[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian politics is the most divided and dirtiest in decades and there is no leader who can unite them for now, says sociologist Syed Farid Alatas.
Instead, he said, the drive for integrity must come from the rakyat themselves.
Farid also disagreed with Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s claim that he could attract Malaysian support for Pakatan Harapan in the upcoming general election, stating that Mahathir may have missed an opportunity to unite Malays after the collapse of his administration after only 22 months in February. .
“Mahathir played an important role in GE14, but only as the unifying factor in raising awareness about 1MDB. That is no longer relevant, ”he said.
Farid, a professor at the National University of Singapore, said Malaysians have for years heard their leaders speak in favor of race and religion, but “now they know that politicians are hard to trust.”
“The politicians do not speak for the sake of the rakyat (but for themselves). This is a rude awakening for them, ”he told FMT.
He said the realization among Malays began in February with the collapse of PH and the political “takeover” by politicians to gain mileage under Perikatan Nasional, leading to a confidence deficit.
He said the Malaysians had given PH the mandate to rule for five years, but the coalition had failed to unite the country. “He showed everyone that it is his own profit and not the rakyat’s (since they failed to join).”
Farid even questioned whether the rakyat would vote again as it did in the last elections, after losing confidence in politicians.
Turning to Perikatan Nasional, he said that the ruling coalition suffers from a major trust deficit as Umno still has its baggage of corruption, while PPBM lost the trust of the people when it joined the political parties it fought against during GE14.
PAS, he said, was also playing politics between Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional, having ties to Umno in one coalition and PPBM in the other.
Farid acknowledged that Malaysian politics were not disrupting the country’s operations as the public administration was still running, but it was having an impact on investors in the medium and long term.
“They don’t know if there will be a change in government that could result in a policy change,” he said.
He hopes that Malays will finally see the “ugly” side of the race and religion-based politics of both coalitions and push for better leaders for the good of the country.
The push for principled leaders, he said, must come from people voting for leaders based on politics, not race or religion.
“This will create unity between ethnic groups,” he said, adding that Malaysians must vote for those who will fight for all citizens and not for a particular race.
Within the ruling coalition, Umno and PPBM have disagreed over the allocation of seats and for better positions in the ministries, causing a division between them. The PAS has been trying to befriend both parties in the hope of gaining political power across the country.
Political analyst Zahiruddin Othman from Universiti Utara Malaysia said it could be Mahathir’s personal opinion that PH needs him to gain the support of the Malays.
He said the fact is that all political parties are divided and need each other to win more seats.
“We saw the collapse of PH in just 22 months and now we see the ruling coalition ruling with a three-vote majority,” Zahiruddin said.
He added that politicians are only to blame for the mess they are in and should not point the finger at rakyats of all races for their problems.
