By Joe Najib

At this rate, the ruling coalition will probably win the 14th General Election (GE14) by a bigger margin than GE13, putting to waste the Opposition’s efforts all this while and the traction they were getting from it.

And if this happens, they (the Opposition) will have no one else to blame but themselves. Or they can blame DAP. Or maybe, they’ll blame all of us Malaysians just like how they blamed all Sarawakians for their embarrassing defeat there recently.

I’m not a political analyst and am far from being one. And those who follow me long enough would know that I support the ruling coalition, but that support did not cloud my judgment enough to stop me from voting for an Opposition candidate in my constituency in PRU13, because she really does her work there, and improvements on the ground showed.

Yes, (shock) people like me do exist.

Oh, Opposition supporters get very upset when I say these things. They can’t take it and start swearing and cursing, resorting to name-calling like “penjilat”, “macai”, “makan dedak”, cybertrooper etc.

What more when I have a decent number of followers who subscribe to my rants. So the exposure is larger than the average Joe’s, no pun intended.

So, why am I saying that GE14 may benefit the ruling coalition more than it will the Opposition?

Because Barisan Nasional is, for the first time in many years, finally on the offensive. They’re no longer sitting down, sucking it up, trying to answer all the allegations thrown at them.

They’re playing the offensive game now and throwing it back into the Opposition’s court. And the Opposition is now the one stammering and back-pedalling, getting a taste of their own medicine.

It’s dirty politics. It’s allegations vs allegations. Accusations vs accusations. Blame vs blame. Neither side’s really talking about serving people, improving lives, beefing up policies or carrying out pledges in their campaign manifestos. Because that doesn’t win votes. That subject’s reserved for election period. They’re not “sensational content”.

But scandals are very sensational and very share-worthy content. So before you solely blame politicians for taking this route, look at yourselves in the mirror and ask yourselves what you have been subscribing to.

The allegations thrown at BN are nothing new. It’s 1MDB, 1MDB and 1MDB. And the occasional moronic statements from some Dato’s and Tan Sris, some dresscode hoohas at government buildings, gangster-like behaviour and corruption scandals in the municipal councils.

Nothing new. It’s still bad and still wrong. But it’s nothing new. If you’re one of those who, upon seeing a BN scandal post, go “aiyah, what do you expect from BN, nothing new…”, then you’re actually contributing to the Opposition’s decline in popularity. I’ll explain why in a bit.

The trouble with conjuring new spins to old news is this — it’s slowly and subconsciously becoming blind spots.

Share 1MDB news and new “exposures” every time and the readership declines with every new revelation. Because to many, their minds are fixed from the very beginning — 1MDB = corruption. It’s pointless. Like watching a porn flick, expecting a good storyline and plot.

But admit it. There are many Syed Saddiqs out there who claim so (that 1MDB equals high-level corruption), but when confronted by a business and finance person like Azmi Arshad to justify their claims, they turn dumb and clueless.

These are people who will die-die vote for the Opposition. Not because they wholly believe that the Opposition will save Malaysia, but because they simply hate the sight of the prime minister and his Hermés-Birkin-clutching wife. To the point of even kutuk-ing them when they perform their umrah.

But here’s what’s more impactful and delivering a bigger shock factor these days — the revelations of the Opposition’s alleged corruption, ill-dealings, and “senget” remarks.

News that make Opposition supporters quietly go (slaps forehead) “aiyooooo you idiots, why laaa, sei jor lor….”. News that make the Opposition look like hypocrites for practising and saying the same things they’ve been voicing against all this while.

We’re talking feasibility studies in Penang that cost RM300+ million.

We’re talking about acquiring a house below market price from a seller who tendered for a government project half a decade ago and that land is starting to look more like a forest reserve than anything else.

We’re talking hillside projects on hills that are supposed to be free from development.

We’re talking the set-up of a RM2 investment company to manage state-level funds.

We’re talking racists who say “screw the Malays” openly in their campaign talks.

We’re talking politicians who question the dealings of Tabung Haji, suggesting that people should withdraw their savings, but he himself didn’t and continued earning from it.

We’re talking DAP supporting PAS and telling people “don’t be afraid of hudud” during election period, then seeing everything crumble almost immediately after, resulting in a big loss of potential Malay-Muslim votes for the coalition.

We’re talking the set-up of Bersatu, retaining Bumiputera-first policies in its representation and leadership, pissing other non-Bumi Opposition supporters off with this “another DUMNO party”.

And recently, the under-table dealings for low-cost housing by a YB’s family, and revelation of her being in the know despite her initially denying so.

There is more out there. I don’t need to flash them all out here, as you already get the idea.

So it’s becoming more and more apparent than before that it’s no longer good vs evil. It’s evil vs evil. And from once very fixed minds, we’re now questioning the real integrity of those we’ve been supporting and believing in all this while. Same shit, different party flag.

The unearthing of the Opposition’s alleged corruption has made people think: “If they can already do this at the state-level, God knows how they’ll be exploiting it at federal level.” Just another BN? Don’t discount it.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s a silver lining in all this. That it’s happening for the greater good in the long run.

Perhaps maybe now, people will start looking at individuals. Constituency reps who do the work (or don’t), and vote based on the tangible efforts they put out (or fail to deliver) for their areas.

People who will start saying “f… politics, I want better traffic flow in my neighbourhood, and new monkey bars and slides at the playground, replacing the dangerous rusty ones”.

It’s wishful thinking. But wish for it hard enough, and reflect on that wish when we’re in front of the ballot box, and we may just get it one day.

If not for us, at least for our future generation.

I doubt politicians will get wiser. But we definitely can.

*Joe Najib is an FMT reader.

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