ADUN SPEAKS | BN is a source of political instability

ADUN SPEAKS | BN upholds the idea that this is the guarantee of stability. Its chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi added that stability will only return to this country where BN won a two-thirds majority and will return to the previous order.

But what Malaysians rejected in 2018 is this itself. The people rejected the arrogant and corrupt state of a party that ruled with impunity.

The old order was defeated but the new order had not yet been established. Why is this the case?

A new political order could not be established due to the choices made by Umno and BN immediately after the May 2018 general election.

Umno can change and revitalize its party with new leaders and new narratives.

‘Land fire’

The Pakatan Harapan government has pushed for parliamentary reforms, including bipartisan committees and administrative reforms such as having open tenders before awarding projects.

These changes would have survived the changes in governments and become the real change we expect. Umno-BN can participate in this process.

But that will not happen. Umno elected Zahid as president in its party’s election on June 30, 2018.

His only strategy is the “scorched earth” technique of demolishing the house to get himself and former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak out of jail by returning to power by seizing the people’s mandate.

Unfortunately, as the opposition party then, the BN did not have the strength to reform but chose to vent its anger on the Harapan government. Eventually, the Front collapsed in February 2020.

Reject the court cluster

Umno-BN has returned to power, but have we achieved any political stability since then? It even led to the collapse of Muhyiddin Yassin’s government in August last year.

Umno’s ‘Team A’ led by the court cluster is now pushing for a showdown against Umno’s ‘Team B’ led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob by pushing a snap poll.

This is the third attempt by the court cluster to overthrow the incumbent government since 2018 after the overthrow of the Harapan government and the Muhyiddin government.

A snap poll will only benefit Najib and Zahid, and not the people.

An unchanged Umno is the exact reason why we are going through political turmoil.

Umno, especially the court cluster, was the source of the instability the country faced in February 2020, August last year, and July this year. Umno and BN are not sources of stability.

Malaysians of all backgrounds, including Umno members who want a better Malaysia, must unite against the cluster of courts and thwart their conspiracy in the hustle for speedy voting.

LIEW CHIN TONG is Perling assemblyperson.

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