JULY 13 — The unexpectedly favourable approval rating for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a timely reminder to those who labour hard to see the end of Barisan Nasional rule that public opinion, all the way to the next election, is neither static nor linear. With the resources available to the ruling coalition, it is not impossible that Najib would reverse the currently sliding fortunes of Umno and BN.
In the latest Merdeka Center polls, 65 per cent of Malaysians answered positively to the question “How strongly are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Najib Razak is performing his job as the Prime Minister?” Among Malays and Indians, the figure is even higher at 74 per cent while it was 48 per cent among Chinese.
Barely three months ago, 45 per cent answered the same question positively.
Often, leaders in office gain a certain aura and approval rating, but a well-liked leader does not necessarily translate into votes for the party he leads. (I have been informed that the changes in voting pattern tilted in favour of BN minimally.)
And, an opinion poll is just a snapshot of public opinion at a certain point, which is constantly in a flux and changes according to the political actors or other conditions, internal or external to the political system. The poll during the tenure of former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a case in point, which dropped from the nineties to forties in a short period of five years.
While Najib has not achieved much substantially and the state of affairs (whether it be the health of democracy or the integrity of the government) continues to deteriorate, it is clear that, as a political opponent, Najib’s no Pak Lah and no push-over.
Najib publicly acknowledged that his father Tun Razak Hussein’s example of turning around the fortunes of the ruling coalition between the 1969 and 1974 elections is vividly remembered and hopefully repeated.
Razak’s series of moves, many of which were unprincipled and authoritarian to say the least, in the intervening years stabilised the government, muffled the opposition, and redefined the game with new rules (from a so-called consociational coalition of the Alliance Party to Umno domination, from a laissez faire economy to one regulated by the New Economic Policy, and from a pro-West stance to neutrality in foreign policy).
Najib tried to do a Razak in Perak in the form of a coup and still suffered from the public’s outcry. But some other moves were far better choreographed and visibly strategic, probably with the possible calling for an early election some time in 2010 in mind.
Political contestation in modern two-party democracies is often reduced to a choice of the better between the two contesting parties; not the best because they are not available. Or, more often than not, it is a Hobson’s choice of the lesser evil. (After all, they call politics the necessary evil.) It is akin to two men running from a hungry tiger. It is not about escaping the jungle, one just need to runs faster than the other.
While it is my fervent belief that the ultimate aim of politics is to uplift the community as a whole and to depart from the old politics of race, we must also admit that our opponents have all the resources at their disposal and the street-smartness to play their types of games.
Najib is using unity talks to win Malay support as many, especially those from the rural areas, are susceptible to the comfort zone of racial unity. Politics, since the last elections, especially portrayed in Utusan or, more vividly, TV3, has been chaotic. Nostalgia for authoritarian certainty is undoubtedly attractive to some.
The court case against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, even if it doesn’t deprive his freedom, is aimed at distracting him from his effort to create a practical, electable alternative government.
The prime minister is also hoping to win over ethnic Chinese fence-sitters through his liberalisation policies in the sphere of the economy.
On the ethnic Indian front, the Najib administration won some points by releasing Hindraf leaders from ISA detention. The very visible hand of P. Uthayakumar in the Kampung Buah Pala controversy and his intention to form a new party of his own are likely to serve as an electoral spoiler in stealing away ethnic Indian support for Pakatan Rakyat.
For those who struggle to replace Umno and Barisan Nasional, it is, admittedly, a difficult time.
But it is also a time for us to reaffirm our faith in new politics, to fight injustice and to build a new democracy premised on a new and fairer economic deal.
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Malay Unity / bumiputra concept results in the dumbing of Malay people's understanding of Article 1 of the Human Rights Charter. Want to breed more low mindedness in the ethnic Malay demographic? A lesser race of humanity? UMNO is doing fine.
As for the Hindraf arrests. This is BN's or UMNO's hateful style of doing things and running government. Inflict a wrong and then pretend to be a good guy when they correct it. End result? Nothing was gained. ISA is a travesty of the legal system. The Indian demographic however has gained nothing so far.
The Chinese fence sitters can only see 1 thing. Malay leader(s) who have not granted any semblance of true equality or meriticracy. There are hundredsof unequal things throughout the system that BN stands for and continues. Ask Obama what he thinks of the unwritten prevention of a Chinese or Indian ever becoming DPM, much less PM in Malaysia.