KUALA LUMPUR – The 16th general election (GE16) should serve as a platform for political parties to offer better policies for Malaysia, rather than orchestrating efforts to tarnish any particular side’s reputation, said Bersatu Supreme Council member Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
Wan Saiful emphasised that the current political climate has changed and can be described as fraught with “uncertainty”, especially regarding the cooperation and alliances among political parties.
“I hope GE16 will be a battleground for who can offer better policies and frameworks for Malaysia.
“So, GE16 is expected to be different from past elections, where the agenda was more focused on toppling opponents – a goal that was achieved at that time.
“This led to a more vibrant democracy in Malaysia, which is positive and necessary.
“However, there is now uncertainty. We see from Indonesia’s experience that after the fall of a dominant single party, it took them 15 to 20 years to reach the current Jokowi era.
“We are only a few years past the domination of Barisan Nasional, so let’s relax for now. However, we hope that the offerings in the next election will not be about bringing someone down, but about doing better for the people and the country,” he said during a recent appearance on Scoop’s Trick Lama podcast.
The podcast was hosted by Big Boom Media’s chief executive officer Datuk Zainul Arifin Mohammed Isa, group executive director Datuk Ahirudin Attan (better known as Rocky Bru), and editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez.
Asked about the views of some political analysts who predict that there may be cooperation among Malay and Islamic political parties – including a revival of the Muafakat Nasional (MN) coalition in GE16 – Wan Saiful noted that the political atmosphere has changed and is now filled with “uncertainties”.
“Politicians, like businesspeople, prefer certainty and a predictable future. When things are predictable, they make agreements early and form alliances before the election.
“In most democratic countries, coalitions are usually formed after the election. That’s why trust is needed and negotiations must take place.
“If, for example, a right-wing party meets a left-wing party and forms a government, that government will be known as a centrist government.
“If a right-wing party joins with another right-wing party to form a coalition, it is called a right-wing government – and so on.
“I prefer the current situation, where we need to compete in the election first, then negotiate. This situation makes it difficult to answer this question definitively because we do not know what will happen in the future,” he said.
He added that if Bersatu or Perikatan Nasional (PN) were to win more seats, questions would arise about with whom PN should form a coalition.
“We don’t know, for example, if at that time, we feel that most of our seats have a large Malay majority…and as an inclusive party, we want to have a government that represents all races and religions.
“We might invite Gerakan and MCA to join us, or even parties from Sabah and Sarawak.
“But I don’t know. These things can happen later, and this is what makes Malaysian politics so exciting. It gives politicians more headaches, but I enjoy this situation because it will push us (PN) to work harder to gain the people’s support.
“Previously, just wearing a ‘songkok’ was enough to win. Now, we have to see if wearing a songkok will still lead to victory,” he said. – September 3, 2024