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Blinded by our own political myopia

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Will Najib survive, or will Machiavellian Mahathir enlist the opposition by a truce with Anwar?

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By J.D. Lovrenciear

Today Malaysia is gripped in a sinking political quagmire that certainly does not augur well for the times ahead. While many nations across the globe are rising to match the challenge, we are sinking deeper by the month, given the deepening fissures caused by the racially-anchored ruling Barisan Nasional party’s framework.

Will the 42 percent of voters in the last general election, who gave the mandate to BN to lord it over the 50.87 percent who aspired to see a change in government, now shift their loyalty come the next elections?

Will Umno itself permanently break into two camps as the pro- and anti-Najib armies battle on, or settle for an unholy compromise at the eleventh hour?

Will the BN component parties, MCA and MIC in particular, lose the groundswell as their ‘big brother’ Umno cracks up? Already we see an MIC deeply wounded by the fight for supremacy between two leaders. MCA is also under acute attack by the Chinese business community and educationists.

Today, with Anwar Ibrahim locked away in prison, what will be the battle armour of the opposition coalition that is already seeing its own brand of political checkmate as Umno bleeds and MIC and MCA suffer from increasing injury time and casualties.

While propaganda-peddling moves into higher gear as both camps in Umno battle on, PAS is being held as the ‘Joker’ card in a desperate need to net the crucial Malay Muslim population. Amanah, the PAS splinter faction, is meanwhile the opposition’s best bet for now.

At the centre of this political tornado is Najib Razak. Will he survive the rising storm with his hand-picked crew in the executive, judiciary and law enforcement? Or will the ‘Machiavellian’ former prime minister succeed in ousting Najib? Will he count on his ex-comrades alone or will he relent and enlist the opposition, letting bygones be bygones and make a truce with Anwar Ibrahim?

Amidst the rising storm stand Malaysian voters. Only they can make a decisive clean sweep to set the country right after five decades of political passivity or political grooming.

Will we fall for the free lunches, the gravy train rewards for politicians and business communities and pathetic handouts to the masses? Will we fall for the race territorialism deeply entrenched into the Malaysian mindset? Will we be successfully baited by the powers that be? Why must a nation of people suffer such uncertainty because of one man’s determination to lead the country?

The answer perhaps lies in the fact that Malaysians place political party interests and goals – race, religion and pie sharing – above principle-centered and charismatic leadership. In all likelihood we will be blinded by our own myopia as we debate democracy, freedom and rights.

J.D. Lovrenciear of Kuala Lumpur is an FMT reader

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