Mr Prime Minister - What will you do?

Looking at the divisive and unstable scenario in the country today, whether in politics, race relations or religious tensions, I believe the nation is rushing headlong into a downward spiral. 

We already have a Barisan Nasional weakened by the withdrawal of the MCA from the government.  At the moment there is a real possibility of an alliance between  right-wing forces  in Umno (those who share the thinking of Utusan)  and PAS ( those who call themselves ulama) getting together to undermine the prime minister.

The Islamic bureaucrats are flexing their muscles, churning a plethora of fatwas that will affect the daily lives of all Malaysians. The latest fatwa to curb  the activities of the Syiah smacks of a rising Muslim divide that is worrying if what happened in the Middle East and Pakistan is anything to go by.

The opposition under Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has refused to accept the Prime Minister's invitation to start building a process of reconciliation. Instead, Pakatan Rakyat insists that the General Election results were totally fraudulent and that it is, therefore, impossible to accept the prime minister's offer of peace talks.

There is little prospect, at this rate, of our nation evolving into a stable, harmonious and united country. Even the possibility of peace and stability looks dim and remote in the long term.

Emotions are running high on both sides of the political and religious divides, which is inevitable when religion and race become both conflated and contentious. It is indeed a difficult task for anyone, including the Prime Minister, to deal with effectively.

Like many people, my first reaction was to blame the Prime Minister for not being able to deal with the rising extremism - after all, he is the Numero Uno.

In fact, many people have accused him of being behind the racial and religious posturing of elements within his own party, which is then reciprocated by non-Malays who are fed up with the ridicule and taunting.

I do not think the Prime Minister is so diabolical and Machiavellian in his ways that he supports moves that will destroy the very reforms he has initiated.

Suppose that he is not, after all, as powerful as we think. Suppose he is trying his best to work within a system which, of course, he has been partly responsible for creating.

Suppose the Umno propaganda machinery of the Biro Tata Negara and Utusan Malaysia has been effective and has grown to be a monster that the Prime Minister now finds difficult to control or manage. What if a large segment of Malays have now embraced the values of the right wing  in both Umno and Pas?

If all these suppositions are true, then the Prime Minister will need help. In the face of the goings-on in this country, and in the face of the position taken by the opposition in refusing to engage with the government, what are people like you and me to do?

We could try - and we did try - to change the government by voting for the opposition at the last General Election. At the time, spirits were high and the mood was right for "people power".

We failed.

The opposition once again looks incapable of taking power at the next elections. The Ulama in Pas will certainly not accept Anwar as prime minister; nor will they accept Mat Sabu and gang.

This division within Pakatan has been shielded from the Rakyat effectively for now but that will come out in the open soon. The defeat of younger more progressive PAS leaders like Mat Sabu in the last general election is proof of this split.

The coming muktamar or general meeting in October will show us just how deep is the split in PAS, with the real possibility that the right-wing Ulama group will come out stronger.

In fact, I think this new enthusiasm to curb the spread of  Syiah is an attempt to curb the more progressive forces in PAS;  it is a political consideration and not a religious one; which then explains why even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Son have become suddenly interested in the matter. They are now serious advocates of a ban on Syiah activities.

Even with a cleaner electoral list - as long as  the opposition is divided; and as long as Malaysians are divided along ethnic and religious lines, and as long as the BN can give generous cash handouts - BN will win again and again.

I have been a harsh critic of the Prime Minister for a while now simply because I wanted him to be strong and decisive on the major issues facing the country. At the same time, people like me should temper our expectations.

He is Prime Minister in the internet age; not like  Dr Mahathir - who could hide many things from the people. Also, Najib will neither imprison his opponents nor launch another Operasi Lalang or something as drastic and cruel to curb his opponents.

He has a different kind of personality. He will still award contracts to certain people the way Dr Mahathir did, but at least he has a detailed transformational plan for the economy.

His weakest point is his inability to curb corruption but he is building the economy.  He thinks about moving the country forward. He has repealed certain repressive laws. He even brought a Hindu rights activist into the government despite opposition from MIC .

He wanted the implementation of Key Performance Indices in the government and a system to measure the progress of his economic plans. He has taken in capable personalities like Datuk Seri Idris Jala and Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar as his "backroom boys", and his transformational plans are working albeit somewhat slowly.  In short, he is pushing forward, not on all fronts, but at least on the economy.

His seriousness in transforming the economy suggests that he is not in cohorts with the right-wing forces; and although not the kind of leader who  expresses  his political beliefs  explicitly, I am inclined to put him in the neo-liberal camp. He will not align himself with the conservatives.

You must not judge him by the performance of his buddy, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. They are just playing good cop-bad cop for the purpose of the forthcoming Umno General Assembly.  Zahid's hardline stance will be good for Najib to show the delegates that within his camp there are right wingers too!

This is why we must hope the Prime Minister's efforts to transform the economy will succeed. Economic transformation is perhaps the only solution for our racially - and religiously - divided country. If economic change and transformation were the key components responsible for the rejection of hardline Communism and central planning in Russia and China, it can also end our country's obsession with racial bigotry and religious fundamentalism.

It was the growing economic opportunities for African-Americans in the 1960s and 70s that helped the civil rights movement in America achieve its goals, more so than street demonstrations. India could not shake itself free of Nehru's romance with socialism nor could it rid itself of the debilitating effects of the caste system, corruption and bureaucracy until Atal Bihari Vajpayee undertook economic reforms to give life to the Indian nation as never before, and Manmohan Singh has borne the torch with great success to this day.

My point is this: the only way we can reduce racial polarisation and religious extremism from taking deeper root is to transform the economy and improve the quality of life of the people of this country. Nothing unites the country more than creating enough wealth and jobs for everyone to share. Nothing breaks bigotry and prejudice better than a prosperous community.

Although this economic transformation will take time, we have no other option available. Let us support the prime minister in his economic plans. - July 27, 2013.