Is there hope for PR?

So far, the coalition has been gaining support simply by feeding on our disappointments with BN.

COMMENT

Even the greatest lives have experienced despair. When this happens, we need hope to pull us out of the trench.

When Anwar Ibrahim first chanted “Reformasi”, he gave us just what we were yearning for – hope. With that first chant, ordinary Malaysians started a mental journey, anticipating changes for the betterment of our beloved home.

Anwar became our hope for a better future. Many looked at him as a godsend, a leader who finally had the guts to challenge Big Brother.

That hope united all opposition forces and grew into something even greater. It made us crawl out of our tiny boxes and hold each other’s hands. It made us march through the streets in true solidarity. It gave us courage to stand up for ourselves.

And soon it wasn’t about Anwar anymore. It was about you and I. It was about every ordinary Malaysian yearning for justice and liberty.

Yes, Pakatan Rakyat gave us hope.

Sadly, we are now asking ourselves: Is there hope for Pakatan?

I recently attended a forum organised by the civic group Lensa Anak Muda Malaysia (LENSA). The topic was “Is There Hope?” and the panellists were PAS Youth chief Suhaizan Kayat, DAP Youth chief Teo Kok Seong, PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Ahmad, political activist Mandeep Singh and student activist Luqman Nul Hakim.

I thought this forum was well timed because the decision on Anwar’s case was near. What if Anwar gets himself behind bars once again? What if the component parties are not able to find a common ground on PAS’ insistence on hudud? What if the leaders of PR continue to grumble over their disagreements? Is there, indeed, hope?

In between my yawns, I got my answer. It was a big fat “yes”. According to all three youth chiefs, there is hope that Pakatan Rakyat will remain intact. They claimed that their presence at the forum, together, should be taken as solid proof of unity and solidarity. “To know the future of a country, you need not look elsewhere, just look at us,” one of them said. “As long as we are united, there is hope for PR.”

I don’t buy that. After two and a half hours of listening to them, everyone who attended the forum deserves to get a better answer than “Yes, there is hope.”

How do you see hope when your leaders are bickering with one another?

Throughout the forum, the three youth chiefs kept giving two assurances. First, it is normal to have a bit of a “storm” in the party. “Democracy is noisy,” one said. Second, there are no big issues in PR; 90% of the party members are happy. They pleaded with the public to focus on the 90% and not the 10%.

Common ideology

I am baffled. Is hudud one of the minor issues you are refering to? Forgive me but any leader who thinks failure to have a common ideology for PR’s component parties as a 10% issue should be hung upside down because, clearly, there’s something not working up there.

Come on, instead of sweeping your internal issues under the rug, claiming they are minor problems amplified by the media, why not admit it?

But this is the whole issue with PR. It has always been talk, talk, talk. You chant “Reformasi”, but what real changes have you brought?

It has always been about exposing the flaws of the ruling government – corruption, murder, power abuse, national debt, GST and so on. Yes, we get it. So what? We are not interested on who did what anymore. Instead, we want to know what you intend to do about it.

Let us be honest with ourselves. The main reason most people are behind PR is simply that we have no other choice. PR is gaining support from us simply by feeding on our anger, disappointment and frustration with the ruling party.

A friend once told me: “If PR doesn’t mess up big time, it is already better than BN. We have been raped and sodomised for far too long. So our only hope lies with PR. Let them rule for at least 20 years and then see what is their report card. If they fail us, then we can fail them.”

There are many others out there who share that opinion. But can we afford to wait for 20 more years? And then what? Back to BN to be dragged for another 50 years?

In GE12, we gave you five states. In GE13, we gave you 52% support. What have you given us in return, PR? Where is the change you promised? Where is the reformasi? Where is our hope?

As much as I have high respect for Anwar, his sodomy case decision on February 10 should not have much effect on the strength of PR. If PKR collapses with Anwar being sent away and with PAS and DAP bickering over hudud, I do not see any hope for PR. How can a coalition work if the leaders are trading barbs over common policy?

Pakatan Rakyat needs to stop deriving its strength from promoting BN’s flaws. Your strength isn’t BN’s weaknesses. PR’s strength lies with its strong component parties. Unlike MIC and MCA, which are shadows of Umno, in PR we have PKR, PAS and DAP standing equally tall. You are equally strong, equally capable and equally stubborn.

If PR wants to fix problems it needs to be serious about what those problems are. It is time you roll up your sleeves and get to work. You can no longer gain our confidence simply by embracing your coalition teammates. You can’t win us over by having PAS members wearing DAP T-shirts and DAP members marching with PKR flags. It doesn’t work anymore.

This is not about Anwar any longer. This is also not about Kit Siang or Hadi. It is about me. It is about the 52% of voters who planted their hopes in your hands. You made us a promise. You gave us hope. We demand that you fulfil it.