I do not agree with those who see the landslide PAS victory in the Kemaman by-election as a sign that the green wave produced by the 15th General Election had not subsided.
The landslide victory for PAS in Kemaman would have been the coup de grace for the Anwar unity government if Perikatan Nasional (PN) had captured Selangor or Negri Sembilan but in the state general elections in August, the green wave failed to do so as it had reached it maximum mark.
Although the green wave is still a factor to be reckoned with, it is now in tatters. The Mastura fiasco has shown the Achilles Heel of the green wave – that it is built on lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech.
No PAS leader, not even Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the winner of the Kemaman by-election and the PAS Prime Minister-designate, has condemned the PAS MP for Kepala Batas, Siti Mastura for her lies and hate speech, for to condemn her would be to condemn the PAS President, Hadi Awang, who had done the same thing.
This is also the reason the Bersatu supreme council member Mohd Redzuan Md. Yusuf could not create waves when he predicted that 10 government MPs will switch their support to PN.
But what is surprising is the prediction of the former Prime Minister of the 22-month Pakatan Harapan government that UMNO will be wiped out in the 16th General Election unless it separates from DAP.
Clearly, the former Prime Minister’s views are not shared by even his Cabinet colleagues like Tun Daim Zainuddin.
UMNO’s salvation is not to turn its back to Malaysia’s multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character but to return to the original nation-building principles of the first three Prime Ministers of Malaysia who were also UMNO Presidents.