Mahathir turning Pakatan into basket with rotten fruits

Karamjit Gill, Berita Daily

There were moments in recent times that PKR and DAP shelved differences and painted a picture of deception that all is well with PAS. They formed a loose bond with PAS despite being warned by well-wishers that it would be a disastrous move.

Despite having differences in opinion, they held on together only because of one reason – a common enemy.

The disagreements never disappeared; rather became prominent and ensued turmoil within the opposition. This has led to many of us thanking our lucky stars the opposition did not take over Putrajaya in the last elections.

Unfortunately, Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Pakatan Harapan is embarking on the same journey of ‘relationship of convenience’ again. They have accepted Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and Minority Rights Action Party (Mira) as strategic partners for the upcoming elections.

Mahathir’s admission that they are currently being perceived as a Chinese and Malay party and therefore the necessity to align with Hindraf and Mira is reminding us that he has not changed in his political approach.

Prior to Mahathir’s venture into Pakatan, DAP and PKR stood their grounds as multi-racial parties. Now, it is back to square one.

PPBM only boasts Malay members and is an exact replica of Umno. DAP is being perceived as the opposite of MCA while Hindraf and Mira will embattle MIC’s voting bank. In the past, Mahathir formed Umno Baru. Is he trying to do a Barisan Nasional Baru now?

PPBM’s notion of Malay only to woo the Malay votes and Lim Guan Eng’s mocking of MCA leaders standing in constituencies where non-Chinese are the majority seems to be reaffirming BN’s claim that the opposition are even more racial.

Everyone knows that Najib has been wooing Indians for years. Other then forming an independent Indian unit within the government and giving out millions in initiatives, he even allocates special funds for other ethnic sub groups like Telugus, Malayalees and Sikhs. He went as far as being the first prime minister to visit Thaipusam every year.

So, Mahathir feels that he needs to replicate this, so he goes about forming alliance with these fringe players to represent Indians within Pakatan. Unsure if they have any grassroots Indian support or even if 10% of Indian populace knows their existence.

These deceptive bonds with every organisation for the sake of toppling BN will spell disaster whether they win the elections or not. One may argue that such action is a necessity in the attempt to topple BN.

This also means admission that tossing integrity and principles out of the window to win is acceptable. If it is just another basket with rotten fruits, then maybe it is best we stick to the devil we know than the one we don’t.

What has happened with DAP and PKR’s principles of multi-ethnic members and policies? Mahathir was the propagator of racial division in Malaysia with his policy and politics for 22 years, which has been the bane of our existence.

Now, Pakatan and their supporters have given him the power to split the nation even more. Majority of the rakyat just envision a change, which is far from what Pakatan Harapan has to offer now.