The Need For PR To Reinvent The Wheel

It's always non-stop for BN to use their owned-media apparatus and government agencies that they believe in owning it to whack the opposition Pakatan Rakyat in all corners as to make sure that they are no longer the threat. When they are stunned to see the losses that they have never seen before in the last General elections, they have declared that the Anwar Ibrahim led coalition is a political threat to their survival and would play to the gutter. The three main things that gutter politics would involve would be:

a) Anwar Ibrahim must be removed from the board at all costs.

b) PAS via Malay unity talks must be separated from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, no matter how many times it needs.

c) The propaganda to throw Pakatan Rakyat into chaos will have to keep on being intensified via their owned-media.

The most important goal to achieve is to give a bad image to the opposition and to manufacture people consent of not trusting PR and herding people into believing of there is only one coalition to support with. It is right now a battle of perception at overdrive mode. Politics is a game of perception as well. Anwar Ibrahim has been called with things related to bad image like a chameleon, sodomizer and the CIA agent - as what former NST editor Rose Ismail called in 1998. And it still goes on and on. That is on the personal capacity. The big three parties each have sometime that the BN would accuse them of in the form of perception. Therefore, in this case, Pakatan Rakyat needs to reinvent the wheel to show a different perception that it was.

PKR always draws the biggest problem from everywhere, in and out. There are several opinions about the party in this case, some people would call them a tool for Anwar, Azmin and Shamsida's ends. However, many failed to understand the closeness of the three which dates way back to the early 90s. But having the three will give one kind of perception. And in the follow aftermath of party elections, there are some who called them as the same system as UMNO - with some grassroots ignored and some preferential treatment over who to be in which post and that. Many are unhappy that instead of fair votes that most ended up in Azmin as Deputy President, and with some intimidation and so forth.

The biggest problem is to shed the image and perception of being a relic and the same system of UMNO and the need to move away from thinking that it's just party for the three person ends. This means that the three of them should move to another unexplored avenue and give the leadership to someone as good as them to avoid more negative perception. Many have earmarked Nurul and a few young leaders as good to go in and head the party with young mix with the experience of it. Like the Mentor Minister concept in Singapore, Anwar will need not stamp his signature onto every matter, only when necessary or last resort.

For PAS, the unity government is always the constant problem and the "conservative" factions poses more problems up front. If you are someone who knows little of the party, the faces of the front leadership can give you perceptions that it is a "Taliban" style party and these leaders are "cleric-trained" - those who from the religious background in nature. Barisan Nasional knows that there are some who really crave to be ministers and they would dangle carrots in front those who really wanted it. However, it is the Nik Aziz factor that put a stop to the so-called unity talks there.

Yes, there is still public perception that PAS would implement Islamic state laws if anyone would vote for that and all other kinds of statements that enemies would throw at them. But one thing I respect for them is that they are not ass kisses unlike other component parties in BN would would lick and kiss big boss (UMNO). Currently, there is also the progressive faction in PAS - those highly-trained professionals that are progressive in nature and would be able to move forward in the party there. If PAS needs to reinvent the image as a not-a-backwater party, the progressive faction should be leading the party. I suppose that Nik Aziz would definitely agree it would be more beneficial for the party and the image as well.

There is not much avenue for BN to attack DAP except to say that PAS kowtow to DAP or DAP is a Chinese party. This is a misconception and there is a failure for many in the "get to know the party" factor. Of all the big three in the PR. DAP already has potential successors lined up for smoother transition, but it is the question of when can they go. DAP is originally intended to be a multi-racial party but hardly a few Malays in the party. This problem is the only thing that needs to be debunked by they themselves.

The mainstream-media, owned by BN political parties have been directed to attack PR at all costs. The moment if someone from the PR party is being accused for crimes or investigated by the MACC on corruption accusations, the entire matter will be exaggerated politically.

As quoted by Hishamuddin Rais last year:

Aparacik dan jentera kerajaan federal sedang digunakan oleh Najib Rosmah untuk melemahkan kerajaan Selangor. Kes demi kes telah dibuka oleh SPRM terhadap pimpinan kerajaan Selangor. Semua dilakukan untuk menekan agar ada Adun PKR yang akan berpaling tadah.

Media gerombolan telah digunakan hingga ke tahap maksimum untuk mengolah persetujuan orang ramai. Seluruh Malaysia cuba diberi tahu bahawa krisis yang amat besar sedang melanda kepimpinan kerjaan Selangor. Kerajaan Selangor ini akan runtuh bila-bila masa sahaja dan Khir Toyo boleh kembali berpesta ke Disneyland tanpa soal jawab.

Whatever the problems noticed are part of real politics.All leads to one objective that Anwar Ibrahim and PR is a threat to the political power of UMNO. The present perceptions of PR is giving them ammunition to attack PR everywhere. And if the attacks do not seem to do the real impact, the secondary strategy is to keep pushing for PAS to have unity talks with UMNO for the sake of Malay unity. But there is no such thing as Malay unity in reality. By reading past histories of mankind, it can provide us of such fact. 

PR will need to have a very fast effective fall back plan. Rather than people thinking that it is used for Anwar's end, and still the same system as UMNO's they will need to reinvent the wheel in out to say that it's a mix of experience and young talent, coupled with different and progressive leadership.