Tragedy of Pakatan Rakyat

It is not too far-fetched to say that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was formed due to public pressure. Sure, there were talks of a coalition before and of reviving Barisan Alternatif, mainly spurred on by civil society movements and bloggers like Haris Ibrahim and Raja Petra.

The very fact that the opposition parties campaigned for each other openly, in a coordinated fashion, and negotiations to avoid three-cornered fights and division of seats were largely successful itself, were major coups for them, having been unable to cooperate at a national level that well up till then.

This semi-crystalised pact then went on to ride the waves of Bersih and Hindraf and the heat of the anti-establishment sentiment at that time to make large gains in the elections.

Unprecedented, unimaginable gains at the cost of Barisan Nasional (BN). Large strides into non-traditional support bases.

People moving out of their comfort zones for voting. People mobilising to move other people out of their comfort zones for voting.

Eventually, all this led to the fall of four state governments, and at the same time denying the ruling coalition its traditional two-third’s majority.

Even then, after displacing those state governments, alienating Umno and sending shivers down Putrajaya’s spine, it took a lot of coaxing and convincing for the three parties to formalise their pact.

Against insurmountable odds, against all difficulties – natural, manufactured and imaginary – a viable alternative to BN was finally born.

With this renewed hope, came a lot of goodwill, but also many uncertainties.

Perhaps sensing this, civil society leaders once again pushed PR leaders to sit down and work on a common framework.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim was tasked with this and in time for PRs second conference, the Buku Jingga was published. It contained within it many items that various groups have been fighting for, including but not limited to, strengthening of public institutions, improving universities, reducing corruption and public wastage, and upholding the Federal Constitution.

The leaders of PR accepted the framework at that conference and it was adopted as PR’s common stance.

But the dream soon turned into a nightmare. In every Muktamar (general assembly) after the conference, PAS had always tabled motions to seek fresh mandate on their "tahaluf siyasi" pact with PR.

Immediately after, they would dramatically reaffirm their commitment to the pact.

However, soon after Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz passed away, the motion was bulldozed and without calling for a vote, passed and thus, all relationship with PR was severed.

Perhaps they were upset with DAP’s perceived arrogance in Penang when dealing with PAS. A perception not entirely misplaced.

Perhaps they were upset with PKR’s ill-conceived, ill-fated Kajang move.

It is perhaps a bit strange that PAS would turn its back on a pact they have benefitted from.

Traditionally, PAS had always performed better when the leaders took a moderate approach, such as under the leaderships of Burhanuddin al-Helmy or Ustaz Fadzil Nor.

Traditionally as well, it did not fare very well when the leaders took a hardline stance, such as during the leaderships of Asri Muda or Yusof Rawa or current president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang himself.

Perhaps the people should be upset with all three parties for breaking a pact so hard-fought to set up.

But having a strong opposition bloc is supposed to, first and foremost, defend the rights of the people in Parliament.

We did not see this, however, in the tabling of the Prevention of Terrorism Act in April this year when 26 PR MPs were absent from voting for a law they apparently cared enough to criticise everywhere else except where it mattered most. Conspicuously missing were two secretary-generals and two chief whips of the component parties.

Having a strong opposition bloc is also supposed to provide the people with stronger leadership.

The government would be on its toes due to the higher number of watchdogs. Having the numbers is supposed to mean better organisation and access to more resources. Apart from a few diligent and vocal members speaking up, it is amazing that in its seven years of existence, PR failed to even have a Shadow Cabinet set up.

What happened to PR is a tragedy for both the political parties involved and for the people. But judging by the lukewarm reception of its dissolution, as opposed to the anticipative fervour during its formation, perhaps the bigger tragedy is that people aren’t that bothered anymore. – June 22, 2015.

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