ADUN SPEAKS The recently-concluded by-elections in Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar were met with a palpable defeat of Amanah. And a loss to Amanah is an equivalent to a blow being dealt to Pakatan Harapan as a whole. Never mind the fact that Barisan Nasional (BN) was able to win convincingly in these two by-elections, what is more inauspicious or probably embarrassing was the fact that Pakatan Harapan conceded second place to PAS in Kuala Kangsar.

If the recent results were to replicate itself in the next general election, it is probable that Pakatan Harapan’s rule in Selangor and Penang might be overthrown, PAS will equally lose its autonomy in Kelantan and BN will regain its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Unfortunately, the slump does not end there. With the two-thirds majority in hand, I prognosticate BN will introduce more repressive policies and there will be further redelineation of electoral boundaries which only serves the interest of the establishment. Oppositional forces will be further eroded, harking back to the memories of previous failed opposition pacts.

By then, Amanah will resign itself to history because it is still a relatively new party and PKR will also suffer immensely, given that the seats they are mostly contesting are similar to Sungai Besar. Plus, DAP could only maintain his momentum through constituencies that are urbanised and comprise almost 70 percent of Chinese population.

While PAS will continue to survive in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, they would also be unable to make any meaningful political breakthrough. Malaysia’s political progress will retreat itself to the state of pre-2008.

Furthermore, I also humbly predict that that the ‘Ijok Miracle’ will not happen again. This is because there are a few protest movements - Bersih 1.0 and Hindraf movements - that happened in Malaysia after the Ijok by-election. However, it is doubtful there will be any protests or rallies at the moment.

As the British writer Aldous Huxley once said, men do not learn much from the lessons of history, and that is the most important of all the lessons of history. Although we sing songs about our proud achievement as a nation and society is progressing to unbelievable height, but yet our strategy and mentality to counter BN still remains as a sham in contrast to what we’ve achieved technologically.

If we are still unable to extract any lessons from our history, then victory shall inevitably belong to those who are more adept at the ‘great game’. One should do well to not underestimate a prime minister who has managed to solicit RM2.6 billion into his personal bank account and yet still retains the mandate to rule the country.

I also have taken the liberty to avoid predicting what is PAS’ next move, because a Hadi Awang-led PAS is as much as an enigma to the opposition party now. Thus, under a variety of conditions that are hugely unfavourable, the challenge would be a solution to break the stagnating political impasse and at the same time expanding the strength of Pakatan Harapan. Therefore, I humbly propose a merging of three political component parties of Pakatan Harapan.

Cracks and frictions still exist within the model of Pakatan Harapan as the three-cornered fights in Sarawak had evidently shown. The shouts for unity and solidarity within Pakatan Harapan look pale in comparison with the bickering during the Sarawak elections.

Equal power-sharing model

I respect that bickering might rest on the argument where Pakatan Harapan has an equal power-sharing model unlike Umno’s hegemonic rule in BN. But this is simply unacceptable especially during times when the rakyat are harbouring high hopes on the opposition.

Pakatan Harapan should not aim to become Pakatan Rakyat 2.0, instead we should aspire to consolidate our strength and resources to compete against BN under a single unified political platform, or at the very least under the same political logo.

Confronting BN under a single unified political platform would be throwing a spanner in this political impasse, and also paving the way for a more efficient seat negotiation process within the opposition parties,

The merging of the three parties has the following number of advantages:

1. A new political possibility: If the merging of the three parties are successful, this could have the implication of opening up a brand new possibility in Malaysia’s politics. By deriving support from the 51 percent of electoral votes that Pakatan Rakyat had gained during 505, this will enable a formation of a single urbanised, multi-racial and progressive political party which is more reflective of the political reality of ordinary Malaysians now.

The move will also be heralded as a historic, groundbreaking and bold attempt to unify and give a breath of fresh air to Malaysia, as well as being viewed as a new symbol of ‘Reformasi’. A new unified opposition could also have the potential to disrupt Najib Abdul Razak’s tactic which relies on dividing and sabotaging the opposition.

2. A more efficient resource allocation: The general rule of thumb for opposition coalition consist of DAP contesting in Chinese populated areas, PKR will be campaigning in more mixed constituencies, whereas Amanah will be stationed at the rural Malay heartlands.

If the three parties are successfully integrated, resources from the urban constituency could be more efficiently collectivised and transferred towards the more hotly contested semi-urban constituencies.

The constant bickering and argument for resources and seat allocation will be formally internalised and resolved under a single party. This will increase the opposition party’s credentials and deliver a perception of a stronger opposition party that is ever ready to become the government.

3. Eliminating race-based political parties: Although YB Liew Chin Tong has classified DAP as an urbanised political party, but the fact differs very much. DAP still has more than 90 percent of Chinese as members of the party, and at best, it could only be surmised as a Chinese urbanised political party. And over the past few decades, the usual Chinese-dominated urban constituencies such as Kuantan, have become more diverse in ethnicity representation.

I believe other cities in Malaysia are experiencing a more diverse population, too. With all due respect to YB Liew Chin Tong, if he is sincere enough about his aforementioned version of DAP, he should contemplate on how to shed his party of the labeling of just another ‘Chinese party’, and I dare say merging with PKR and Amanah is the boldest and best move as of right now, where the Socialist Front, Gagasan Rakyat and Pakatan Rakyat have all failed to achieve.

4. Political cooperation with other political parties: The single unified political party is free to negotiate with any political parties in Malaysia, and political cooperation which is unforeseeable during the Pakatan Harapan and Pakatan Rakyat times may indeed become viable now.

For example, a unified political party could negotiate with PAS and East Malaysia Parties in a stronger position now, and this opens up any form of political cooperation as long as it is answerable to the rakyat with the aim to defeat BN.

Sceptics might argue that merging might also give birth towards many structural problems, but as I have feebly described above, political development is dynamic and it is ultimately dialectic. What opposition parties should fight now, is to prevent extended political stagnation.

Creating a whole new political order

Faint heart never won fair lady, and the possibility of a unified opposition political party is the least of what BN would’ve expected from us and I believe, it will create a whole new political order which is able to better respond to the needs and pleads of the current disillusioned and despondent Malaysians now. There is indeed a vacuum for it, and it is of paramount importance the opposition should seize it as soon as possible.

However, what remains as the biggest obstacle to a unified political party and coincidentally, also led to the demise of Pakatan Rakyat, is the obsession about territorial imperative - the need to claim and defend a territory.

In the political world of territorial imperative, politicians remain complacent in their comfort zone and choose to be apathetic over territory they have no power over. And if the argument were to be placed in the context of Malaysia, those who practices territorial imperative are precisely those who constantly seeks assurance from his/her own race and remain content in his/her own ‘racial’ territory.

A new kind of politics should not strive to walk the path that BN has treaded for us, but we must smash down the walls of racial and religious bigotry that divide us and unite all those whom were oppressed in any way by BN.

So what is it that is still preventing us from having a dialogue about a unified political party, the stubbornness of some political leaders, the reticence for fear of empowering the rakyat or the inability to give up on race-based politics? I rest my case and remain hopeful the answer lies elsewhere.

LEE CHEAN CHUNG is the assemblyperson for Semambu, Pahang and the information chief of PKR Youth.