NOVEMBER 18 — Yes, certainly! According to all polls conducted so far. Many are predicting Pakatan Harapan (PH) will clinch the most MPs, if not an outright majority. But will it be a win for the people and democracy, and most importantly Malaysia’s future?

As the tempo for a PH win rises, we have the associated intellectuals pleading voters to exercise their democratic vote to seal the deal for PH. We even had one top legal mind, articulating that constitutionally the party with the most MPs should be called to form the government, the very next day.

Regrettably, all of them are only thinking of the next few days when Malaysia goes to the polls on 19 Nov, but not what follows thereafter and for the next five years. They are fixated on voting for parties, and their cherished leaders however tainted they are.

They seem to have forgotten what happened after GE14, when there was three change of government and the turmoil that followed. And of course, they tell the voters to just ignore the baggage each leader in the party carries, but harp on the opponent leaders.

In short, vote for the party that is less evil compared to its opponent. But PH shines, not based on its own merit, but because of infighting among and within other parties.

And this supposedly is what democracy and freedom of choice is.

Vote for individuals not parties

I have repeatedly advocated for this democratic choice, but by a strange turn of events, never realised such a choice will present itself in GE15. I never thought the stranglehold of party veterans on its members and voters will dissipate so soon.

Umno until parliament dissolution was so united and strong that it forced Prime Minister Ismail Sabri to call for early elections against all considered advice. I even advised him to be careful, very careful and not dig his own grave. Its president Zahid Hamidi, facing multiple court charges, was so sure Umno with its coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) will make a grand comeback, after reigning for 60 over years.

So confident Zahid was, he sidelined several party ministers and veterans, an affront to Ismail, causing widespread internal dissension. Some hopped to rival parties, mainly Perikatan Nasional (PN), led by Muhyiddin Yassin. Some campaigned half-heartedly, while Khairy Jamaluddin was campaigning against Umno, essentially calling it a party of corrupts. Seemingly he allied with Ismail, but whose prospects of becoming prime minister has been washed away by the floods. Never before were BN diehard voters so confused. Yes, its BN vs BN.

Muhyiddin nursing his wounds for being kicked out unceremoniously, stepped up to mop up the disgruntled BN voters. Its partner PAS headed by Hadi Awang, forever dithering between BN and PN, finally seemed to be comforted by siding with PN. Together, they are chipping away Malay and rural voters.

PH was an underdog, and whose confidence in winning GE15 was so low, that they vehemently opposed early elections and refused to call concurrent voting in their three states. Suddenly PH, by default, is riding on a wave of anti BN and PN sentiments.

The end result is that veteran party leaders such as Zahid, Ismail, Muhyiddin, Hadi, and a host of second and third echelon leaders are facing the prospect of being voted out in GE15. The voters now realise that no leader is so sacrosanct that a vote for a party must be a vote for its leaders. Individuals and their record and capability are becoming supreme. The tainted leaders are the first to be thrown overboard.

PH is singing the tune that a vote for BN or PN is a vote for corrupts and traitors. But PH doesn’t have an enviable record either. Its reign was short-lived primarily because of its leader Anwar Ibrahim. He has a historical record of being greedy, selfish and arrogant with the sole aim of becoming prime minister.

In 1998 he challenged Mahathir Mohamad, and that led to his incarceration. In Feb 2020, he demanded that Mahathir keep his promise to make him prime minister, and that led to the infamous Sheraton Move. Even then, his continuous self-inflicted blunders sunk him further as a useless leader.

Until dissolution day, he was not seen as a prime minister hopeful, and even his own coalition parties were talking of ‘big tent’ approach. Anwar was Mahathir’s right hand man in Umno for 16 years, and doubt whether he himself has reformed. We are simply voting for ‘more Umno’ or ‘less Umno’.

Anwar’s deputy Rafizi Ramli seems to have fired up the voters, but he is one person who excels in digging up scandals, but has little to offer in terms of governing when in authority. He is nowhere near on taking a holistic approach and offering solutions like what I have written on the Littoral Combat Ships, the 5G roll-out, and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR.

Mahathir went from a hero in the eighties to a zero now, because of his own conniving ways.

The infighting among and within the Malay leaders, now divided among at least five parties, clearly shows the rallying calls for race, religion and supremacy is just a ruse to keep the Malay leaders in power, and to enrich themselves using the Malay masses. They remain in poverty, despite 50 over years of NEP where the share of wealth has hardly moved, from 15 per cent initially to 17 per cent now. The myth of ummah unity has indeed been shattered.

Vote for Malaysia’s future, not its past

A vote along party lines and its tainted and veteran leaders, some of whom I mentioned above, is indeed taking Malaysia back to its sordid past. Even more alarming with these leaders around, in whatever party combination, will make GE15 a repeat of GE14. They have horned their skills in betrayal and backstabbing, and rousing the sentiments of the general populace.

These parties and their leaders have no vision or policy prescription to take Malaysia out of the rut it is in. Just look at all their election manifestos. It is just a list of handouts, subsidies, projects and activities; promising more money from even more borrowings, while our debt has exceeded RM1 trillion. I have justifiably warned as early as 2 years ago that Malaysia’s economy is terminally ill.

A party cannot be judged merely by what it puts out within 2 weeks of campaigning. It should be judged by what it has consistently done whether in government or opposition. Did PH question why of the RM88 billion Covid-19 direct fiscal injection, which should be enough for each B60 family to receive RM1,000 for 22 months ended up getting peanuts?

Or why PH states like Selangor is destroying its pristine natural forests, causing more floods and natural disasters. Even as they throw brickbats at BN converting natural forests into toxic waste dumps and to mine rare earth minerals. Why did PH allow the Speaker to subjugate Parliament to the dictates of the executive? Have they spoken up against the tyranny of double standards and harsh treatment of the public during Covid-19?

Why is Malaysia the only country in Asean that does not have a disaster management law, while incurring billions and causing misery to millions of people from floods and man-made disasters.

Why didn’t PH come up with a comprehensive shadow budget, while blaming BN for using the draft 2023 budget as its manifesto? How can PH claim they can rebuild the economy, when they didn’t even perform their parliamentary duty?

I do not mean issuing press statements, response to media queries, shouting in parliament or the favourite pastime, mudslinging. Each issue as they arise should have demanded a policy or position paper from the opposition. I, as an ordinary citizen, could come up with some of the opinion pieces cited here, but what has PH members of parliament got to show during GE14.

Political leaders claim they are indispensable, and without them the country cannot be governed. That is a complete hogwash. It is the political leaders who ruin the country, taint and subjugate the civil service to serve the self-interest of politicians as they come and go. The civil service is best placed to govern the country if they are left on their own.

I have briefly highlighted these aspects to show that no one politician is indispensable. In fact, they are not only a nuisance, but will ruin the country as past experience has shown.

As I explained, the sentiment to throw out the once untouchable politicians has started among the existing veteran electorates. About 5 million new and young voters are coming on board with automatic registration and lowering the voting age to 18 years. What matters most to youths and the general population are the economy, jobs, and decent living.

I would only ask these new voters to tip the scale in favour of voting in qualified and decent individuals, rather than voting blindly along party lines. The list of party leaders mentioned above at a minimum has to be retired.

Use your own judgement. Don’t follow mass party hysteria. A vote along party lines is a vote for impending disaster for Malaysia. Just choose your own favourite candidate.

Therefore my answer to the question above is, it is irrelevant which party governs. Just vote in a good set of candidates to save Malaysia.

* Raman Letchumanan is a former senior fellow at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, a former director at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, and a former head of environment/disaster management at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.