Ali Cordoba (www.worldfutures.info)
(Riau Islands) 29th April 2007 - The pro-government media in Malaysia is enthusiastic with the Ijok by-election victory registered by the BN this week end. Some editors are already proclaiming the end of the PKR as a political organization while others are claiming that the vote shows an utter rejection of PKR's leader Anwar Ibrahim. However, the underlining of this election result augurs good for the PKR and for Malaysia altogether.
The defeat of the PKR and of Anwar indeed in his first electoral battle since his release from jail in 2004 is due to a series of events and an amount of 'wrong footings' by the opposition.
The opposition seems to be getting it wrong always. The PKR won a tight victory in Lunas, a by-election that was thought to be precursor of more victories to come by the PKR. Things turned sour for the party when in 2004 it was almost wiped out of the political scene, only to be saved by its leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who retained her parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh, Penang.
Wrong strategies by Anwar lost his party a tough battle in Ijok. Anwar's campaign in Ijok was against alleged rampant corruption and undemocratic practices in the government. He also caused controversy among Malay voters when he explained that the Malays should do without the affirmative action policy or NEP.
True it is that the government too is thinking of doing away with the NEP which gives privileges to the majority ethnic Malays, known as the Bumiputera.
Corrupt voters made the day in Ijok. They supported the National Front's 36 million ringgit pledge to develop the. Before polling day, some localities of the town flew the government party flag in a bid to gain attention and get their roads repaired.
Most of the by-elections in the country are won by the government party thanks to its powerful display of promises and development projects that overrides the promises made in the general elections. The voters are always attracted by the new deals offered to them by the BN in by-elections and this reduces the chances for the opposition in such polls.
Most voters would be saying why they should vote for the opposition when the regime in place is willing to consolidate their towns and villages as a result of the by-elections.
Local issues such as stalls and better roads or small bridges and other things that helps the people in their daily lives takes precedence in such by-elections. The national and international issues laid before them by the opposition have little impact.
However the people of Ijok, especially the Malay community, had the opportunity to show their support for Anwar Ibrahim, the man who it is said; could act as a rallying factor for the opposition.
What went wrong for Anwar at the Ijok by-elections is the strategy of the party and of the opposition as a whole. For the opposition it is not the promises made by the BN that stole the elections from them. It would be unwise for the opposition to analyze the Ijok election results based on the alleged corruption and undemocratic practices within the government.
The opposition should sit and debate why issues like corruption, lack of democracy and the massive use of money power by the regime did not budge the Ijok folks. They should also see why the presence of Anwar in the midst of the opposition did not bring the Malays to vote in droves for the PKR.
Though it is obvious that the PKR maintained its gains of 2004 in Ijok, it is also clear that the party is having difficulties – with or without Anwar – to rally a larger majority of the Malays to its cause. The PKR actually won more votes in 2007 in Ijok than in 2004 and this is comforting for its leadership.
In the first place, the Malays are confused on what are the causes that Anwar and the PKR are fighting for and are these causes worthy of their votes?
The PKR was born out of the absence of a proper platform to struggle for the release of Anwar Ibrahim from jail. However, the 4000 votes at the Ijok by-election this April (April 29, 2007) shows that the party is still a political force to be reckoned with. It is just that it does not have a real identity yet for it to claim a major role at national level.
The party has to set sail on new causes that are at heart with the Malaysians. It has to prepare a new project of society, a new vision for the Malaysians. Is it anti-Malay when it wants to cancel the NEP and is also anti non-Muslims when it plays the racial card in situations like Ijok? What would have happened had the party chosen a non-Malay candidate in Ijok?
The PKR is trying to be of appeal to the non-Malays too. It called for the abolishment of the NEP in a bid to satisfy the curiosity of the non-Malay voters. Yet in the same breath it did caused a drain of potential Malay votes due to the NEP destruction call.
If to appeal to the non-Muslims means shredding the rights of the Malays, then the PKR is on the wrong path and it will never become a national party.
