YOURSAY | ‘And we need courageous leaders who are not afraid to challenge the norm.’

Anwar troubled by hostility for dissenting views in Harapan

David Dass: I think that everyone acknowledges the role that PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli and Invoke played in GE14. But few will deny the electrifying presence of Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad at ceramahs.

Most will say that Mahathir was the decisive factor. For Rafizi to say now that Mahathir was not responsible for the Pakatan Harapan victory is not expressing free speech. It is a sign of trouble within the coalition.

Many of us are not politicians. Many of us were troubled by apparent conflicts within Harapan before the elections.

We were troubled by the long delay in bringing out the joint manifesto. Many of us were troubled with whether the reconciliation between the old times foes was genuine and would last.

Many of us were concerned with whether Mahathir had changed and recognised the mistakes he had made when prime minister. Many wanted him to apologise.

In the end, all were relieved when the joint manifesto was issued and the disparate elements came together into one cohesive whole and the battle was won.

The delay in Mahathir's swearing in was watched with great anxiety by the whole nation. The delay in forming the cabinet was worrying.

We are now past all of that and the business of running the country has begun. The challenges are great. The problems are many. The financial situation is cause for us to worry.

Harapan and its members cannot fight among themselves. More than 50% of the popular vote went to BN and PAS. Many Malays did not vote for Harapan.

When Umno gets its act together, they will be a formidable opposition. If they join PAS, we will have a situation where most of the Malays are one side and the non-Malays with some Malays on the other.

So it is imperative that Harapan acts as one and demonstrate to all Malaysians that they can govern wisely, effectively, fairly, justly and honestly for the benefit of all Malaysians. They must do all of that quickly.

Undecided: Hostility is a result of fear. Most of Harapan supporters are just worried that the timing and airing of differences will derail the effects of the implementation of the changes promised in Harapan's manifesto.

At this time, unity is of the essence and public criticism is counter-productive. I believe PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's concern is misplaced as once the government is perceived to be stable, this hostility will no longer be an issue.

Lepak: It will take time - a long time - for general attitudes to change. One of these deeply ingrained attitudes is that of being "respectful" (which unfortunately often means being worshipful) towards those considered as strong leaders.

There is also a herd mentality, which by the way is not restricted to Malaysians only. These attitudes have come to the fore post-election in an almost unthinking, slavish rush to treat Dr M as some kind of a demigod who should be above all criticism. I mean, Nobel Peace Prize? C'mon!

Like a game, people are taking sides in some kind of Dr M-vs-Anwar battle. Rafizi unfortunately has got caught in the middle of this "reality show".

Dr M played a role - a very important role - in unseating BN, but other facts should also matter. And it is also a fact that Dr M's party won very few seats. It was PKR who took the lion's share of Harapan seats.

It is also a fact that PKR and its allies were already moving towards gaining power over the last few elections. The landslides Harapan won in Selangor and Penang were proof that those who had experienced Pakatan rule in the last few cycles were totally satisfied and gave Harapan a total thumbs-up.

Rafizi is one of the new breed of Malay and Malaysian leaders who deserve nothing but admiration and support.

Malaysian-United: Thank you, Anwar, for pointing that out. Maturity demands an ability to consider dissenting views of others. Nobody's perfect and everyone needs to recognise that.

Our views or our approach to dealing with matters concerning our nation may not be the best in the collective interest of Malaysians.

Let's not be overly assertive when dealing with each other; we are all Malaysians and let’s make room for differences in opinion.

Just a Malaysian: Rafizi has contributed to the success of Harapan and has great potential to be our future leader. His aggressive in-your-face approach helps bring the truth to weaken Umno.

Now that he is part of the government, he should allow this disparate team some time and leeway to function. Too quick on the trigger will create backlash by the rakyat.

Rafizi, please take a breather. The rakyat will need you later to keep Harapan government honest.

Quigonbond: If I’m Rafizi hearing this, it sounds a bit like an indirect dressing down - that “he was out of line”.

I hope PKR is not under-appreciating Rafizi. He gave Harapan the numbers and directions to focus their campaign and he spearheaded his own sub-campaign across those marginal seats.

He is easily one of the most influential personalities contributing to Harapan success, even more so than PKR deputy leader Azmin Ali. Some discretion is warranted.

Anonymous_7acb7c83: I absolutely agree that there must be space for dissenting views. Otherwise, the Harapan government would become BN 2.0.

GE14 results have allowed Malaysia to reboot. Let’s not waste this opportunity to allow for greater freedom of speech which generates the much-needed check and balance.

So let’s not quash views that differ and provoke.

Roger 5201: Although I am not the greatest fan of Bersatu, I believe Harapan could not have won GE14 without Tun. Invoke for all its contributions shot itself in the foot when Rafizi accused Dr M hastily.

If not for the maestro's foresight and experience, the kleptocrat is unlikely to hand over power without a fight. Credit should be given where it is due and discipline exercised when it is called for.

Jin: I'm with Anwar and Rafizi on this matter. We need courageous leaders who are not afraid to challenge the norm and question the status quo. He has his opinions and views, both valid in my opinion, and if you disagree, say your piece and move on.

The rakyat can decide for themselves. I certainly don't need someone to tell me what I should feel and how to react.

Quo Vadis: Whither bound? The war is over. The revolution begins.

Let us move on from a dismal past to the brightness of a new day because each of us, yes, because each of us, in our own way, put our shoulders to the wheel and together worked for change.

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