Like all the elections in the past decade, who will win and who will lose, by what margin will the win be and by what margin will the loser lose, will the results gives legitimacy to the incumbent claims to be the chosen one to govern, or will the result herald a return to government by the opposition.....all these issues are now, rightly, the prerogative of the voters to decide. Today's state elections are no different.
What is certain is that in the dog-eat-dog zero-sum world that is now Malaysian politics, you live or die politically at the hands of the electorates. And, as in the past, sometimes these elections at the State level, can decide the fate of government at the Federal level. Such are the ways of Democracy as practiced in Malaysia today.
For sure, Anwar Ibrahim will still be the prime minister of this Madani government, esok. And as sure as the sun will rise in the East esok, the King and his brother rulers will still reign over their respective realms in the same manner as they have done for many decades.
Those voters who have voted for the winner will celebrate with the winner, while the losers will commensurate with their failed candidate. We should all be grateful that today, Malaysians are able to go to the polls peacefully, cast their votes peacefully, and, bar the exuberance of excited voters that sometimes threatens to go astray, by and large, Malaysians accept the results of elections peacefully.
And yet, you and I know that these 2023 state elections in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Negri Sembilan, and Selangor are different. On the results of these state elections hangs the fate of our hopes and dreams for a better future for Malaysia and Malaysians.
Anwar Ibrahim became Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister in November 2022. Since that day, the Unity Government that he leads has signaled its intention, by the alignment of its words and deeds, to do things differently. To do things better. To take the fight against corruption right to the very people who have been responsible for bringing this nation of ours to its knees. The fight against corruption goes on under PMX.
And among other things, this much Anwar Ibrahim has done since taking office.
Wither goes Islam and the Malays today under this Madani government?
“History has it that when the ancient Chinese decided to live in peace, they made the Great Wall of China; they thought no one could climb it due to its height. During the first 100 years of its existence, the Chinese were invaded thrice and every time, the hordes of enemy infantry had no need of penetrating or climbing over the wall, because each time, they bribed the guards and came through the doors. The Chinese built the wall, but forgot the character - building of the wall-guards. Though the Great Wall has over the years become a powerful symbol of the country’s enduring strength and spirit, but it has actually been a good reminder to the Chinese of the superiority of human character. The best defense against the enemy is not a fortified wall, but a fortified character. Thus, the building of human character comes before the building of anything else.
The same can be said of Islam and of the Malay race.
Divine guidelines that the Qur'an presents to Muslims for building tolerance and understanding among differing religions tell us that everyone's God-given human dignity must be respected, regardless of his or her faith, race, ethnic origin, gender, or social status (ref. Qur'an, 17:70).
And of the Malays, I can only say that gentleness, budi, respect, courtesy, modesty, and face
are the characteristics that define the Malay race.
Maybe, for the Malays and Islam, the best defense they can have against "others" and against the other religion that they say are a threat to Islam, would be for them to build up the character of the Malays through education and to explain the tolerance and love that Islam exudes, through a better understanding of what that religion really preaches. And this is what this Madanai government is also doing for the Malays and for Islam.
So really, what this Green Wave of Malays and Muslims are trying to do to advance the cause of the Malays and of Islam, is already being done by this Madani government led by Anwar Ibrahim. But politics begets strange bedfellows - none more so than those now aligned with each other to fight for the good of their Malay race and their Islam religion. Surely a travesty of justice when we know what Muhyiddin and Hadi have been up to when they were in government!
Enough said.
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