Instead the PKR should teach the non-Muslims that the Muslims have rights too and that this right should be accepted and respected first. Then the Muslim majority of the country – it is a fact that Malaysia is still majority Muslim – will respect and agree too on the rights of the non-Muslims.
Malaysia is a racial based country. It is not the only country on earth that has a variety of races that made up the national population. However, in other nations, the race factor does not have such importance as in Malaysia. The PKR politicians and its advisers are missing the point when they try to ignore these realities.
Malaysia is deeply racial and the party has to play along these lines to survive. The Malay population will never allow political power to slip from its hands now that it has succeeded to exert some influence in the economy.
To extract Malaysia from this race bewilderment, the party has the utmost responsibility to present an image of security towards all the races. It has to consolidate the Malay political power and promise economic power sharing to Malays and the non-Malays.
Anwar Ibrahim, defeated in this first battle, is not lost and he must come out to make his policies clear while he shifts the party's strategies. He can rope in the DAP to support its new image or ask the DAP to get lost if the latter insist on its 'dinosaurs'.
The DAP will not stop the PKR from rising. Instead, as have been proven by Macap and Ijok, the DAP is dying while the PKR is still breathing.
Anwar is likely to draw more votes for the PAS-PKR alliance but it will largely depend on what issues they raise and why these issues are raised. The PAS will have to bring Anwar and his collaborators to understand that the Malay vote is of prime importance to their alliance and nothing can be done to change that as long as the BN plays politics on racial lines.
The PKR must maintain its involvement in the alliance with the PAS but Anwar Ibrahim must take the leading role, not the PAS leader. The Muslim voters of the PAS are not adamant and would allow Anwar to be the number one man in the PAS-PKR alliance.
Taking the center stage but not leading the parties in the opposition is not the most refined way for Anwar to re-enter local politics. He needs the platform of the PAS-PKR to win the votes from the Malays and constitute a stronger opposition that will be able to challenge the BN in future polls.
The Malaysians are still waiting for the rise of the new PKR with Anwar at the helm. Time is running out but nothing is lost yet!
(Riau Islands) 29th April 2007 - The pro-government media in Malaysia is enthusiastic with the Ijok by-election victory registered by the BN this week end. Some editors are already proclaiming the end of the PKR as a political organization while others are claiming that the vote shows an utter rejection of PKR's leader Anwar Ibrahim. However, the underlining of this election result augurs good for the PKR and for Malaysia altogether.
The defeat of the PKR and of Anwar indeed in his first electoral battle since his release from jail in 2004 is due to a series of events and an amount of 'wrong footings' by the opposition.
The opposition seems to be getting it wrong always. The PKR won a tight victory in Lunas, a by-election that was thought to be precursor of more victories to come by the PKR. Things turned sour for the party when in 2004 it was almost wiped out of the political scene, only to be saved by its leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who retained her parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh, Penang.
Wrong strategies by Anwar lost his party a tough battle in Ijok. Anwar's campaign in Ijok was against alleged rampant corruption and undemocratic practices in the government. He also caused controversy among Malay voters when he explained that the Malays should do without the affirmative action policy or NEP.
True it is that the government too is thinking of doing away with the NEP which gives privileges to the majority ethnic Malays, known as the Bumiputera.
Corrupt voters made the day in Ijok. They supported the National Front's 36 million ringgit pledge to develop the. Before polling day, some localities of the town flew the government party flag in a bid to gain attention and get their roads repaired.
Most of the by-elections in the country are won by the government party thanks to its powerful display of promises and development projects that overrides the promises made in the general elections. The voters are always attracted by the new deals offered to them by the BN in by-elections and this reduces the chances for the opposition in such polls.
Most voters would be saying why they should vote for the opposition when the regime in place is willing to consolidate their towns and villages as a result of the by-elections.
Local issues such as stalls and better roads or small bridges and other things that helps the people in their daily lives takes precedence in such by-elections. The national and international issues laid before them by the opposition have little impact.
