Sunday, December 09, 2018

Why I am still optimistic

There are reasons to feel disappointed with Pakatan Harapan. At first it backtracked on the ICERD issue. Then the Human Rights event had to be postponed to avoid any clashes with the anti-ICERD rally championed by PAS and UMNO.

On the surface it seems it extremism is winning out. Just threaten to run amok and the government will give in to your demands, it seems. There is a fear that this will embolden the extremists. But in politics you have to pick your battles knowing that to win the war you don't have to win every battle.

This is what I think Dr M is doing. He realizes that there is some unease among the Malays about the new government. While most probably don't buy into the extremist rhetoric that DAP has taken over the government (how can it when there's also Bersatu, PKR, Amanah and Warisan in the mix), there is a segment which are gullible enough to believe in such hokum.

In making the U-turn on ICERD, Dr M disappoints rational-thinking Malaysians who understand full well that being against discrimination is a good thing not a bad thing. However, at the same time he starves the extremists of the oxygen they need to propagate their fear-mongering rhetoric.

UMNO and PAS leaders think they've won this round -- and in a way they did -- but it's a hollow victory. Whether ICERD is ratified or not, in practical terms nothing would have changed.

UMNO types like to harp on the 3Rs that they claim is under constant threat: royalty, race and religion. Well, even if ICERD had been ratified, we'd still have the monarchy in place, Malays would still receive affirmative action and Islam would remain the religion of the federation. So what have they actually won? Nothing. Because none of these things would have changed anyway. (Essentially, ICERD is just a moral stance against discrimination, that's all. It doesn't change the constitution).

What they lost was the ability to use ICERD as a bogeyman. Now that the government has said no more ICERD, UMNO leaders no longer have that to harp about.

Does this mean these jokers will forever be able to play the "amok" card? No. The reality is that many of UMNO's top leaders have been charged with all kinds of corruption (Najib for instance has nearly 40 charges against him while Zahid has over 40 charges). It's worth noting that Dr M has indicated that more will be prosecuted. By the time he leaves office and hands over the keys to Anwar, most of these guys will be in jail. It won't be so easy for them to issue threats of "running amok" from behind bars.

If we want more progressive policies, we will have to be patient and wait for Anwar's turn to become PM. Meanwhile, we have to let Dr M do his job and get all the corrupted politicians prosecuted.

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