What WILL break the camel’s back?

Hussein Hamid
30/06/2015

Scandal after scandal but still the ruling party and its leaders continue to hold control over us. What make Malaysians wake up to the rot that is now all around them?

Last week saw the Mara Dudley House corruption story break in Melbourne and the arrest of Xavier Justo Andre in Bangkok. As in all things Malaysian, however tenuous and fragile the link, all things lead back to the Prime Minister Najib Razak – and rightly so.

The troubles that beset Najib’s administration are self inflicted. They are not caused by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim, not by Lim Kit Siang or by Hadi Awang. Nor were the Chinese or the Christians responsible.

The state of the global economy can be labelled a contributing factor only because in good times corruption and bad governance by inept politicians can be ignored or simply papered over as the rakyat’s attention can be distracted by the feel good spending by the government on projects that seemingly benefit the public.

But at a time when money is a premium and the lack of it is already being felt by those most in need of it – the millions being lost through capers such as the Mara Dudley House purchase and the 1MDB stretches the ability of the rakyat to tolerate anymore what Barisan Nasional is doing in the name of government.

The question is without doubt more pressing when the ailing opposition Pakatan Rakyat is in no position to offer a credible alternative.

Pakatan by the admission of its component parties has ceased to exist and like Najib, Umno and BN, the woes of Pakatan’s are also self inflicted.

So wither goes our future?

Millions of Malaysian have left Malaysia for Europe, the UK, Canada, Australia – anywhere they are needed, wanted and welcomed.

One would indeed be a glutton for punishment if one chooses to stay in a Malaysia that prosecutes, persecutes and punishes one for their skin colour, spiritual beliefs or the lack of it and for one’s political leanings.

Even as Malaysia loses these migrants that they really cannot afford to lose, those that are left behind have to deal with a government in denial of good governance, in denial of being accountable and responsible to the people for what it does in the name of governance.

And a government in denial of its inability to hold on to political power by the day.

But to whom will this BN government lose political power to? Certainly not to Pakatan for it no longer exists!

And so by default BN is still the political entity that we have to work with. This reality gives Umno time to work itself out of what would be an untenable situation if only there is a viable opposition.

Hence we see no sense of urgency on Umno’s part to understand the aspiration of the rakyat for good governance and for it to seek another leader in place of Najib.

If you think this is only an Umno’s and BN’s problem, perish that thought. The Malaysian public is also faced with the same dilemma.

A new Pakatan

By the day we see DAP emerging as the most credible amongst those in opposition. Their stature grows with every credible Malay that declares himself to be with DAP.

And it is so simply because there really is no other party for these credible Malays to join other than DAP. But that does not make DAP a better political party. Like Umno, DAP is where it is now by default.

Again the rakyat gets shafted by political entities that have become what they are by default and not by making themselves into the image of the political entities that the rakyat aspire to.

Maybe DAP tries harder than Umno at being what the rakyat wants them to be but trying is not enough. DAP must succeed.

In fact what we all want is for DAP, PKR and whatever elements of PAS that are still left within the old Pakatan Rakyat coalition – all of them must now only be a new Pakatan Rakyat.

A single political entity in opposition that will be the focus of the opposition critical mass within our people – to coalesce and be organised into and be that viable opposition that Pakatan has strived to be but never achieved.

At best an impossible task to achieve given that race and religion already divides our people and at worse it would result in the formation of a new Pakatan so fractious in its composition and so divided in its focus that it would never be able to be that credible opposition to face Umno and BN.

Damn if we do. Damn if we don’t.

I wonder what will eventually be the straw that will break the camels back and make Malaysians wake up to the rot that is now all around them.

Hussein Hamid is blogger steadyaku47 and has been blogging since 2009. He writes on all things social and political in Malaysia. He resides in Melbourne and maintains contact with acquaintances in Malaysia to keep abreast of developments.