The Peril of Throning the Kingmakers

https://m.malaysiakini.com/letters/558570

Prior to the GE14 which brought about a seismic shift in the Malaysian political landscape, many minor parties were already positioning themselves to be the kingmakers. A number of them were parties from Sabah, led by self-serving old-timers infamous for their unabashed political tergiversation. Unexpectedly but perhaps not surprisingly, even a not-exactly-minor party like PAS made a statement of intent to install themselves as the fixer for whatever outcome in the mammoth battle between PH and BN in GE14.

At last, it was Bersatu that tilted the balance in favor to PH and in the most unconventional gentlemen’s agreement, the kingmaker was made “the king”. There was doubt if there is any gentleman in politic when the deal was struck at the time of a looming high-stake general election where the utmost priority was to remove an increasingly tyrannical kleptocratic regime. PH had no other option but to cross that bridge when they get there. After 22 months in power, all doubt was removed but in the worst imaginable manner.

The visionary of the grandiose Vision 2020 (which was proven conclusively to be a failure when the clock ticked 2021), attempted a self-coup to nullify the power transition agreement which incidentally resulted in the collapse of the PH government. Hindsight is 2020, no pun intended. It is easy to blame Anwar Ibrahim for trusting Tun Mahathir, but then again, what was the option available in GE14?

All justifications imparted by Tun Mahathir post failed-coup are reckoned to be afterthoughts. The logic is simple. He probably did not anticipate the number of PKR defectors to be so low. Then, Azmin Ali’s influence in PKR was seen to be quite solid considering the results of the party’s election that heavily favored his camp.  On the other hand, Tun Mahathir could have been also expecting another fraction to defect from UMNO as months running up to the D-Day of Sheraton Move, hearsay was rampant that some influential figure aligned to Azmin Ali was also pulling strings on the other side.

When the numbers of defectors turned out to be unsatisfactory, Tun Mahathir rescinded from executing the plot. He foresaw what would befall the fate of Bersatu as it is transpiring now in PN. Instead, he risked it all in his “show hands” to form a unity government, hoping that PH would support him again, or at least enough MPs from PH would break rank to join his band of merry men. Had that happened, MPs from the other side of the political divide would not need much convincing to jump into the bandwagon to reap the personal benefits for being part of the power that be. Perhaps the resoluteness of PH’s MPs to stick together and showed Tun Mahathir the finger was the only consolation in the whole sorry episode.

Unsympathetically, Muhyiddin was made the fall guy. He was the one who declared the revoking of Bersatu’s support for PH that triggered the collapse of the house of cards. A devoted strongman of Mahathir but perpetually overlooked to be the next in line for premiership, he had to decide on whether to be consigned to the footnote of history unflatteringly or to write his own history by pulling off a double coup and become the prime minister himself. The choice was obvious. As for Azmin Ali, he had crossed the Rubicon.

The current turmoil faced by PN is not coincidental. That is the peril of throning the kingmakers. Cannibalism is the exigency for survival. Back to the days when PH was in power, the fraction aligned to the rebel camp in PKR was perniciously empowered via the distribution of ministerships. History, albeit a short one is repeating within UMNO. Bersatu is now in borrowed time as the coalition has become untenable. PAS is buying time to grip on the rare opportunity of federal power for as long as possible. UMNO is running out of time as many court cases associated to the more influential Zahid-Najib camp are concluding soon. If this camp falls, there will be a power vacuum within UMNO which Bersatu could take advantage of. The political quagmire of kingmakers is a cumulation of decades of tolerance by the voters towards unprincipled politicians where the august house is treated like an auction house. The conundrum of why these scoundrels are repeatedly voted back to office is beyond bewilderment. Statesmen should stand for their idealism for a better nation, not of affiliation depending on situation. The pitfall of working with toxic kingmakers is a lesson that political parties should take note. It is time to declass the kingmakers to court jesters. The next time voters see a snake and a court jester, they should know what to do.