I want to discuss the significance of the statement earlier today of the Perikatgan Nasional (PN) chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin that he was confident that the PN coalition could win “nearly 20” state assembly seats to garner a simple majority in the 40-set Penang State Assembly.
He said at the PN convention at the state Gerakan state headquarters in Penang:
“We need only 21 (seats) to do this. Now, it’s almost 20.
“So, if we want to win, we just need a bit more effort. Just one more percent of your power.”
Muhyiddin said PN’s win at the upcoming six-state elections could ease the coalition’s takeover of the federal government.
Muhyiddin’s statement has the following implications for the six state general elections expected in August:
- A hung Parliament in Penang State Assembly if not a new Chief Minister and a PN state government in Penang;
- PN captures Selangor State Government;
- PN captures Negri Sembilan State Government;
- A clean sweep for PN in Kelantan and Terengganu state general elections;
- An overwhelming PN victory in Kedah state general election where the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional coalition could win at most three State Assembly seats; and
- The toppling of the Anwar unity government after nine months and the return of political instability and national disunity, which will drive away foreign investors.
In the last few decades, Malaysia had been in a trajectory of national decline, losing out to one nation after another.
Recently, a comedian formerly from Singapore used very crude and vulgar language in New York to compare the progress of Malaysia and Singapore in the last five decades where Singapore transformed from a developing country into a first-world nation while Malaysia was mired among the developing countries.
What this vulgar comedian did not realise was that Singapore could transform itself from a developing country into a first-world country in five decades is because of the contribution of Malaysians, who flocked to other countries in the world in the Malaysian Diaspora to make other nations great.
These one to two million Malaysians in the Malaysian Diaspora should stay in Malaysia to make Malaysia great and not make other nations great.
The PAS President, Hadi Awang, said the Muslims in Malaysia should choose to become cow herders or pig herders.
The concept that Muslims in Malaysia should choose to become cow herders or pig herders is an outdated and antediluvian concept.
Malaysians, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, do not want to be cow herders or pig herders but want to be world champions again and to be a role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
Or in the words of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, to be “a beacon of light in a difficult and distracted world”.
Victories for PN in the six states in August will confirm Malaysia in the trajectory of decline towards a divided, failed and rogue state for Malaysia in the coming decades.
What Malaysia needs is the very opposite.
Malaysia, regardless of race, religion or region, should unite with one common objective – to make Malaysia world champions again and be the role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
Malaysian voters in the six states in August, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians or Muslims, Buddhists, Christians or Hindus, should not fall for the PN siren call for a divided, failed and rogue future for Malaysia, but should unite for Malaysians to become world champions again and to be a role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
The PN politicians are thinking of their own future, but Malaysian voters, both Muslim and non-Muslims, in the six state general elections in August, must think of the future of their state and the nation, and that of their children and children’s children.
To be world champions again and to be the role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony, all races, religions and regions must unite with one common national goal.
We must ensure that the coalition that formed the Anwar Unity Government retain the three State Governments with over two-thirds majority, while making advances in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, by winning more than three seats in Kedah and “break the egg” in Kelantan and Terengganu.
This is why the Yang di Pertuan Agong advised all Malaysians to maintain political stability and restore national unity which are the two prerequisites for Malaysia to be world champions again and to be a role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance, and harmony.
The Anwar unity government has given Malaysians an unique opportunity to reset and return to the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia written into the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukun Negara by the nation’s founding fathers (which included the first three Prime Ministers who were also UMNO Presidents) — constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, an independent judiciary, Islam as the official religion and freedom of religion for all faiths in the country, good governance, public integrity with minimum corruption, a clean and honest government, meritocracy, respect for human rights, an end to the various injustices and inequalities in the country, a world-class economic, educational, health and social system, and national unity, understanding, and harmony from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural diversity.
Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, must not waste this opportunity for a national reset and return to the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia — for such an opportunity is unlikely to present itself for a second time.