But Sanusi is a taichi master in avoiding blame by using racial rhetoric, including his latest Tanah Melayu comments.

ALSO READ: COMMENT | 'Malays only have Malaya' remark based on historical context

It was deemed too racist even by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who told the Kedah MB not to come and mess up the election campaign in Negeri Sembilan.

He said Sanusi must respect Malaysia’s multiracial society and not touch on race, religion, and royalty during the Negeri Sembilan campaign.

Despite the barrage of criticism from Zahid and other BN leaders, the BN-Perikatan Nasional pact continues in the state.

This proves that even racism, which Umno itself admits has gone too far, will not derail the political cooperation.

Insulting Malay Nusantara heritage

The PAS leader has insulted not only Chinese and Indians but also trampled on the glorious regional heritage of the Malay Nusantara.

He seems to have deliberately ignored the fact that three sultans have Bugis ancestors from South Sulawesi and that the Minangkabau people of Negeri Sembilan came from western Sumatera.

Let’s not forget that the Malays of East Malaysia draw their heritage from the past Brunei empire that once controlled all of Sarawak and Sabah.

Sanusi also conveniently overlooked that many Pattani Malays from southern Thailand have opened tomyam shops all over the country!

If you go to the counter or kitchen, take a peek at the order chits, which are often written in Thai! Yet they speak a Malay dialect similar to Kelantanese.

Many Malays have Javanese roots, including Zahid and former Selangor menteri besar Khir Toyo. Malaysia has at least six places called Kampung Jawa in Selangor, Malacca, Kuantan, and Segamat in Johor.

In fact, there are so many Javanese in Ayer Hitam, Johor and Sekinchan, Selangor that the two Chinese politicians there - MCA president Wee Ka Siong and Selangor exco Ng Suee Lim - can speak some Javanese!

Even Parameswara, the founder of Malacca, was a refugee prince from Palembang, fleeing the ruins of the Srivijaya empire. The empire his successors founded later was on both the Malay Peninsula and Sumatera.

Dubious claims

There were also dubious claims about the “glorious” record of the warrior Mat Kilau in a jingoistic movie, which was also debunked by Ranjit.

He pointed out that the nobles involved were actually more interested in defending their own feudal privileges, as the British wanted to restrict slavery and take over tax collection.

So, why resort to false history to bolster racial pride? Well, fake modern histories about “defending” or “uplifting” Malays are also heard nowadays from the same political party that enabled the neo-feudal plunder of 1MDB, Tabung Haji, and Felda.

There seems to be a pattern here.

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READ MORE: Najib's 1MDB plunder made Attila the Hun look like a choirboy – judge

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And of course, Sanusi had claimed repeatedly that Penang should be returned to Kedah.

Bashing a Chinese-majority DAP-led state is a tried and tested tactic to distract Kedah Malays from the multiple failures of the PAS-led state government.

But he should be careful while playing games with history. What if Thailand reclaims Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu?

Can Brunei reclaim Sarawak? Can the Philippines claim Sabah?

Is Anwar better?

Sanusi is a serial rabble-rouser, but is Anwar any better? After all, he is a “great intellectual” who (supposedly) wrote “The Asian Renaissance” book.

Anwar spoke of decolonising the past at Fort Cornwallis but ignores the whitewashing, or rather brown-washing, of history to glorify one race and downplay others.

The system has been pushing a new “ketuanan” (supremacy) version of history, but Anwar seems oblivious.

Sadly, it’s no accident that the blood and sweat of Chinese and Indians in building this nation’s wealth are being erased from school textbooks - 17 of the 18 writers are from one ethnic group, noted Ranjit.

He lamented that our Indian past has also been covered up, even though many Malay words such as “syurga” (heaven), “neraka” (hell), “suka” (like), “duka” (sad), “raja” (king), “menteri” (minister) and even “agama” (religion), “bahasa” (language), and bumiputera all come from Sanskrit or Pali languages.

The words “kedai” (shop), “katil” (bed), “kapal” (ship) come from Tamil.

