Get on with the job, fast

Tuesday December 2, 2008
Get on with the job, fast
CERITALAH WITH KARIM RASLAN

People are getting increasingly tired and even resentful of the endless politicking. They want someone to inject hope and direction into the national debate.
BEING away from home has given me a slightly different perspective on local events. Instead of being completely im­mersed in events as they unfold I see and experience them at a distance.
At the same time, I’ve been participating in more public forums – back home – which is always really fascinating since I rarely get to meet people who read my columns. All of this helps put things in perspective.
The most important factor I’ve noted lately is quite how much people are getting increasingly tired, and even resentful, of the endless politicking.
Malaysians are not used to such a drawn-out period of political uncertainty. We are familiar with bouts of intense political horse-trading (say, in the run-up to Umno elections) but generally this has been followed by the real business of governance.
This mounting irritability on the part of the rakyat extends across all issues, whether it is over race or religion through to the economy. The Malaysian people feel they took a decision back in March for better or for worse and they now want the political class to focus on the challenges of administration. No one appreciates watching as one side scores points off another.
Indeed the anxiety over the economy has meant that public debate over matters of race and religion can, and will, assume a more ‘heated’ quality. As the impact of the global crisis draws closer (meaning declining exports and job losses) we are going to have to get used to even more jitters, which is where real leadership has to come into play.
At the same time, the middle classes – especially the Malay middle classes – are beginning to realise after the fatwa issued against yoga that there are no political parties out there to represent their interests.
Moderate and progressive Malays have been short-changed by recent political developments. They are the voiceless and ignored. Their constitutional rights have been forgotten in the name of religious purity.
Still, the greatest scorn seems to be reserved for the politicians who can’t resist in-fighting when among their own respective alliances. The squabbling between PAS and DAP infuriates everyone. We know and understand the deeply rooted structural differences between the two parties but right now we don’t really care. We just want things done.
Ladies and gentlemen of Pakatan Rakyat, if you want us to continue believing in your coalition please have the courtesy to deal with your differences in a controlled and systematic fashion.
Thankfully, PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has at last begun to realise that his most important KPI (Key Performance Indicator) isn’t taking power at the federal level but dealing with the disputes within his fractious coalition.
As I’ve said time and again, we want him to achieve a more balanced administration in the five Pakatan states. We are no longer interested in his sense of ‘manifest destiny’. We just want results.
The head of the Opposition must face up to reality – relatively minor internal conflicts, whether they’re over the sale of alcohol in Selangor or Bumiputra quotas in the Kedah property market – shape our judgment of his coalition and him.
If he wishes to be Prime Minister he’ll have to learn to focus on the things that matter to us. Taking Sarawak and unseating Barisan Nasional is his business. Again, we just don’t want to know right now, nor do we care.
This exasperation with Pakatan should be benefiting Barisan. How­ever, the long power struggles within virtually all the component parties (most notably Umno as it undertakes this marathon journey through to the March 2009 general assembly) has meant that Barisan is unable to reap much in the way of benefit.
There is little point rehashing why we’re critical of Barisan, as everyone, from Dr Mahathir to the roti canai man at the end of the road (who’s most likely a political blogger in his spare time), has a view on the coalition’s decline.
Interestingly, even Barisan leaders I come across seem to be more than aware of their own impending demise. Indeed it’s almost as if they’re passengers on a runaway train that they’re unable to stop – with money politics as the ‘kryptonite’ factor that makes the whole situation so uncontrollable.
Once again, the people of Malaysia are sick and tired of hearing complaints about ‘money politics’. We want action, not hand-wringing. If this really is a scourge then root it out.
Charge the key perpetrators and shock the rest of the jokers into submission. There’s a famous Chinese saying: “You must slaughter the chickens to frighten the monkeys.” At this juncture, most Malaysians (of all races) would agree.