THE results of the 15th general election (GE15) will go down as the most unpredictable, as well as a revelation of the level of polarisation in this country.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) once dismissed as “has-beens” following dismal showings in the Johor and Melaka state elections, have emerged at the federal level as a force to be reckoned with where it could even form the federal government.
It has in common with Pakatan Harapan (PH) a manifesto to fight corruption, constantly referring to Umno – its partner in government for over two years as the “court cluster”.
This is a dig at several Umno leaders, chiefly its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing a multitude of corruption charges.
However, what you also get from PN – and this is in stark contrast to PH and even Umno – is a more hardline Islamic and Malay party.
Suddenly, Umno is seen as the liberal Malay party that makes the effort to be inclusive of non-Malays and embraces the social fabric of the nation.
It does not help that PN is led by an “I am Malay first” leader in Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. This is amplified by the fact that its partner is PAS, which, under Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, has taken the Islamist party to a level where it is considered a potential hotbed for extremist activities.
This is augmented by statements from Hadi, and, in recent days, Muhyiddin, that demonise minorities.
Even the Indonesian Council of Ulama’s Prevention for Extremism and Terrorism Bureau deputy secretary Rakyan Adibrata had told The Vibes in September that while PAS has never outrightly promoted violence for political goals, the extreme views it holds could radicalise certain sections of the community.
Which brings one to the appeal of the Malay community to PN.
Perhaps after 61 years, they have decided that Umno has yet to learn its lessons from 2018, where it lost the government for the first time since independence.
That it is still a party that condones – even participates – in corruption. And despite its own fear mongering that the Malays will lose any protection should Umno lose power, the Malay community itself has been receiving a raw deal.
With poverty, unemployment and lack of education at disgraceful levels among the Malay community, they were looking for a fresh start with a new party – even if this new party is made up of the old guards of Umno.
For some reason, the prospect of a Malay-dominated yet multi-racial PH is not appealing to them.
PN brings with it a narrative of being uncompromising on corruption: that Muhyiddin was sacked as deputy prime minister and ousted from Umno by Datuk Seri Najib Razak because the former had queried him over the 1MDB scandal paints Muhyiddin as a clean Malay leader.
The truth is, the Malays want an alternative Malay party that is not Umno.
It was a miscalculation on many parts – the media included – to assume that first-time voters would flock to PH.
There are many disenfranchised Malay youth who do not feel that Umno and BN will be able to uplift them.
PH, with the spectre of DAP, is also not an option, as Malay youth gravitate towards the racial narrative of a Chinese party that will not look after their welfare.
If the anti-corruption value proposition drew their attention, the racial rhetoric and Jew-mongering helped tip the scales.
In the wee hours of the morning, PH had the edge over PN with 82 votes to the latter’s 73.
Yet Muhyiddin claims to have the endorsement of the palace to form the next government via a letter with instructions.
Anwar, on the other hand, is insistent that he has the numbers.
What is certain, though, is that all – with the exception of PN – have misread the ground and the nation is essentially waking up to a hung Parliament, with possibly no government in place in the days to come. – The Vibes, November 20, 2022
Terence Fernandez is editor-in-chief of PETRA News, which publishes The Vibes and Getaran
