opinion

Time to work with all comers, including Dr Mahathir

Jay Jay Denis

"Malaysia is a sinking ship", it has been said many times.

But to prevent it from going under, it is important for all who want change to work with existing and new forces – including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and others – to build a Malaysian Alliance.

When Malaysia's longest serving prime minister quit Umno for a second time on Monday, I witnessed some friends who were ecstatic, believing that this will be the final nail in the coffin for current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

At the same time, my Twitter and Facebook timeline was filled with those who said that "Mahathir deserves it", "Karma hurts, doesn't it?" while others asserted that "We cannot work with Mahathir, he started this."

I do not view the former prime minister's move to quit Umno to be as devastating as it has been made out to be.

In actual fact, Dr Mahathir's knee-jerk reaction to leave his party has left Najib in a much stronger position as he can now concentrate on shoring up support from within.

While karma does hurt, I think it to be naïve that those who go to the rooftops to shout about change do not want to look at things in a more calm and collected manner, exploring all options at hand.

I am not condoning the merciless treatment that many Malaysians past and present had to undergo during some dark periods when Dr Mahathir was captain of the ship.

But that has already happened.

None of us can undo what has already been done.

What we can do though, is learn from what has happened and ensure that it does not repeat in time to come.

At times of despair such as these, it would be best to leave all egos at the door and enter into a negotiating table with all individuals and parties who want change, whether it comes in the form of a new prime minister or a complete change of administration.

That is essential.

Without such a process taking place, groups who are looking to reshape Malaysia will be putting out small fires as problems arise, instead of looking at where the structural cause of the fire – in this case, the prime minister – is coming from.

We should take a leaf out of Nelson Mandela's book in striking when the iron is hot.

South Africa's former president risked the friendship with his colleagues when he began negotiations with representatives of then South Africa head of state F.W de Clerk.

Mandela realised full well the need for putting aside his differences despite being banished to jail for nearly three decades.

He understood the need for rising above politics because he saw the light at the end of the tunnel; the possibility of a democratically-elected government by doing away with apartheid.

We might not have a Mandela-like figure in Malaysia, but it is possible to overcome the lack of a unifying statesperson by putting the best minds together to come up with a viable alternative.

The only time a sinking ship made news for the right reasons was when James Cameron's "Titanic" won 11 Oscars in 1998 equalling the 1950's hit "Ben Hur".

"Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" completed the trio of movies with 11 Oscars in 2004, and no other film has come close to matching the feat of these three blockbusters.

If any one of the three directors got their hands on the script of Malaysia's drama though, I am certain that we would have shattered all records at the Academy Awards.

Leonardo DiCaprio could even have a shot at playing prime minister.

But before we make it into a movie, all of us have a role to play to prevent the Malaysian ship from sinking. – March 2, 2016.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.