It takes real guts to stand up against the Umno-Baru mob, or in this particular case, to oppose its president Zahid Hamidi who is desperate for GE15 to happen sooner rather than later.

Zahid could have been stopped, and one person, perhaps, two, if you count the Agong, could have put Zahid firmly in his place and quashed any talk of an early general election.

Ismail Sabri, the prime minister, should champion the interests and welfare of the public and speak up on our behalf; but instead, he failed us. He failed to rise to the challenge. He failed to stop Zahid. He buckled under pressure from Zahid and the Supreme Council.

When will Malaysian leaders stop being bullied by people like Zahid? It appears that the few who had the power to do so, have proved that they do not have what it takes to lead or to counter the political thugs.

Zahid cares only about himself. Will Umno-Baru gain from an early election? No! The party does not benefit. Only Zahid will triumph.

Why should the Umno-Baru Supreme Council bully the nation in doing what it wants and not what is good for the rakyat?

Zahid faces a slew of corruption and money laundering charges and if found guilty, he may occupy the cell beside the convict Najib Abdul Razak who is already in Kajang.

When Zahid falls, others will too, including many Ketua Bahagians/Cawangans. They have much to lose.

The Umno-Baru president strongly believes that his party will win GE15, and when they do, he will be installed as Malaysia’s next PM.

Zahid lacks tact and diplomacy. We’ve seen how he threatened journalists, even attacked former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ancestry.

If he were to become PM, Zahid will be free to wield his influence and strike fear in various institutions.

We may suddenly find a pro-Umno-Baru AG, and before you know it, Zahid will be freed of all his corruption and money-laundering charges.

Will other institutions have their independence curtailed? Be prepared for more instability, more pressure and a return to the bad old days of censorship and corruption.

Last month, Zahid was acquitted of all 40 corruption charges. Did anyone else find it strange that out of 40, not even one charge could stick? What are the hidden messages about his trial? Did he have an exceptionally brilliant team of lawyers? Are there other factors involved?

Ismail Sabri failed us. He failed to rise to the challenge. He failed to stop Zahid.

On 4 October, Ismail claimed that only he had the authority to call for the general election.

He told reporters that no one could influence him in advising the Agong when to dissolve parliament.

Then on 9 October, Ismail reiterated his claim that the legitimacy of his administration remained despite 12 Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers presenting the Agong a letter in which they stated their objections for GE15 to be held this year.

Within two days, Ismail made a spectacular U-turn. On 11 October, he blamed the dissolution of parliament on the same 12 PN ministers.

What transpired behind the scenes? How did Ismail fail to fend off the pressure from Zahid? How did Zahid “influence” him to change his mind.

Holding GE15 during the monsoon season is a no-brainer. Why put lives at risk unnecessarily? Why play with peoples’ safety?

Canvassing during heavy rain just does not make sense. What happens when the polling station is flooded? Why should the various state agencies be diverted from their flood rescue or mobilization duties and be asked to help out at the polling stations?

For those who now work in cities but are registered to vote only from their homes, how will they return home to Kelantan, for example, to vote if the roads are flooded?

A low voter turnout will favor Umno-Baru and they will sweep into power again.

The rakyat should reject the government for going into the election for wrong reasons. Why can’t they wait a few months for the worst of the monsoon season to be over?

In the meantime, they could make adequate preparations to become a better party with policies to help the people deal with the cost of living crisis, alleviate our suffering and boost the economy.

Do not believe the propaganda that Umno-Baru cares about the rakyat and is concerned about their welfare. If they were that concerned, they would not have demanded a general election right in the middle of the monsoon season when people’s lives are at risk.

Whilst it may be true that there will be hardly any rain on some days, what will happen after an extended period of rainfall and houses and roads are flooded, and people are stranded? Will the election be called off?

In the rural areas, a lot of hard work and preparation is involved when mobilizing the various people to get ready the voting centers to prepare, observe and count the votes. This is in good weather. Think of the extra challenge which presents itself when bad weather is forecast.

Ismail should have waited till after Zahid’s trial ruling before dissolving parliament.

So, when will a leader emerge from the 32 million Malaysians who will have the courage to stand up against bullies?

Sources:

1. Malaysiakini: Ismail Sabri: PN ministers’ letter to Agong irrelevant to govt legitimacy
2. Malaysiakini: PM blames dissolution of Parliament on PN ministers’ letter to Agong

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)