DAP can’t have its cake and eat it too

DAP wants everything done their way. The Agong, the Sultan of Selangor, PAS, PKR, PAN, Pribumi, the Muslims, the Malays, all must listen to DAP. We are not even sure whether DAP will still exist come the next general election since its 15th December 2012 party election is null and void.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The sound bites over the last few days give the impression that Pakatan Harapan regrets a number of its decisions over the last year or two. Many opposition supporters have also expressed disappointed regarding developments in the opposition coalition and feel betrayed.

I already gave up on Pakatan Harapan as early as Christmas of 2010 when it was still called Pakatan Rakyat. In fact, I made this known during my interview with TV3 in late 2010. TV3, however, kept that interview and only aired it during the run-up to the Sarawak state election in April 2011.

Anwar Ibrahim had the gall to say that the opposition lost the 2011 Sarawak state election because of that TV3 interview. Should I feel flattered that just one interview and I can affect the outcome of a state election? I did not do any TV3 interview this time around and the opposition did worse in the April 2016 Sarawak state election compared to the April 2011 Sarawak state election.

Anyway, if just one interview can affect the outcome of a state election, then maybe ten of my interviews can affect the general election for the whole country. I have only one response to Anwar, which is jangan cakap bodoh. Stop looking for a kambing hitam. Admit that you are the problem. And imagine the opposition trying to offer the problem as the solution!

The slide down the slippery slope for the opposition started about three months or so after the May 2013 general election when rumours began to emerge that there was a plot to oust Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. To counter these rumours, Pakatan Rakyat denied that there was a plot to oust Khalid. Tony Pua actually said that Khalid is the best, most honest, most hardworking, cleanest, etc., Menteri Besar in Selangor history.

Then, towards the end of 2013, it was announced that PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh would resign his Kajang state seat to make way for Anwar to contest a by-election. Lee said he personally spoke to Anwar and when it was confirmed that Anwar would be the one who will contest that seat he agreed to resign. The rumour that Lee was paid RM15 million to vacate his seat was never proven.

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli then said the reason Anwar was contesting the Kajang state seat was not to replace Khalid as Menteri Besar but to protect Selangor in the event Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad successfully ousts Najib Tun Razak as Prime Minister. In what way Selangor would fall if Najib also falls was never explained.

Many knew that the excuse was nonsense but the majority of the Pakatan Rakyat supporters or Pakatuns are too stupid to figure that one out. The cleverer Pakatan supporters realised that what Rafizi said was utter nonsense, and that was when some started abandoning Pakatan Rakyat.

After Lee resigned his Kajang seat, they chose Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to contest instead, on the excuse that Anwar might be sent to prison so it would not be advisable for him to contest the by-election. Actually they already knew Anwar was going to be sent to prison even before the 2013 general election. So the 2014 decision for Wan Azizah to replace Anwar was yet another bullshit they made us swallow.

One bullshit after another, and even more Pakatuns decided to abandon the opposition coalition because of all this crap. In just one year Pakatan Rakyat told us so many lies that were proven lies not long after they were told.

Then Pakatan Rakyat went to war with His Highness the Sultan of Selangor regarding who should replace Khalid as the new Selangor Menteri Besar. And this upset many more opposition supporters, especially the Malays, in particular those from PAS.

So PAS refused to do what Pakatan Rakyat wanted them to do: which was to submit only one name as the candidate for the Selangor Menteri Besar, the name of Wan Azizah. And because PAS refused to play ball Azmin Ali became Menteri Besar instead.

DAP was so upset that they financed a group in PAS to try to oust its President, Abdul Hadi Awang. But they failed. The anti-Hadi faction only got 20% of the votes. Due to the failure to oust Hadi, the anti-Hadi faction all resigned from PAS and set up a new party called PAN with the help and backing of DAP.

Then they closed down Pakatan Rakyat and formed Pakatan Harapan with PAN replacing PAS as its ‘Islamic party’ coalition member. This was exactly what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did when he closed down Umno and formed a new party called Umno Baru — so that the anti-Mahathir Team B could be kicked out.

Mahathir Mohamad, the new champion of human rights and good governance for the Chinese

One damage after another. And now the damage is so severe and is more or less permanent. According to DAP, MCA and Gerakan are more or less dead with 90% of the Chinese supporting DAP. The Malays, however, are divided into Umno, PAS, PKR, PAN and PPBM (or Pribumi).

Malaysia’s Chinese population is only 24% with about 60% Bumiputeras. However, the Malays are worried that political power would fall into the hands of DAP or at the very least a DAP-led Pakatan Harapan. That is why Umno and PAS might see the need and the logic of talking to one another on the platform of perpaduan ummah, which is mandatory in Islam anyway.

Ironically, DAP’s boast of having a monopoly on Chinese votes may be the very thing that hurts them. The Malays now see it as one Chinese party (since MCA and Gerakan are supposed to be ‘dead’) against five Malay or Malay-based parties. And no one will disagree that Malaysian politics is about race and religion, or at the very minimum about parochialism and/or regionalism.

Screams of corruption, abuse of power, lack of democracy, etc., and the need for good governance, transparency, and so on, mean nothing to Malays who hold race and religion dear to their hearts. Even Mahathir supported the ‘Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia‘ rally that Ibrahim Ali’s Badan Bertindak Melayu movement launched in February 2001, before the formation of Perkasa in 2008, which is also Mahathir’s movement.

Anyway, so much has happened since 2013 till now in just three years. And all these events have caused serious and permanent damage to the opposition. So there is no turning back the clock.

And now Pakatan Harapan hopes that PAS will forget about the past and will agree to an electoral pact with the opposition coalition. DAP does not want PAS in Pakatan Harapan or as a coalition member. DAP will never agree to disagree with PAS regarding RUU355 or the Syariah Amendment Bill — which DAP mischievously calls the ‘Hudud Bill’ so that they can frighten the non-Malays. DAP wants PAS to stay outside Pakatan Harapan but agree to the terms and conditions of the opposition electoral pact.

The English call this wanting your cake and eating it too. Who the hell do these DAP Chinese think they are? After telling the Sultan of Selangor in 2014 to go screw himself, they now want to tell PAS what it can and cannot do. Apa lagi Cina DAP mahu? Should we drop our pants and bend over while we are at it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ucSOzCMcc