When Pakatan Harapan announced Tun M as the pact's next PM if they win upcoming general election, something suddenly feels not right. Ironically, it was also Wan Azizah who took the privilege to unfold the mystery.
What happens to the Reformasi struggle in 1998? What happens to the tears of Wan Azizah and her young children when her husband was taken to police custody for various accusations including sodomy? What happens to the weekly street demonstrations and fights among the public and police?
For me it was still vivid of all the events that happens during the 1998 Reformasi. Weekly demonstrations were easily started without opposition political parties having to spend a dime to conscript their supporters from all over Malaysia to the streets of Kuala Lumpur (mainly in Jalan TAR and Dataran Merdeka). The mob opposing to the Mahathir rule was easily formed usually after 4pm (which happens to be the time when half day working is over) in Saturday.
People will gather on the side walks of Pertama and Sogo, and with only one shout of Reformasi, weekly Reformasi demonstration was on. Crowd will swell in matter of minutes and they will march along the road to Dataran Merdeka. Depending on their luck, it would be tear gas or water cannon response from the police at that time. Usually the crowd will be dispersed around 7-8pm.
1998 was a hard year. Haze from Indonesia was choking us all. Financial crisis though had less impact on average low income Malaysian like myself, still it limited the already minimal buying power. It was also the time of El Nino, when heat was unbearable and rain drops were few. The memory was still clear when people not only have to restrict their spending, but also have to bear the water rationing.
So the mood was not good. And Anwar dismissal was the boiling point. But still Tun M managed to pull it through, thanks to the 2/3 majority he had before, he restructured ethnic composition in Malay dominated seats.This strategy was adopted because Tun M sensed that PAS will jump upon the opportunity of Malay resentment against him. Maybe the closure of many UMNO branches and sudden spring up of new PAS branches trigger him to make this decision.
However the decision to minimize the seats of majority Malay dominated seat might have saved him during the 1999 elections, when the the non Malays were afraid of the Hudud agenda brought up by PAS then. But 10 years on, this decision has actually sealed the fate of Malays in Penang, Perak and Selangor. Those states were finally captured by the opposition led DAP when the non-Malays, especially when the Chinese changed their solid support for them..
The irony is that, it was Tun M who was disappointed with the Chinese when the second "Chinese-tsunami" happened after GE-13. But now he has aligned himself with the people he resented so much before and disposed of. It is understandable for a seasoned politician like Tun M and Pakatan Harapan leaders to make multiple U Turns in his life disregarding his own principle and ideology. But when it comes to the ordinary opposition supporters, it is totally a different story and mind boggling.
Why are they so stupid and ignorant that they easily let go of all those hard ships, struggles and burnt emotions, so that they can vote in a very old authoritarian leader into power again? Not only Malaysia will mark a new record of having re install a 90+ years old PM, but the opposition themselves will create a new theory in political science when they make their own mortal enemy as their next supreme leader!
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