reduced and recycled

Don’t you just hate politics? I’m starting to hate politics. Oh, well, that’s life I guess. I’ve been reading some comments over at Nat’s blog post refuting Jed’s letter to the Star, and I’ve been wondering why things have gotten so ugly. Because it’s personal, because PKR’s feeling pretty besieged and wronged after the Ijok by-elections? I’m sure these are elements in the mix.

I was expecting some pointing of fingers after the dust settled, and it’s only human, I guess.

But the general elections are around the corner, and in the interests of moving on with things, maybe we should think of strategies to counter the BN machinery? I’m no old hand at campaigning, so I’ll just put some ideas down on electronic print media; older and more experienced hands can and should correct my notions wherever possible. Better to look at solutions than focusing on the problem, right?

Political culture
It’s not the first time I’ve read of the BN talking about the strength of its power-sharing between ethnicities as a plus-point against the Opposition. I think I’ve said before elsewhere that the government has been somewhat successful in painting the DAP as a covert PAP stooge lah or a Chinese-run and led party; the PKR as a party of disaffected Malay ultras who have left UMNO; or PAS as an extremist Islamic party bent on instituting an Islamic state.

I don’t have demographics to back up what I’m saying but let me just say this: the BN’s got an attractive message come election time: parties based along ethnic lines working together in a “real” political partnership. The alternative is DAP’s Malaysia for Malaysians.

For this alternative to work, Opposition parties need to, in my opinion, radically devolve and emerge as a new entity. I often thought PKR was an opportunity to do this in the form of a new, fledging party, but with the general elections, this new face of opposition politics cannot be restricted to one single component party.

Otherwise the maxim “Malaysia for Malaysians” doesn’t work at all when trumpeted by a Barisan Alternatif that purports to have parties which are no different than BN component parties. DAP for the Chinese, PKR for the Malays(?), PAS for Malays and the religious faction and so on and so forth.

Isn’t the goal to actually change the political culture in Malaysia? I think that means requiring a really good sit down between all component “Alternatif” parties and a commitment within each to change to fit this image of “Malaysia for Malaysians”. Get rid of the old guard like Lim Kit Siang, do not enthrone Anwar Ibrahim and remove all suggestion of dynastic succession. In sum:

• Replace a politics of personalities with the politics of issues
• Stay the course and stay on message: if you want to be consistent about a Malaysia for Malaysians, don’t make snide remarks about Parthiban not being able to be a pembela agama, etc. It’s insulting and it makes you look no different from BN.
• If we’re really going to talk about a Barisan Alternatif, be prepared to lose your party strongholds when and if you agree to dissolve local party structures and opt for larger more inclusive structure; don’t talk about component parties, talk about one party.

Sure, there are big problems with the above, and quite a number of things can’t be done overnight; but maybe it’s time to think less about the pragmatics of pushing for the most number of votes and think more about changing the way people on the ground think of politics?

Choosing your ground
Losing Kelantan to PAS really shook up the BN machinery, from what I remember. People and pundits were predicting the beginning of a decline for UMNO. I recently spoke to a Kelantanese colleague about PAS’s dominance in Kelantan and he smiled showing me a video clip of PAS’s top man in his very house celebrating his sibling’s marriage. He told me, “BN will never win Kelantan” because PAS’s people really cared about the people of Kelantan. They are humble, they visit homes and actually do what they say instead of waiting for elections.

I was really very taken by this example, and I realized that presence played so much larger a role than talk about big issues. It taught me a valuable lesson: people care less for your talk and more for seeing you take an active interest in their daily lives. Watching both Parthiban and Tan Sri Khalid on making their rounds on Malaysiakini made me wonder: what do the people of Ijok really think?

All of a sudden you have luminaries coming down from on high and shaking hands with you for the first time in 10, 15, 50 years. Ijok’s a bad example, of course: this by-elections was sudden and unforeseeable. You can’t expect people to be everywhere all the time and at once. I doubt neither Tan Sri Khalid nor Parthiban ever visited Ijok in their official capacities as members of their party before Parthiban’s predecessor died.

In the run-up to a possible general elections, DAP announced the seats it will contest. I’ve not read anything recently about what other seats other parties will contest, but I hope to God DAP’s been doing its ground work in those contested areas for the past 3 years and not relying on old uncle Kit to drum up support by sensationalizing issues in Parliament. By that I mean an active engagement with the said constituencies, though I do wonder if there are enough resources to do this.

Since I’m essentially an armchair general (or critic), I think an ideal strategy would encompass the following:-

• Choosing your ground: Sun Tzu advises the general to let the enemy come to him. The BN machinery is looking to win as many states as possible. You can’t beat a colossus if you’re fighting everywhere, too. Make Goliath come to David. Enough allusions already, eh?
• Know the territory: that includes neighbourhoods and their specific needs, etc. Right down to the Jalan, I suppose. Information you have that the lazy BN fat-cat can’t be bothered to know can be used to your advantage, I think.
• Prepare the ground: isn’t this the most difficult? Showing people on the ground that you can help them requires resources you don’t already have. What about a real Neighbourhood Watch thing? That’s the practical side of things. But I think there are other ways to prepare the ground; this will undoubtedly include spreading information about what’s going on in the community as well as what’s going on with the party in general. What about government bashing? I don’t know – I wonder if it’s a good strategy.

I don’t think it’s too late to start now. The general elections may be a few months away, from what I gather, and making one’s presence known in the constituencies of each party’s choosing should be the focus. I wonder if there are ways to do it without infringing on laws pertaining to campaigning, if they apply.

My dad used to tell me what the Jesuits in India used to teach him: “Chance favours the prepared mind” he used to say. He still says that now to my younger brother to goad him to study hard. I think there’s a lesson to be learned there.

But I guess the point of what I’ve written above is just this: maybe it’s time to look less at what went wrong in Ijok and more on what can be done in the days ahead.