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ALSO READ: COMMENT | Restoring the Hindu-Buddhist foundations of Malay civilisation

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Heck, even the role of the most bumiputera of bumiputera, the Orang Asli, has been ignored, said Ranjit. Does this psychologically enable powerful elites to grab their land?

A dubious academic

The distortion of history is getting extreme, with an academic declaring that ancient Malays taught shipbuilding to Romans and flying kungfu to people in China.

She even claimed that the Prophet’s wife, Khadija, was Malay.

The rewriting of history seems to say: this country was built by one race, and that’s why we “deserve” to be the masters or “tuan”.

There are many smart Malays around who don’t need this false boost. Artificially inflated bubbles don’t help genuine Malay progress; they just mask failures.

Just look at Sanusi. Yes, build real self-confidence, not fake chest-thumping from half-truths.

Meanwhile, only genuine multiracial history can build real harmony and unity.

So, dear Anwar, please stop the disease of replacing white colonial masters’ history with that of new brown “tuan”.

PAS will lead the team of PN-BN as Bersatu remains totally sidelined, although it may give up the reins to someone in Umno or to the other major partner, Wawasan Negara, in the revitalised PN-BN electoral pact, for the prime minister’s position.

No Islamic law for all

It would not lead to Islamic law for everyone, which would require a two-thirds majority. There is a body of opinion that says even then, it will go against the basic doctrine of the Federal Constitution if it is done, opening legal challenges.

Even if it is put to parliamentary vote, the move to create an Islamic state for all is unlikely to succeed because Sabah and Sarawak will largely not support it.

The non-Muslim components of BN too will oppose it.

More frightening than an Islamic state is that the non-existent fight against corruption will descend into an open support for it to fund the various parties, cultivate breeds of businesspeople who support the government, and the ignorance of all public revelations of corruption and misgovernance.

It’s a continuation of the Madani government but only much worse, a descent into the downward spiral of Umno politics which has cost the country dearly over the decades.

Spawning rapacious behaviour

It will enrich the already rich, ignoring the plight of poor Malays and others, and spawn more rapacious behaviour exemplified by the 1MDB scandal, losing RM42 billion in loans stolen and perhaps over RM100 billion in opportunity costs.

READ MORE: Najib's 1MDB plunder made Attila the Hun look like a choirboy - judge

And even in the house arrest/pardon of one of the main perpetrators.

As corruption increases, expect racism to rise. The current crop of politicians still believe that racism will unite groups to support the more dangerous corruption that they will be pushing. Malaysians are no longer convinced of that rhetoric, though.

The unique Bersama

In the meantime, Bersama is the only party that is not playing racial politics among those considered to be in contention, if not now, then in the future.

But all they are likely to do in the immediate future is to get a few seats and maintain the fight for the long term.

At the 17th general election, five to seven years from now, they may make some headway, especially with the young, our hope for the future.

However, they will probably need another five years to make a real difference and have a shot at becoming the dominant party.

The problem that faces Malaysia now is one of poor leadership. It's true what they say about others being worse than Anwar. But unless there is some change, there is no impetus towards better leadership further out. Change forces new leaders to emerge.

A new set of longer-term younger leaders is our only hope for change in the future.

The current leadership espousing patronage politics, which implies continued corruption, has to go or be forced out over time.

After GE16, it's going to be more of the same with the probability of greater misgovernance.

Priorities for economic development and better living standards will be misplaced in favour of the narrow interests of a few. The future is foreboding indeed.

A silver lining

The only silver lining is that in the likely event that the new coalition leading the government misgoverns, there will be greater impetus for change then, and perhaps Bersama might become an acceptable alternative, although it may take GE18 before it can take over.

For most Malaysians, it means making the best of a bad situation now, doing what is possible within current constraints and taking any opportunities for change, passing the mantle to others who have proven that they can be better.

Some patches of light: a strong, well-diversified economy, relatively well-trained workforce, a nice place to live although deteriorating and largely good people whom politicians are trying their level best to make racist.

