Make Johore Dream the Malaysian Dream to restore strong institutions by upholding Rukun Negara principles of constitutional monarchy, vibrant parliamentary democracy, doctrine of separation of powers, the rule of law, a free press, respect for human rights and the multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural character of Malaysia, least corruption and an accountable public service with integrity and efficiency

As a Johorean, I want to see the forthcoming Johore state general election the start of the process to reverse the national decline of last half a century from a nearly an economic “tiger” to the trajectory of a kleptocracy, kakistocracy and a failed state.

This is the Johore Dream.

We must make the Johore Dream the Malaysian Dream to restore strong institutions by upholding the Rukun Negara principles of constitutional monarchy, vibrant parliamentary democracy, doctrine of separation of powers, the rule of law, a free press, respect for human rights and the multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious character of Malaysia, least corruption and an accountable public service with integrity and efficiency.

Is this too tall an order?

I do not think so. We must try as it is better to try to achieve what is best for Johore and Malaysia and fail to never to try at all.

Many things have been achieved since the historic 14th General Election of May 9, 2018, although many wrongs have still to be put right and in some instances, things have got worse in the last two years.

For one, there is greater public confidence in the independence of the judiciary, which is an important asset for Malaysia.

Secondly, the Johore state general election will be an answer to the question posed by a leading Hong Kong daily: “In Johor election, is Malaysia’s Umno seeking stability or a ‘get-out-of-jail’ card for Najib?”.

In the Johore state general election, the DAP will be accused of many things.

I am the most demonised person in Malaysian politics. To Malays, I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam. But I am accused of selling out the rights and interests of the Chinese and the non-Malays.

I am not guilty of these terrible and contradictory allegations, the product of false news and fake information but these are the trials and tribulations honest politicians must go through.

The DAP must be able to dispel the new tonnage of false news and fake information in the Johore general election ranging from accusations of failure to realise the Pakatan Harapan election pledges in the 22-month PH government to the DAP betrayal of its principles and vision.

The disappointments and sense of despondency over the outcome of the 22-month PH government is understandable after the high hopes raised by the historic decision of May 9, 2018 and I myself was disappointed as I felt that the PH government could have done more.

I met the then Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad in mid-2019 and expressed my concern about the rate of fulfilling the PH election manifesto. I had intended to meet the Prime Minister after the mid-term of the PH government but the PH government was toppled after 22 months.

But we must ask the people to be realistic – that it is not possible anywhere in the world to achieve in 22 months what was promised to be done in five years or 60 months.

The PH mandate to fulfil the election manifesto was for five years. If in the first half of the term, the implementation of the election manifesto was slow because of resistance, opposition or even sabotage, this could be remedied in the second half of the five-year term by an acceleration to implement the election pledges. But this was rendered impossible when the PH government was toppled in 22 months.

I will give just one example. An issue frequently used against the DAP is the recognition of the United Examination Certificate (UEM) issue.

At the DAP retreat in March 2019, DAP leaders asked Mahathir Mohamad about the UEC recognition issue, and he stated that the intention of the PH government was to recognise the UEM after the due process of the Special UEM Committee had submitted its report.

But the PH government fell in February 2020 as a result of the Sheraton Move conspiracy before the PH government could honour its undertaking to recognise the UEM at the latter part of the five-year term.

In the last two years of the two backdoor government, there is no mention of the UEM issue, but DAP supporters still blamed DAP for not implementing the UEM.

The other issue that will be used to attack the DAP in the Johore State general election is that the DAP is no more an opposition party and that we have been co-opted by the Ismail Sabri government because of the confidence-supply-reform (CSR) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ismail Sabri and the Pakatan Harapan leaders on Sept. 13, 2021.

I will fully support the revocation of the CSR MoU if the Ismail Sabri government breached it and failed to implement the terms in the MoU. But this has not happened yet.

I do not deny that the Ismail Sabri government is proving to be the most incompetent and even useless government in the nation’s history, but this is a separate issue from the question that at all times, there must be accord by all parties, whether in government or opposition, to co-operate in the national interest, as in reducing the crazy exponential increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths as happened at the time, or initiate parliamentary and institutional reforms like a law in the next meeting of Parliament to deal with the problem of “political frogs” in the country.

I do not apologise for supporting the CSR MoU for the sake of the country although I do not benefit from it at all.

These are among the issues we have to explain to the voters of Johore to make the Johore Dream the Malaysian Dream to restore strong institutions by upholding the Rukun Negara principles of constitutional monarchy, vibrant parliamentary democracy, doctrine of separation of powers, the rule of law, a free press, respect for human rights and the multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious character of Malaysia, least corruption and an accountable public service with integrity and efficiency so as to be able to end the national decline in the past half a century and take our proper place in the international arena as a world-class great nation.