However the people of Ijok, especially the Malay community, had the opportunity to show their support for Anwar Ibrahim, the man who it is said; could act as a rallying factor for the opposition.
What went wrong for Anwar at the Ijok by-elections is the strategy of the party and of the opposition as a whole. For the opposition it is not the promises made by the BN that stole the elections from them. It would be unwise for the opposition to analyze the Ijok election results based on the alleged corruption and undemocratic practices within the government.
The opposition should sit and debate why issues like corruption, lack of democracy and the massive use of money power by the regime did not budge the Ijok folks. They should also see why the presence of Anwar in the midst of the opposition did not bring the Malays to vote in droves for the PKR.
Though it is obvious that the PKR maintained its gains of 2004 in Ijok, it is also clear that the party is having difficulties – with or without Anwar – to rally a larger majority of the Malays to its cause. The PKR actually won more votes in 2007 in Ijok than in 2004 and this is comforting for its leadership.
In the first place, the Malays are confused on what are the causes that Anwar and the PKR are fighting for and are these causes worthy of their votes?
The PKR was born out of the absence of a proper platform to struggle for the release of Anwar Ibrahim from jail. However, the 4000 votes at the Ijok by-election this April (April 29, 2007) shows that the party is still a political force to be reckoned with. It is just that it does not have a real identity yet for it to claim a major role at national level.
The party has to set sail on new causes that are at heart with the Malaysians. It has to prepare a new project of society, a new vision for the Malaysians. Is it anti-Malay when it wants to cancel the NEP and is also anti non-Muslims when it plays the racial card in situations like Ijok? What would have happened had the party chosen a non-Malay candidate in Ijok?
The PKR is trying to be of appeal to the non-Malays too. It called for the abolishment of the NEP in a bid to satisfy the curiosity of the non-Malay voters. Yet in the same breath it did caused a drain of potential Malay votes due to the NEP destruction call.
If to appeal to the non-Muslims means shredding the rights of the Malays, then the PKR is on the wrong path and it will never become a national party.
Instead the PKR should teach the non-Muslims that the Muslims have rights too and that this right should be accepted and respected first. Then the Muslim majority of the country – it is a fact that Malaysia is still majority Muslim – will respect and agree too on the rights of the non-Muslims.
Malaysia is a racial based country. It is not the only country on earth that has a variety of races that made up the national population. However, in other nations, the race factor does not have such importance as in Malaysia. The PKR politicians and its advisers are missing the point when they try to ignore these realities.
Malaysia is deeply racial and the party has to play along these lines to survive. The Malay population will never allow political power to slip from its hands now that it has succeeded to exert some influence in the economy.
To extract Malaysia from this race bewilderment, the party has the utmost responsibility to present an image of security towards all the races. It has to consolidate the Malay political power and promise economic power sharing to Malays and the non-Malays.
Anwar Ibrahim, defeated in this first battle, is not lost and he must come out to make his policies clear while he shifts the party's strategies. He can rope in the DAP to support its new image or ask the DAP to get lost if the latter insist on its 'dinosaurs'.
The DAP will not stop the PKR from rising. Instead, as have been proven by Macap and Ijok, the DAP is dying while the PKR is still breathing.
Anwar is likely to draw more votes for the PAS-PKR alliance but it will largely depend on what issues they raise and why these issues are raised. The PAS will have to bring Anwar and his collaborators to understand that the Malay vote is of prime importance to their alliance and nothing can be done to change that as long as the BN plays politics on racial lines.
The PKR must maintain its involvement in the alliance with the PAS but Anwar Ibrahim must take the leading role, not the PAS leader. The Muslim voters of the PAS are not adamant and would allow Anwar to be the number one man in the PAS-PKR alliance.
Taking the center stage but not leading the parties in the opposition is not the most refined way for Anwar to re-enter local politics. He needs the platform of the PAS-PKR to win the votes from the Malays and constitute a stronger opposition that will be able to challenge the BN in future polls.
The Malaysians are still waiting for the rise of the new PKR with Anwar at the helm. Time is running out but nothing is lost yet!
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