GEORGE TOWN – The reform agenda espoused by PKR will take a longer time to realise because it concerns asking people to vacate their comfort zones, said a veteran reformist from PKR.
Pertubuhan Generasi Keadilan Malaysia (Generasi KeADILan) chairman Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff told The Vibes that asking people to change for the sake of the country is not easy as it means making sacrifices and swallowing egos.
“But it must be done for Malaysia’s sake, as the country needs to change if it wants to recapture its reputation as an Asian Tiger economy,” said Yusmadi, who began his campaign back in 1999.
The former MP and senator added that it is only fair to expect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the person who triggered the reform agenda, to continue his fight despite facing various setbacks.
Offering his views on demands that Anwar step aside as opposition leader under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) bloc, Yusmadi said that it took South Africa over five decades to eradicate the apartheid administrative culture in the government.
“Anwar is the conscience of an unfinished struggle for reform. We must accept it, despite how bitter we have become because the movement failed to gain momentum despite a victory in 2018,” he said.
After emotions have waned, Yusmadi said, critics of PH should reflect on what happened since 2008, saying the coalition was never given a substantial chance to reform the country.
He said that the movement had always faced disruption, including the collapse of the two-year-old PH administration last year as a result of the Sheraton Move.
“It was Anwar who brought together a grand coalition in 2018, forgiving his jailer Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the greater good of reforming Malaysia. It was Anwar who brought together PAS, DAP, and PKR in the initial Pakatan Rakyat in 2008.
“In each instance, he was betrayed from within. It was not like he went off and became corrupt. He fought on. We must know our history so we do not repeat its mistakes.”
Yusmadi stressed that the reforms and efforts to create a two-party system to check excesses and abuses of power were betrayed by some politicians who opted for the easy way out and caved in to the allure of corruption, wealth, and power.
However, he also said that the Port Dickson MP is only human and has made mistakes, but at the same time remains the only viable option to counter the other two coalitions, who are bent on using race and religion to exploit the country’s faultlines.
“As ordinary Malaysians, we must ask ourselves why we allow certain quarters to exploit us on the basis of race and religion, when such diversities used to be our source of strength and the envy of our neighbours,” said Yusmadi.
Despite Anwar’s faults, Yusmadi said, he believes that the former is still the best hope for Malaysia to combat misgovernance as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which have disrupted the nation’s economy, healthcare, and political stability.
“If we do not change, there will no longer be comfort zones, but suffering zones instead,” Yusmadi said. – The Vibes, November 25, 2021
