Betrayal of the Reformasi Spirit.

Oh dear, this is cause for concern for our next door neighbour. After the May 9 victory, the ruling party PH is not exactly doing well on the reformasi side. 

The surprise resignation of PH’s Vice president and daughter of Anwar, Nurul Izzah, was a big blow to the government. She said, “Yes, dad and mum are aware of my decision. It’s not something that’s decided overnight.”

Well, she surely had time to brew things over after becoming vice president. As the princess of reform (Puteri Reformasi), Nurul sees a dark cloud covering the democratic landscape.

She wrote: “Betrayal of mandate given the 9th of May (elections), insults those who are loyal to the cause...There is no meaning to democracy if Malaysia is governed by elite-based politicking.”

Nurul did not reveal much, largely because it’s a government (and party) her dad may take over in two years’ time if the grand old sage of politics, Mahathir, keeps to his promise. But what little she unveiled said enough about the direction that politics is shaping up in Malaysia.

First, there was the misgivings on the appointment of former inspector-general of police, Abdul Rahim Noor, as “a facilitator of peace talks in southern Thailand.” He was the one who gave her father the black eye when Anwar was in jail. 

Nurul said: “I unequivocally oppose this appointment of a brutal assaulter of an innocent man as he lay there blindfolded and handcuffed - left without medical attention for days.”

Then, there is the revival of a nonagenarian’s pet project, to build a national car. This expensive diversion led her to tweet that she hopes the government “will take into account the concerns shown by the people.”

Last but not least, is the fractionalim in the party. This is the case of senior leaders caught up in their own blind ambition for higher posts and the “allegations of manipulations, and worse, even fist fights breaking out.”

It reports that “in private conversations, she has shared her frustration over the federal government’s failure to address many issues, even as reforms have been carried out.”

Lesson? Mm...

Let me unveil another article today entitled “Old-style politics back with a vengeance in Malaysia” by Shannon Teoh, where he listed the various shortcomings of the Reformasi changes thus far. He wrote: -

“Instead, we have seen the early promise of a New Malaysia dim in the wake of several developments: The government lifted its own moratorium on draconian laws allowing for detention without trial and on offences such as sedition barely two months after initiating the freeze; racial rhetoric is on the rise; with Pakatan Harapan (PH) backtracking in a move to ratify a United Nations accord on anti-discrimination; and now, some members of the ruling pact are welcoming the very people Malaysians kicked out of power a few months ago.”

Well, welcoming the very people Malaysians kicked out of power may be a good thing if they have mended their ways and now pledge loyalty to the people’s movement. 

But alas, knowing full well that politics is about the struggle for power and not the devotion to the struggles of the people, my hope for that kind of re-energising change for the people is equally dimmed. 

Considering the recent major defections of MPs from Umno, with some choosing sides between the Mahathir and Anwar camps, I can understand the ominous condition laid down by Mahathir in fine small print when he said that he will resign in two years time, but “it is up to the people to accept Mr Anwar as their new leader.”

Replace the “people” with politicians or MPs and you know why the two sides are building up their power base with Mahathir having a head start due to his political clout and influence. 

Oh Ei Sun, a principal adviser to Pacific Research Centre puts it well: “The main concern is not so much the future of Umno, whose collapse is inevitable, but both the Mahathir and Anwar camps are swooping in like vultures to pinch what is left of Umno’s carcass in their tussle over the promised succession.” 

Maybe, as Singaporeans, something inside of us hope that Malaysians will be distracted enough by their own internal in-fightings to not cause any territorial and power disturbances to our little red dot over the rail, water and sea boundary issues. 

But, as good neighbours, what happens to them spills over to us. Their instability will send tremors down our pathway to progress, and conversely, their prosperity benefits us too. 

In other words, no honest and good politician secretly embraces the politics of schadenfreude, that is, taking pleasure in another’s misery.

Politics between two neighbour states is ultimately about survival by pursuing one’s sovereign interests, but once survival is achieved on both sides, flourishing is the next logical step to development, and as game theory has shown thru the playing out of thousands of different scenarios, the wisest policy in politics is still cooperation, collaboration and mutuality of growth and development. 

This is not just a tic-for-tat tactical move but more of a I-am-here-for-you kind of long-term strategic relations building. 

So, let me end on an ironic note. 

PH has to concede that they won largely because of the grand old sage of politics. In scientific term, PH is not pH neutral. You can’t imagine a PH without a Mahathir to lead the charge. I guess this lend political credence to the saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend or political collaborator. 

But that saying hides the next sentiment that the enemy of my enemy can just as well become our worst enemy after the friendship of convenience is spent. 

So, the added irony is in these words by Shannon: “He (Mahathir) delivered the election with cold political calculation and shrewd pugilistic tactics. So why the surprise and disappointment when he uses the same to secure himself in power?”

Alas, that’s how politics are? Can the crab walk straight then? 

And when being criticised by the liberal reformists for accepting Umno “rubbish”, Mahathir said: “We are a democratic government, we believe in democracy and democracy allows frogs to jump.”

Mm...in the same vein with the wistful pleading for crabs to walk straight, can frogs - however the age - stay with one’s promise of succession and not jump out of it in the blind ambition for power grabs? 

I guess only time will tell, and in the predictable degeneration of crude politics, I dread that the only alternative to stop this hopping madness is to resort to having frog legs for dinner.