobody should be wary of this opportunity to listen. Everybody, the government included, should welcome the voice of the people over a very cloudy and divisive matter. Only if you have something to shy away from would you try to mess things up. Any arguments about why you should not turn these by-elections into a referendum is a sign of fear of the truth.

PAS and PAN have now both decided to run at the risk of messing things up with split opposition votes. Both constituencies have been places where PAS contested in PRU13 under Pakatan Rakyat.

PAN’s claim that it has replaced PAS in the new Pakatan Harapan, and is eager to show its prowess, is lame in the context of Pakatan Harapan’s pledge to Save Malaysia and willing to befriend and forgive old enemies just to do that. Let’s not stubbornly wanting to win battles and lose the war.

Whether DAP and PKR, the other partners in Pakatan Harapan, will shake PAN by the shoulders for it to see the light in the bigger picture, is yet to be seen. But one thing is sure, thinking Malaysians will revise their opinion of DAP and PKR over their actions or inactions over this matter.

And don’t try to bring in ‘technical’ matters to disguise your insincerity or cowardice. Or you will pay in PRU14.

Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar may not be the whole country but it is a microcosm of Malaysia, for better or for worse. Let’s keep an open mind. The said by-elections will not be kangaroo courts, and the rulers of this country will be the same until PRU14, whoever win or lose.

Nobody will be indicted over these by-elections, truth or lies prevailing. But the results of those two by-elections will help the people to know much more about what really may have happened at 1MDB.

This would also be an opportunity for Barisan Nasional to test what works and what doesn’t for their election campaigns in PRU14, even if they lose both by-elections this time.

And to Mat Sabu, Lim Kit Siang and Azmin Ali of the so-called ‘Deklarasi Rakyat’ crowd, we say, ‘Cakap mesti serupa bikin.’