The last Malaysian general elections held in 19 November 2022 was a watershed moment for local Malay politicians. Amidst the "Green Wave" from newly-registered Undi-18 voters, the old Malay political establishment came crumbling down and were largely washed aside. UMNO which thought itself a clear winner ended up as the biggest loser in GE 15 with PAS emerging as the dominant Malay party in Parliament.
Old fogeys like Tun Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and the elite secular Malay politicians fell like dominoes.
There is a very clear message being sent by young Malay voters. The Malay elite political establishment has failed them and they want an alternative representation. The old order is seen as corrupt, crony-benefitting and self-serving compared with the likes of PAS, inflammatory incendiary and all-provoking as they may seem to us non-Malays. But the fact remains that PAS is perceived as cleaner and mostly untouched by the horrid corruption and other scandals befalling the Malay elites. It is closer to the roots of the Malay psyche, the kampung pondok agama, and the common Malay peasant. It is remarkable how from being a marginalised, fringe looney religio-party that PAS has emerged as the main voice of the discontented and restless segment of the Malay voters.
In less than 30 years, PAS has grown from strength to strength, benefitting always from the many follies and scandals befalling its arch-rival UMNO. The final straw that literally broke the UMNO camel's back was 1MDB involving disgraced former UMNO President and ex-PM Najib Tun Abdul Razak. In their final hours of desperation, najib and his deputy zahid both sought the support of PAS to stave off their court cases and when that and the Perikatan Nasional tie-ups didn't work, they sought an alternate refuge: Pakatan Harapan.
Who can save the so-called secular modern Malay politican, if such a man/woman truly exists? If najib tun abdul razak personifies the modern moderate secular malay polituician, then the future looks bleak indeed. Can there be a clean, honest and competent Malay politician free from political Islam and yet far-seeing enough to guide KD Malaysia to safe harbour away from the storms of racial and religious extremism and gutter poltics? Perhaps a taste of Hadi Awang as Prime Minister for one term is all the anbtidote that is really needed to stir the slumbering hordes out of its morbid fantasies.
