Now is a good time to take a deep breath and ask ourselves what sort of election campaign we want ahead of GE13 – one based on sensation, or one based on issues.
Suaram’s attempt to hijack the election agenda in the name of its sensational but bogus “trial” in France has been exposed for the fiction that it is, and the “human rights” group is, thankfully, no longer dominating the headlines. This gives us all a welcome opportunity to pause and think about what comes next.
Do we want foreign-funded groups dictating the terms of the campaign by spreading nonsense stories about how our incumbent Prime Minister is about to be whisked off to France to testify? Or do we want the rakyat to determine what is important?
With the starter’s gun for the GE13 surely about to sound, now might be a good time to decide. Because in the days and weeks ahead all sorts of people will be coming out of the woodwork with surprising allegations of wrongdoing – most of them conveniently impossible to verify or disprove before polling day.
And there will be crass attempts at causing unrest on our streets for the sake of a political advantage. Everyone knows that the Bersih 2.0 violence in April harmed the federal Government and briefly worked wonders for the fortunes of Pakatan Rakyat, before rebounding to so much pain.
Could this be why PAS Deputy President Mat Sabu has called for a November 3 rally? We should all be concerned, especially since he has given the event the provocative name “Peoples’ Uprising”.
The message to the rakyat is: don’t fall for it. The coming election is too important to be determined by images of youths throwing stones playing over and over on the television news channels.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has detected an opportunity for good sense and appealed directly to MPs on his own side of politics. In a carefully worded plea he said: “I’d prefer to talk about the values that BN can bring, rather than condemn others.”
Saifuddin was speaking out because although Suaram has well and truly had its wings clipped, the shadowy role played by one of its sponsors, international currency speculator George Soros, has caused fury within the BN ranks. Many, including former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, believe he is trying to pick the next Prime Minister.
But Saifuddin rightly fears that to spend too much time rebuking Soros will mean deviating from the issues that count. “That’s why I’m not too interested in attacking Soros or Suaram,” he said.
So what issues should be dominating the national debate ahead of GE13?
The biggest and most important is the economy. How we are faring against other nations in the region; how we continue to grow at 5.4 per cent in the face of global economic gloom; and how investors have confidence in the steady and measured approach of Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The Government’s reform agenda is obviously important to voters, starting with voting reform. But it shows how far we have come that “free and fair elections” NGO Bersih wants no part in the November 3 rally. That’s because so much change has already been delivered. We will go to the polls at GE13 with the benefit of 26 different voting reforms.
Tackling corruption is an ongoing process but the Government is winning. That’s the verdict of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that has this week praised the Government’s “serious efforts” in fighting corruption.
And then of course, structural economic reform has been so successful Malaysia is now a showcase for economic transformation in the eyes of the World Bank, the IMF, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Just look at Iskandar, or even the global interest in the Tun Razak Exchange.
There are just a few issues as a starting point for a proper election campaign. All of them are far more important to the futures of our children than what is or isn’t happening in a court room in France.
But in his appeal for good sense Saifuddin missed a trick. He should have extended his plea to the Opposition parties as well.
Because Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the first to grab onto a catchy headline and attempt to turn it into an issue for the sake of scoring a few points. NFCorp, Bersih, Scorpene – he’ll hitch a ride on any buzzword that could give him a small windfall if it damages the Government.
This can’t continue. Anwar needs to set a more positive agenda ahead of GE13. So far he has squandered every opportunity to do so in the area of policy formation. On the eve of the election and weeks after Budget 2013, we really don’t know that much about the criteria that will drive his proposed Government except for a few populist headline grabbers on scrapping vehicle excise and abolishing road tolls.
We don’t even know the names of the ministers who’ll have their hands on our money.
That’s why it is up to the rakyat to dictate the terms. Anyone with a stake in the future of this nation needs to turn up to political events or register on online forums and demand a dialogue about the issues that will impact on them and their children.
How will the National Education Blueprint transform my child’s education? Will Pakatan Rakyat honour or repeal this education agenda if it wins Government? There are two good questions to start with. Let’s see how the candidates respond.