TR EMERITUS

OPINION

The Malaysian opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition held its first convention last Saturday where it unveiled a common policy platform which promise sweeping reforms to the nation on three fronts: democracy, economy and social justice.

Pakatan aims to overhaul to race-based policies of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and replace it with one which is more fair and equitable to all the races in Malaysia. It also advocates reforms in the political system, judiciary and the media.

Malaysia’s opposition won an unprecedented 82 out of 222 seats during the 2008 general elections which saw them denying Barisan its traditional two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time in Malaysia’s history.

It comprises of three ideologically different parties – the liberal Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).

Despite the wide gulf between the three, especially between DAP and PAS, they manage to put their differences aside and hammer out a common platform to stand on in order to mount a credible challenge to Barisan Nasional.

Despite occasional hiccups, Pakatan’s dramatic transformation from a loose “marriage of convenience” to a structured coalition will surely put it in a strong position to offer Malaysians an alternative to the incumbent.

All the three major opposition parties realize that they have no choice but to work together. If they fight the battle separately on their own, they will never stand a chance of defeating the formidable Barisan Nasional.

What does the Singapore opposition hope to achieve in the next general election? Are the parties there just to make up the numbers or to give the PAP a run for its money?

In order for the opposition to punch well above its weight and tap on the widespread anger on the ground against the PAP, they have to come together and adopt a common policy platform.

It is simply not enough to defeat the PAP based on protest votes alone. The opposition needs to spell out an alternative vision for Singapore – what changes will they make if they should come to power one day so as to win the support, trust and allegiance of Singaporeans.

They already have their work cut short. The ground sentiment is in favor of them. A rising number of Singaporeans are getting peeved at the PAP’ for its ill-conceived immigration policies, high prices of HDB flats and the lack of accountability in the system.

All the opposition needs to do now is to convince at least half of the fence-sitters who make up about 40 per cent of the electorate to vote for them and it is not impossible to have a repeat of Malaysia’s political tsunami here.

On paper, many of the reforms proposed by Pakatan Rakyat are applicable in Singapore too – for example, separation of powers to ensure checks and balances among the branches of the executive, judicial and legislative, a clean, free and fair electoral system as well as a free and independent media.

The opposition’s common manifesto must cater to all strata of Singapore society from the very poor to the very rich across all levels of education and qualification.

Without coming together as one single coalition like Malaysia’s opposition, none of the opposition parties in Singapore can take on the PAP on their own.

If DAP and PAS can work together, why can’t SDP, WP, NSP, SPP and RP set aside their petty and superficial differences and start strategizing for the next general election?

Singaporeans are sick and tired with the PAP’s “grow at all cost” policy which has caused tremendous hardships to many people, especially those from the lower income group.

The relentless influx of foreigners over the last few years has changed the demographics of our little island to beyond recognition, whose result is omnipresent for all to see and it will not dissipate by the time the next election comes.

The opposition should campaign under a single platform so that a vote for any opposition party is both a vote for the entire opposition and a vote for a new Singapore which is radically different from the PAP’s version.

Instead of having different electoral messages which is confusing to the average voter, the opposition should just “strike when the iron is hot” and harp constantly on only one single major issue on the minds of most Singaporeans: foreigners and immigration.

The Singapore Democratic Alliance is a suitable vehicle to house all the opposition parties, be it WP, SDP or NSP and its slogan – “Singapore for Singaporeans” will surely resonate well with ordinary Singaporeans.

There is no more time for childish squabbling or fighting among the opposition for the “spoils” of the election. Each party has to sacrifice a bit for the common good.

So long as the opposition continues to fight the electoral battle individually and separately on their own like in the past, they will continue to remain as punching bags for the PAP.

With public disaffection and disgruntlement against the PAP reaching an all-time high, the next general election is a “do or die” for the opposition.

They have to win at least one GRC and a few more single seats on top of winning more than 40 per cent of the national votes in order to send a strong deterrent message to the PAP that Singaporeans will no longer give it a “blank cheque” to govern and it better start looking after the interests of the people or be prepared to be booted out of office.

Once the opposition is able to secure a breakthrough, more young and qualified Singaporeans will step forward to join them which will herald in a new era in Singapore politics.

It is time we replace this archaic political system meant to entrench one single dominant party in power forever with a competitive multi-party system which will promote good practices, accountability and transparency in the government.

If the opposition continues to falter in the next election, they may not have that many true blue Singaporeans to count on for support in subsequent elections.

Singapore citizens now make up only 64 per cent of the population out of which a significant proportion are new citizens who tend to support the ruling party.

At this rate the PAP is “mass importing” foreigners from elsewhere to become Singapore citizens, native Singaporeans may soon find themselves in the minority one day.

The opposition does not have to look too far for examples to learn from. When the Malaysian opposition is fighting individual battles like they are now in the past, they have never managed to win more than 20 per cent of the seats in the federal parliament.

Now united, albeit loosely under the umbrella of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, they not only occupy nearly 40 per cent of the seats, but are well poised to win the next general election.

The Singapore Democratic Alliance has the potential to become the Pakatan Rakyat of Singapore if all parties can set aside their differences and work together for the sake of Singaporeans.

The opposition should not think of themselves as separate entities, but as mere representatives of the people to bring out real change in the status quo which has eluded us for far too long.

Only then will they realize that it matters little if they are standing for the elections under the banner of WP, SPP or SDP. What is more important is that they are fighting to reclaim the natural rights of Singaporeans as citizens in their land of birth.

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