‘THE FIRST QUESTION VOTERS ASK IS ABOUT ZAHID’S DNAA’ – PAKATAN LEADERS START TO FEEL FEAR IN PULAI – ‘WHEN WE SAY IT WAS A DECISION OF THE COURT & IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS OR POLITICIANS, THEY JUST DON’T SEEM TO BELIEVE US’ – INDEED, IS THERE NOTHING & NO ONE GOOD IN MALAYSIA ANYMORE? JUST WHICH & WHO IS LESS ‘BAD’ OR LESS ‘EVIL’?
Zahid’s DNAA leaves PH grassroots leaders in Pulai stumped
One who did not want to be named says many voters asked about the deputy prime minister’s case.
PULAI: The conditional discharge from corruption charges secured by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has left Pakatan Harapan grassroots leaders stumped as to how to address the subject with the electorate here.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a PKR grassroots leader said they are unsure how to respond to questions from the public surrounding the discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) which brought the deputy prime minister’s four-year trial to a halt on Monday.
“When we approach voters, the first question they ask is about the DNAA in Zahid’s Yayasan Akalbudi case.
“When we say it was a decision of the court and that it had nothing to do with politics or politicians, they just don’t seem to believe us,” the source told FMT, adding that other grassroots leaders have shared similar sentiments.
PH grassroots leaders on the campaign trail for Pulai candidate Suhaizan Kaiat have had to field questions about the conditional discharge given to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a long-running corruption case. (Facebook pic)
“We can’t blame them because during the general election campaign, we promised to put Zahid behind bars, but now the scenario has changed,” the source said.
Zahid, who was accused of embezzling millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister between 2013 and 2018, was granted a DNAA on Monday on the application of the prosecution.
Meanwhile a grassroots leader from Amanah also expects a lower turnout on polling day, but mainly due to election fatigue.
“The people in Johor are tired of elections. We held two separate elections last year just months apart from each other – a state election and a general election.”
The source also agreed that many non-Malays are unlikely to vote in the by-elections as they do not reside in Pulai.
“Close to 30% of voters, a majority of whom are non-Malays, reside outside Pulai, many of them in Singapore,” the source said.
The Pulai parliamentary seat and the Simpang Jeram state assembly seat fell vacant following the death of Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub in July.
PH’s Suhaizan Kaiat faces Zulkifli Jaafar of Perikatan Nasional and independent candidate Samsudin Fauzi. FMT
Has our politics become about choosing the less harmful option?
With the Umno president’s corruption charges now withdrawn, what does it say about the PM’s reformist and anti-corruption platform?
But liberal Malaysia set aside the shock to accept it, because the alternative was unthinkable. For many, the thought that the prime ministership might go to the PAS president was simply too terrifying. Rightly or wrongly, liberals and non-Malays feel that if the Islamic party takes over the governance of the country, Malaysia will be kicked back into the dark ages.
The PM and the unity government continue to speak against corruption at every opportunity. But the PM sits on a rather precarious perch. His government depends on Umno/BN and the East Malaysian coalitions to survive. And many suspect that if Umno/BN withdraws its support, the East Malaysians will also go, so the unity government will fall.
The Umno president went on a purge in his own party because it looked like some of his party leaders were not in favour of this partnership with PH. Now, as the corruption charges against him have been withdrawn, the prevalent feeling in the country is that some high level “horse-trading” was done.
And again, the same narrative is spun to Malaysians. This, apparently, is the less harmful option.
The Umno man must be saved because if he goes, the government will fall. And, if the unity government falls, the alternative is that Malaysia will be subjected to draconian rules by a parochial and narrow-minded coalition.
I get it. This fear is real and palpable. The alternative is scary.
However, it is plausible to consider that even if this unity government somehow manages to chug along for the next four years, as a lame duck government, at the next general elections, Malaysia might still get that alternative. Voting trends and the growing popularity of the PN coalition seems to be pointing in this direction.
In the meanwhile, to claw back Malay-Muslim support, the PM has become “hyper” Muslim himself. We see his constant reassurances to the community, the increase in funding to the Islamic branches of the administration, and so on.
But the voters who are swayed and have thrown their support to PN, the very people the PM wants back, also know that the prime minister’s actual backing comes from the non-Malay populace, and with corruption-tainted Umno/BN propping up the government.
The PM becoming more Malay-Muslim than he already is, will not make a difference to them. They might argue that this is all political gamesmanship. He is just duping us.
And of course, their argument might be right.
Was the withdrawal of the charges against the Umno president, after four years of the trial, serving justice? The judge was satisfied that the prosecution had proven its case, and called the defence. Yet the charges were withdrawn. What will the court of public opinion think? Was it just political expediency?
So, it is political gamesmanship… choosing “the less harmful option”.
In the process, the justice system in our country comes under scrutiny. People who steal nappies, rice, and sardine tins, because of tough times, get jail sentences. People who tell jokes that some deem unsuitable, get hefty fines. But for political convenience, some are mysteriously let off the hook.
And what is this chicanery going to result in?
It looks like “the alternative” might be coming into power in due course, with the constant missteps and blunders that this unity government seems to be making. And, even political parties who built their foundation on a platform of fighting for justice and the citizenry, are silent now. Having safely ensconced themselves in the comfort of power, they justify their actions or inaction, on choosing the lesser of two evils.
So, where do ordinary people like us seek refuge, when there is one set of laws for us, and another for the political classes in our country? And which politician can you trust to helm our country properly?
Across either side of the Malaysian political divide, is there anyone that you and I can actually trust? Everyone has some “dirt” on them. And, everyone is suing each other. Yet, for their own political advancement, they will easily move the goalposts, and become bosom buddies at any time.
Can we then also resign ourselves to accept that everything that happens in Malaysia from now on is just a question of whether it is the less harmful option. FMT
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