“Politics is a matter of choices, and a man doesn’t set up the choices himself. And there is always a price to make a choice. You know that. You’ve made a choice, and you know how much it cost you. There is always a price.” – Robert Penn Warren (All the King’s Men)

COMMENT | What is this horse manure about “mixed views” on whether Mahathir Mohamad should be named “interim” prime minister? When will the amateur hour end for Pakatan Harapan? When Harapan embraced the former prime minister in their epic quest to oust the current Umno grand poobah, what did they think it meant? What did anyone think it meant?

As quoted in the press, some believe the term “interim” does not inspire “stability” which is why there should not be any doubt as to who will wear the crown if Putrajaya is taken. Forget about interim, just name the old man as prime minister and get down to the dirty business of winning the federal government.

This, after all, is what Harapan signed up for. This, after all, is the inevitable outcome of aligning with mainstream Malay power brokers. This is what happens when you claim that the country is in dire need of saving, and people must not be selfish and that there are no credible alternative plans to save the nation.

Mind you, I think there have always been people in the opposition or who support the opposition who have offered up credible alternative ideas but as usual they were shouted down and dismissed as “idealists” or worse by people who have placed pragmatism over anything else.

Commit to chosen game

The opposition is not offering any visionary ideas; merely apocalyptic ones. Maybe this has something to do with the religious overtones of the opposition but at this point it really does not matter. Choices have been made. Compromises struck and the most important thing the opposition should do is commit to the game they have chosen to play.

This is what I wrote last year: “As I argued the former prime minister plays for keeps and if removing, the current Umno grand poobah is the main goal than the former prime minister who has resuscitated the floundering opposition has to be given free rein in the possible destruction of Umno. That is the only tactical play.”

You know what would really suck? If the opposition could actually win this election by aligning with the former prime minister, yet because they are acting like a bunch of precious snowflakes, with each group attempting to gain some concessions, they lose the plot and game.

How bad would it be if the opposition hamstrings the movement led by the former prime minister because the opposition is too busy squabbling over the prospect of a man they termed dictator getting back into power on their backs? These are the stakes you created and this is not the time for attempting some sort of compromise in case things go south.

Are people still holding out hope that political prisoner Anwar Ibrahim could be prime minister of this country? Who knows what could happen but the possibility of Anwar becoming prime minister should not be one of the goals when naming the position of the big cheese, especially not when the former prime minister is in play. And why even use the term “interim”? Who does that term benefit? What is it supposed to signify? That the former prime minister, who the opposition at one time termed a tyrant, does not have a permanent hold on the position?

That there is a possibility that a more politically correct or acceptable candidate could fill the position? That the opposition is still committed to the reform agenda, hence “interim” could serve as a seat warmer until someone more credible steps up or is discovered or merely plays the political game mendaciously and inherits the crown?

Reimagining alliance politics

Look, what is really happening is a reimagining of alliance politics. The opposition keeps telling people that unlike Barisan Nasional, the non-Malays will have a say and not kowtow to the dominant Malay power structure if they choose Harapan. In other words, this is the new BN. If the former prime minister could reimagine Umno, then why not reimagine BN? That is the draw and what people think is a stable choice for this country.

At this moment in time, the average rakyat is on edge. They realise that they could vote for stability and continuity or go with something they are unfamiliar with. The former prime minister is something they are at least familiar with. While the establishment may paint him as someone who is corrupt, there is a large demographic who are willing to bet – vote – that he and he alone can get this country back on track; that his party and his men, will take care of their interests and things will return to the imagined glory days where Malaysians were proud of god knows what.

Umno political operatives are laughing their behinds off because all this waffling makes Harapan look like a bunch of amateurs. It makes it look as if personal agendas trump winning at any cost, which is what Umno understands. It is also what the former prime minister understands, which is why in numerous articles, I have argued that the opposition should make it very clear that Mahathir Mohamad is their war chief and that ultimately the crown will rest on his head.

Has the opposition actually thought out how it would be if they win this general election? Have they got plans in place? I know for establishment power brokers like the former prime minister and his coterie, they actually do have a plan; who knows, this may even include some kind of reform of the system.

The reality is that the opposition has made the choices that it made. Collectively they brought us to this point.

Stop fondling and just roll the dice.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.