LETTER | What is the real tragedy of Johor polls?

LETTER | The fact that PKR got wiped out in the Johor state election - except for one seat - is not a tragedy. The fact that Umno won so convincingly was the real tragedy.

The fact that the leaders of Umno who were responsible for all the stealing, looting and squandering of the nation’s wealth were rewarded in this election in spite of the party’s nefarious conduct - that is our tragedy.

The criminal who was convicted for the crimes he had committed against the nation was embraced like a hero wherever he went - that was an amazing tragedy.

There was no abhorrence, no revulsion, no repulsion for a party that was tainted and defamed by leaders who had no qualms for stealing and cheating had their day in Johor - that was the tragedy.

A criminal and felon was greeted enthusiastically as “Bossku” and accepted indiscriminately as a leader - that was the tragedy.

How come Johoreans forgot so easily that billions were stolen which went into private accounts, money that could have helped build thousands of houses for the needy, many more hospitals to support our healthcare system, better schools that could have helped the poor to escape their circumstance?

No accountability was demanded from the villains. They were not punished for their corruption; they were not rejected for their uncaring and unconscionable conduct. That was the great tragedy.

Is corruption now accepted as a way of life in Malaysia? Is it unnecessary to have ethical and honest leaders who truly work for the welfare of the nation? Don’t we deserve leaders whose commitment would be to uplift the downtrodden and not enrich themselves, their families and their cronies?

We spent millions of ringgit to carry out the Johor election. The elected government is morally obliged to implement the mandate of the people as promised by the party. But when the state assembly does not even have the honesty and decency to appoint the menteri besar of its choice as promised to the electorate, that was the real tragedy.

Is a manifesto necessary to win over support based on the promises made if that cannot be implemented? What is the point of campaigning, meeting people and going all over the place to convince the people that they deserve their support when in the end the democratic decision could not be implemented? Isn’t that tragic?

A willful, serial violator of the SOP who was fined five times for this offence, should he be allowed to carry on campaigning? Shouldn’t he be barred after being fined two or three times for ignoring the rules wantonly?

There is also the other tragedy committed by the opposition parties who were on an ego trip. It has been pointed out that as many as 36 seats won by Umno/BN were won by default In these seats, the combined votes garnered by the opposition parties were more than the votes obtained by Umno/BN.

In a purportedly straight fight in these constituencies, and given the electoral mood and the leadership signal, probably Umno/BN would have secured only a handful of these seats. Collectively, the opposition parties handed over victory to Umno/BN. That was the biggest tragedy.

Perhaps, the only blessing in the Johor election was the complete annihilation of Pejuang. All its 52 candidates ended up losing their deposits. It was 100 percent rejected by the people. It was indeed a gratifying result.

We are in this mess because of Pejuang’s founder, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He was reluctant to implement the promised reforms when Pakatan Harapan formed the government. He reneged on his promise to hand over the premiership to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as solemnly pledged.

In a baffling move, he resigned as PM without even discussing with his coalition partners in Harapan. Where lies the principle of accountability to partners? This silly move effectively helped oust the duly elected Harapan government. It undermined the credibility of the coalition and dashed the hopes of the many people who helped Harapan achieve the impossible - defeating BN.

We hope that the opposition parties will come to their senses and avoid multiple contests in GE15. We hope that the people will once again rise in revulsion against corruption and unbecoming conduct and bring about a second miracle when we go to the polls in the forthcoming GE15.

It is truly said, “Hope is the one thing that can help us get through the darkest of times.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.