Dealing with Pakatan Rakyat

No prime minister before Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had to deal with an opposition as united as he did. Prior to the last general elections, the opposition still consisted of three disparate parties that at most had a mutual non-aggression pact. All that changed after March 8, 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was born and its leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not only out of jail but managed to get back into parliament.

The opposition is now a force to contend with.

By-elections
The Barisan Nasional (BN) lost every by-election in the peninsula since the last general elections. The one in Permatang Pauh got attention because Anwar was contesting, while the by-election in Kuala Terengganu was interesting because Umno was the incumbent.

But it was the simultaneous by-elections Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang that captured people's attention most, as they both contained mixed constituencies that reflected the country's racial demographics.

Bukit Gantang in particular was seen as a referendum on the BN’s approach to the Perak situation, especially with ousted PR Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin contesting the seat. In the end, PR won in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau with a increased majorities, but lost in Batang Ai in Sarawak.

After the triple by-elections were over, another by-election was called in Penanti after PR’s state assemblyman and Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin resigned amidst corruption allegations (he was later cleared of graft charges).

Najib refused to contest in Penanti, calling Fairus's resignation a political “game” played by PR. It was strategically the right move to not contest, however; if Umno had fielded a candidate in Penanti, it is doubtful that Gerakan would play its part well. At worse, there would have been internal sabotage. This would have placed Gerakan President Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, now a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, between a rock and a hard place.

When asked by reporters if BN had backed out of Penanti because of fear of losing, Najib replied matter-of-factly: “In any event, we will be facing the rakyat in the upcoming general election.”

Rattling PR
Najib showed his political shrewdness in June when he seized the opportunity to rattle PR by welcoming Malay unity talks with PAS after the party’s leader, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, indicated keenness on such talks.

Hadi had first proposed a unity government several months earlier but raised it again at the PAS Muktamar in early June, claiming that the other parties in PR were agreeable to it as well.

This was immediately denied by DAP and PKR, as well as the party’s spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who rubbished such talks.

PAS Deputy President Nasharuddin Mat Isa, however, welcomed Najib’s stance on unity talks. Nasharuddin’s response caused great rumblings within PR, with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang calling it PR’s first crisis of confidence.

In the end, the various PR parties managed to come together and declare that there would be no unity talks. Coalition leaders reiterated their commitment to the PR coalition, with the aim of forming the federal government in the future.

But Najib would not let the matter rest. He responded immediately, saying that many people were disappointed that unity talks between Umno and PAS failed to materialise. He even invoked religious reasons for the talks to be held.

Najib also cleverly rejected the notion that the unity talks were a plot by Umno to create a rift within the opposition coalition by putting the blame on PAS: “They were the ones who came up with the idea of a unity government, so why are they accusing us now?”.

To counter Najib, PR leaders organised a rally at the end of June to expose Umno’s deceit on the issue of unity talks. It was supposed to be a mammoth gathering of 100,000 people but only 5,000 turned up. But the very next day PAS Youth announce that it would proceed with unity talks with Umno Youth.

PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan said the talks were aimed at resolving the political standoff between the two parties. It was also reported that both parties would be creating a special secretariat to deal with the format, subject matter and the location of the discussions.

PAS Youth subsequently claimed that the press had wrongly reported the issue and that the purpose of the so-called “intellectual discourse” was actually to rope Umno Youth into a debate.

However, as political analyst Ong Kian Ming commented, if what PAS Youth had really wanted was simply a debate, it would have been easy enough to arrange it without requiring the formation of a planning committee from both sides.

“The fact that this 'intellectual discourse' was proposed so soon after the rejection of unity talks by the PR leadership only increases the perception that some quarters within PAS are not willing to let go of this issue,” he said.

Najib sees this only too clearly.

Perak fiasco
One area where Najib has poorly handled is Perak. The takeover of the state government was done shortly after Anwar welcomed a crossover by a BN state assemblyman in Perak.

The debacle culminated in a legislative showdown that ended with PR speaker V Sivakumar being dragged out of the state legislative assembly. The incident got heavy exposure in online media, raising concerns amongst many civil rights activists, opposition politicians, constitutional experts, and the public to call for fresh elections in the state.

But Najib insisted that BN’s majority in the Perak legislature – only achieved after the defection of three PR lawmakers, two of whom are facing corruption charges – gives it the mandate to rule.

As the crisis drags on, it only served to increase public opprobrium against BN, while raising the popularity of PR. Nizar, Perak's ousted Menteri Besar, is no longer just a local hero but has been thrust to the national limelight. Most damaging of all for the BN is that crisis has brought the PR parties – especially DAP and PAS – closer together, as evident during the Bukit Gantang by-election.

Najib was presented with a chance to end it all in May by abiding to the High Court's declaration of Nizar as the rightful Menteri Besar. But instead, he dug in and the fight – being played out in the courts – is still ongoing. By all accounts though, BN has already lost in the court of public opinion.