Hamzah and Sanusi have made it easier to prove that there is no such thing as an irresistible “green tide” phenomenon to transform Malaysia into a theocratic state

The Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Hamzah Zainudin and the Kedah Menteri Besar, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor have made it easier to prove that there is no such thing as an irresistible “green tide” phenomenon to transform Malaysia into a theocratic state.

Hamzah, in his Concorde Club speech, said Perikatan Nasional (PN) could capture Selangor state government and that PN has a 50-50 chance to capture Negeri Sembilan in the state general elections of Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu to be held in the first half of the year.

Sanusi said PN could capture 33 out of 36 state assembly constituencies in the upcoming general election, apart from Kota Darul Aman, Bakar Arang, and Sidam, although a month earlier, Sanusi said PN could win all the 36 state seats in Kedah.

All that is necessary to prove that there is no such thing as an irresistible “green tide” phenomenon to transform Malaysia into a theocratic state is to prove three things:

1. That PN could not capture the Selangor state government;
2. That PN could not capture the Negeri Sembilan State government; and
3. That the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional coalitions which formed the Anwar unity government could win more than three state assembly seats in Kedah.

But this is too low a bar for the six state general elections and the objectives should aim at a higher bar.

The six state general elections will have special significance as it will be a mini-Parliamentary election, a forerunner of the 16th General Election as well as an acid test whether the Anwar unity government would have the political stability to last five years to allow the country to change course after six decades of nation-building, undergo a painful reset and return to the original nation-building principles the nation’s founding fathers have written into the Constitution and Rukun Negara to become a great world-class nation.

The six state general elections are a vindication of the struggle of the nation’s founding fathers like Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razak Hussein. Hussein Onn, Ismail Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock, Tan Siew Sin, Lim Chong Eu, V.T. Sambanthan who wanted unity in diversity in a plural nation.

It is also a battle for the future of Malaysia — whether we mark Malaysia’s Centennial in 2057 as a divided, failed, and kleptocratic state or whether we celebrate our first Centennial as a great world-class plural nation.