The UMNO/Barisan Nasional is clearly rattled and panicking from the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council decision on January 7 to announce Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as the Pakatan Harapan Prime Minister-designate, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the Deputy Prime Minister-designate, and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The most important lesson of the 13th General Election of May 5, 2013 is that unless we can ensure a political tsunami in both the urban and rural areas, it will be impossible to bring about political change in Malaysia through the democratic process.
All Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli; whether Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians or Sikhs; whether in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak; whether in urban or rural areas; must stand united in the 14GE to be held in 100 days to vote for the first change of Federal government in sixty years through the ballot box.
We have two formidable challenges: firstly, to sustain or even increase the voter turn-out and electoral support for political change in the 14GE as compared to 13GE; and secondly, a more uphill task to ensure that there is a political tsunami in the rural areas to match the political tsunami in the urban areas.
If Mahathir cannot help create a wave of change among the rural Malay voters for the 14GE in the remaining 100 days, then no other political leader could accomplish this “Mission Impossible”.
An urban political tsunami without a rural political tsunami will end up like the 13GE, with Datuk Seri Najib Razak continue as minority Prime Minister because of constituency gerrymandering and unfair democratic practices.
A rural political tsunami without an urban political tsunami because the urban voters have given up hope that there is possibility of democratic change, surrendering to a sense of hopelessness about the future, will also end up redounding to the benefit of Najib, UMNO and Barisan Nasiona
We need both an urban and a rural political tsunami in the 14GE – and that depends not only on Mahathir, Azizah, Anwar, Muhyiddin and Mat Sabu but on the efforts of the four Pakatan Harapan parties of DAP, PKR, AMANAH and PPBM and the “social mobilisation” efforts of all Malaysians, in both the urban and rural areas,
(Speech at the Ceramah Luaskan Harapan, Menuju Harapan in Batu Pahat on Sunday, 28th January 2018 at 9 pm)