Challenge from without
Are the dynamics about race and the chief minister’s post about to change again after 10 years of DAP holding the top job? Malays are now the majority group in the state and Pakatan politics has evolved in its own haphazard way.
Joceline Tan, The Star
THE move to limit the Penang chief minister’s post to two terms stirred a hornet’s nest when it came up in the state assembly more than a year ago. It originated from a rebel DAP assemblyman and was swiftly dismissed.
There is now an even more radical idea surrounding the post – the notion of a Malay chief minister for Penang and this time, it is coming from elements in PKR.
The discussion has gained traction among PKR circles and the interesting thing is that several of its advocates are closely associated to Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
The originator of the Malay chief minister move is Hasmi Hashim, a PKR politician and playwright who was, until recently, a special officer to Azmin.
The idea has stirred quite a bit of interest and the Telawi Society, a discourse group led by Hasmi, is hosting a forum, “Malay Chief Minister for Penang, Yes or No,” at the Malaysiakini premises this Friday.
The moderator of the forum is Najwan Halimi, an engineer who is an Azmin loyalist and Kelana Jaya PKR secretary.
“I think it is an idea whose time has come and it is worth exploring. I hope people will keep an open mind on it,” said Najwan.
Panellists for the forum would include politicians from PKR and Amanah, a lecturer and an online journalist. It is a sensitive topic and the organisers had tried but failed to get a representative from DAP to join the forum.
The Malay chief minister issue was sparked off by an article penned by Hasmi a couple of weeks ago. He had been watching the developments down south – the first Malay woman president of Singapore had been sworn in.
And, as he noted, she wears the tudung and lives in a HDB flat.
It stirred something among Malays on this side of the causeway and it led Hashim to declare that the time had come for a Malay chief minister for Penang.
Moreover, he said Malays now make up 55% of the Penang population and the chief minister’s post should not be confined to a certain ethnic group.
Hasmi noted that Pakatan Harapan should take the lead since Barisan Nasional did not have the courage to moot the idea.
As expected, the proposal did not sit well with DAP. According to Astro Awani, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has described it as a “spillover of racialism” and attributed it to elements trying to play racial politics.
The Chinese claim to the Penang chief minister’s post has always been one of those areas where fools rush in and angels fear to tread.
Hasmi is no fool nor is he an angel. He is basically one of those intellectuals who like to challenge the status quo.
“Penang has 1.7 million people; surely there is a qualified Malay among them,” he said.
Up till around the turn of the century, the Malays were outnumbered by non-Malays in Penang. The Chinese dynamics was very prominent, especially on the island.
The perception was that the Chinese would turn against Barisan if the post went to Umno and the party had to be content with the deputy chief minister’s post.
That sort of thinking also made Gerakan too comfortable and complacent as the holder of the crown. But all that changed after 2008 and the old rules and thinking did not apply anymore.
Are the dynamics about race and the chief minister’s post about to change again after 10 years of DAP holding the top job? Malays are now the majority group in the state and Pakatan politics has evolved in its own haphazard way.
Politics is about power and there are clearly elements in Pakatan who want to change the conversation and challenge the conventional way of power distribution.
“There have only been four chief ministers in Penang since Independence, and all of them have been from one race. No other state has seen so few changes in leadership. Even Perlis, the smallest state, has had eight mentris besar and there have been six prime ministers,” said Hasmi.
He said that Pakatan stands for new politics and the time has come to break away from the colonial thinking or what he calls perjanjian setan (pact of the devil).
His group is also pushing for a two-term limit on the chief minister’s post in line with the Pakatan manifesto.
Pakatan deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently declared a two-term limit on the prime minister’s post if Pakatan wins.
The coalition’s Sabah chief Christina Liew also announced that the Sabah chief minister post would also be limited to two terms and that the person would not be able to hold senior minister posts after that.
“Two terms is just nice. A head of government who stays on too long can give rise to corruption, cronyism and dictatorship,” said Hasmi.
Hasmi insisted that his proposals have no connection to Azmin and that there is no political agenda behind it.
He said he would readily support a non-Malay mentri besar for Selangor if the situation calls for it.
He said Azmin, who took over in 2015, has only served half a term and the same rules should apply to him when the time comes.
The DAP leadership was able to quash the rebellion from within its ranks regarding the chief minister’s post. Will it be able to do the same now that the challenge is coming from outside the party?
