Opposition alliance back in Barisan Alternative’s dilemma
Oriental Daily
When the Anwar issue broke out in 1998, opposition parties formed “Barisan Alternatif” the next year to fight Barisan Nasional in the election, riding on the wave of Reformasi. At that time, the economy was in recess, the ringgit devalued, the share market collapsed and public grievances grew. However, even though Barisan Nasional was facing challenges internally and externally, Barisan Alternatif did not fare well in the 1999 election and DAP paid a hefty price.
Based on analysis, there were three unfavourable factors working against Barisan Alternatif. First was the hype-up of PAS hudud issue, second was failure by Anwar in winning the full trust of traditional opposition supporters and third, rejection by Chinese voters of street protests due to Indonesia’s violent demonstrations.
Today, the hudud issue has again touch a raw nerve of people of different religions. Reaction to Mahathir’s collaboration with Pakatan Harapan is similar to Anwar’s case in the days of Barisan Alternatif, or even worse. When the anti-Ahok demonstrations in Jakarta went out of control and casualties were reported, my first reaction was whether the opposition camp in the 14th general election would fall into the dilemma of Barisan Alternatif in 1999?
Looking back in history, we have to recognise the farsightedness of Lim Kit Siang in leading DAP into Barisan Alternatif whether it is for the party’s own interest or the advancement of democratisation. Even so, the opposition parties had spent nearly 10 years before they gradually defused various unfavourable elements in the way.
All the sacrifices made by DAP for the democratisation movement began to bear some fruits in 2008. Since then, Anwar has become the supremo of the three Pakatan partners; the Chinese have dropped their prejudices against demonstration and actively taken part in various street rallies. Even the hudud issue, which MCA and Gerakan depended so much for their survival, also lost its effectiveness in the 2008 and 2013 elections.
However, they cannot take all this for granted as when the political movement goes off track, all the deep-hidden fears would surface again. Therefore, when PAS departed from Pakatan’s common policy framework and collaborated with UMNO to put the hudud bill on the agenda for parliament debate, opposition voices grow loud again. PAS, in the eyes of non-Muslims, has turned poisonous in the ballot box.
The Jakarta protest has settled and from various reports, we are aware that it cannot be compared with the 1998 riots in Jakarta. However, to those who participate in Malaysia’s political movement, isn’t it a lesson to learn?
Bersih is preparing another mass rally and certain participants have advocated a more radical approach to exert greater pressure on those in power. Their eagerness for change is understandable. Bersih has succeeded in drawing tens of thousands of participants coming with families and children is due to be the basic fact that these rallies have been mild and peaceful. If a radical line is adopted in their struggle, the number of participants would plunge and the risk of violence would grow. This would bring us back to the starting point again after spending over 10 years to minimise the prejudice against street protests. Shouldn’t we worry more about that?
