15th GE election mood hotting up but Pakatan Harapan must reignite hope among Malaysians to generate a political tsunami on Polling Day on Nov. 19 to pave the way for Malaysia to fulfill her potential to become a great world-class plural nation

The 15th General Election mood is hotting up but Pakatan Harapan must reignite hope among Malaysians to generate a political tsunami on Polling Day on November 19, 2022 to pave the way for Malaysia to fulfil her potential to become a great world-class plural nation – in the midst of heavy rain and serious flooding during the campaign.

The various political parties are unveiling their candidates list but will all the 15GE candidates agree that the nation had fallen from the Malaysian Dream of a great world-class plural nation to become a second-rate mediocre country and that the 15GE is the occasion for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region to unite as Malaysians so that Malaysia does not continue to straggle behind other countries and end up as a failed and rogue state, a kleptocracy and kakistocracy by Malaysia’s Centennial in another four decades?

Will all 15GE candidates agree that Malaysian is still save-able and worth saving?

At the launching of the Sabah DAP election machinery in Kota Kinabalu, I spoke of the three scenarios for the 15th General Election: one, where UMNO and Barisan Nasional win the 15GE and forms the Federal Government of Malaysia; secondly, no coalition wins a majority and the country enters a very confused and chaotic situation post-Nov. 19; and thirdly, Pakatan Harapan wins the 15GE and Anwar Ibrahim becomes the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The three weeks since the dissolution of Parliament on Oct. 10 have seen a sea-change in the political mood of the country, and even those who at first are indifferent or disenchanted with politics since the Sheraton Move are beginning to realise that six decades of racial programming cannot be changed overnight in the democratic process and that Rome was not built in a day.

I myself am not satisfied with the change and reforms that was achieved in 22 months of Pakatan Harapan government before it was toppled by the undemocratic, unconstitutional “backdoor” Sheraton Move political conspiracy, but nowhere in the world could a government fulfill in 22 months a campaign promise for five years.

A government could be slow in the first half a five-year programme to bring about reforms and institutional change, but this pace of change and reform could be speeded up in the second half of the five-year programme.

The greatest challenge of the 15GE is the toxic politics of lies, falsehoods, race and religion.

PAS President, Hadi Awang accuses the DAP as communist as well as being anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Royalty alleging that the DAP was behind the move to ratify International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and Rome Statute in the first few months of the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.

In actual fact, DAP leaders knew nothing about the speech of the then Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2018 about the ratification ICERD and Rome Statute.

The Foreign Minister at the time, Saifuddin Abdullah has said that P. Waythamoorthy was the “lead” minister handing ICERD in 2018 which Waythamoorthy vehemently denied, calling Saifuddin’s explanation a “blatant lie” and an “insult to the people’s intelligence”.

We have yet to know the truth of the ICERD episode in 2018.

Furthermore, Hadi is unable to explain how Islam is undermined in the 55 of 57 Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) nations which had ratified ICERD or how the monarchical system is damaged in 36 of 38 countries which have monarchical systems which had ratified ICERD.

I do not know whether Hadi is accusing the DAP-led Penang government since 2008 as a “communist” government in looking after the interests of all races and religions – in fact, Malays and Islam received better treatment under the DAP-led Penang state government than under the previous Barisan Nasional rule.

If Malaysia is to fulfill her potential to be great world-class plural nation, as we are at the confluence of four great civilisations – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – we must get all Malaysians to think as Malaysians.

From my 57 years of political experience, there is no anti-Malay, anti-Chinese, anti-Indian, anti-Kadazan or anti-Dayak or anti-Islam, anti-Buddhist, anti-Hindu or anti-Christian sentiments on the ground, although some political parties are trying to drum up the sentiments that the Malays and Islam in Malaysia are under threat.

Let all Malaysians be pro-Malaysia – every citizen must be pro-Malaysian Malay, pro-Malaysian Chinese, pro-Malaysian Indian, pro-Malaysian Kadazan, pro-Malaysian Dayak as well as pro-Malaysian Islam, pro-Malaysian Buddhist, pro-Malaysian Hindu and pro-Malaysian Christian in fulfilment of the Malaysian Dream for Malaysia to be a great world-class plural nation.

I said there is a change in political mood in the last three weeks since the dissolution of Parliament on Oct. 10, and the third scenario of Pakatan Harapan returning to Putrajaya and Anwar Ibrahim becoming the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia is gaining ground.

The question and challenge is whether Pakatan Harapan can reignite hope among Malaysians to generate a political tsunami on Polling Day on November 19, 2022 to pave the way for Malaysia to fulfil her potential to become a great world-class plural nation.