JUNE 25 — Projek Wawasan Rakyat (POWR) is concerned about the direction Malaysian politics is taking.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad’s statement that he will leave ‘Pakatan Harapan Plus’ because PKR refuses to support him as Prime Minister is symptomatic of extremely unhealthy feudal personality politics.
Building ‘coalitions’ with the sole true purpose of installing one individual as Prime Minister instead of another is akin to building a house on sand.
POWR is founded on three core principles, the first of which is that any sociopolitical movement in Malaysia must be built first and foremost on a foundation of values and principles.
Without strong values and principles at its core, any movement, organisation, or coalition is unlikely to stand the test of time. A movement built only around the interests of individuals will inevitably crumble, much like the Pakatan Harapan government did earlier this year.
Political ‘debate’ in Malaysia today has been reduced to the question of which political master you support, and who gets appointed to which lucrative position. There has sadly been no meaningful conversation whatsoever from either side about policies, ideas, or concrete visions for Malaysia.
POWR’s second core principle is a commitment to true democracy, and decentralisation of power. In the current all or nothing zero sum game, immense and highly disproportionate amounts of power are concentrated in the person of the Prime Minister.
This situation incentivises individuals to go all out in an uncompromising fight to become Prime Minister. Everything else eventually takes a back seat to this conflict.
Even the cabinet cannot be said to be a forum for leaders to effectively manage and moderate differing views because the entire cabinet can be appointed and dismissed at the pleasure of the Prime Minister.
POWR’s third core principle is a belief in national unity, and the fact that we are stronger together.
Malaysian politics should be reprioritised to focus on how we can work together to bring as many voices to the table as equals.
We can and should design new ways to decentralise power so that the question of who holds which post is secondary to the question of how leaders with integrity and well articulated shared values can come together to practice consensus-based decision making.
More and more, Malaysians are rejecting the existing unhealthy cult of personality politics and building movements around the ambitions of any one individual. Malaysia’s future cannot be about any one individual’s vendettas or obsessions.
Focusing too much on how the mandate from the 14th general elections was usurped will not help anyone secure a better mandate for the 15th general elections. We have to move forwards, not backwards.
This crisis is in fact a prime opportunity to take a step back, regroup, and rebuild a movement that cuts across political parties, civil society organisations, and the general public. The power to redefine politics lies in all our hands, and it is time we move on from the past, into bold, innovative futures.
*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