This seems like a good place to stop writing and prepare with equanimity and calm for the trouble and turmoil ahead and learn how to live with it until it passes, making little transformations along the way.

Malaysians already know full well what’s happening and what they are up against.

This is why the prime minister is making all sorts of overtures to the civil service and apologises for his harsh tone towards them.

Furthermore, as cabinet members with a huge sway on policy, whatever policy moves that Umno makes are to ensure that it plays into the strategies of state moves, which ultimately is a political war of attrition with Harapan.

By kneecapping DAP, which Madani has done because it is deathly afraid of spooking the Malays, Madani has done a good job at destabilising non-Malay support for DAP, which only benefits Umno and PAS.

Madani’s political gamble

Corruption is not a recent phenomenon; rather, it is part of the DNA of the organism fueled by racial and religious imperatives and a compromised electoral system.

Umno/BN designed the system, and Madani is attempting to replicate it, so any attempt at corrective measures is met by a deluge of propaganda or the spectre of the “Green Wave”.

Remember Perikatan Nasional was briefly in power, and how did that go? With all those really dumb “Langkah, langkahs” (moves), professional charlatans figured out they didn’t even need voting to get into power, and a small shift in voting got them ejected from the halls of power in Putrajaya.

With the way the system is gerrymandered, and the unequal weightage of votes, issues like corruption and competent governance are not exactly the greatest concerns of a majority of rakyat who sustain themselves on entitlement programmes and the delirium of social media.

DAP can remain in Harapan without participating in a government that ultimately strengthens Umno and PAS strategies. Perhaps, when more Malaysians recognise that politics should not simply be about holding office, the conversation can shift.

DAP does not need government positions to support policies that benefit the average rakyat. The real question, then, is whether participation in government is genuinely about nation building - or whether it has become about preserving political power and personal interests.

It is funny; the scrapped July 12 special congress could have been the reset that Malaysia and Harapan needed.

These principles are complementary, not contradictory. The constitutional settlement therefore recognised historical distinctions without creating citizens who belong and citizens who merely reside.

Where the argument breaks down

Against this historical and constitutional background, Sanusi’s statement deserves careful examination. His opening premise contains an important historical truth: the Malay Peninsula has long been the “homeland” of the Malays, whose civilisation profoundly shaped its institutions and identity.

Yet the conclusion he draws does not follow.

By asserting that Chinese Malaysians have China and Indian Malaysians have India, he conflates historical origins with current national identity - implying that ethnicity, not citizenship, determines belonging. This is where the logic fails.

Yes, ethnic Malays have ancestral roots in Sumatra. Yes, some Chinese and Indian Malaysians trace their ancestry to those nations. But this does not mean Indian Malaysians “belong” to India or Chinese Malaysians “belong” to China.

Citizenship supersedes ancestry. The Constitution is clear on this point. Malaysia is the homeland of its Chinese and Indian citizens; their loyalty, aspirations, and futures are rooted in this country.

China and India may represent the lands of their ancestors, but they are not the homeland of Malaysian citizens. Ancestral origin alone cannot determine present-day national belonging.

Historical sacrifice and national belonging

We should not forget that numerous Indians and Chinese, alongside their Malay brothers-in-arms, sacrificed their lives in the struggle against the communists during the 1948-1960 Emergency and the 1968-1989 Second Emergency.

These sacrifices were not the actions of people with divided loyalties. They were the actions of patriots who understood Malaysia as their home and were willing to die defending it.

Sanusi should also take heed of a remarkable declaration made in 2013 by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, now a deputy prime minister and chairperson of BN.

Zahid said that more than half of Malaysia’s ministers were of Indonesian descent.

This is a profound statement. It demonstrates that the highest echelons of Malaysian government have long been occupied by citizens whose ancestors came from beyond the peninsula. Ancestry, clearly, has never been a reliable measure of national belonging - nor should it be.

If the descendants of Indonesian migrants can rise to become ministers and deputy prime ministers, serving Malaysia with honour and effectiveness, then the notion that ethnicity determines true homeland is patently false.

These leaders are not guests or temporary residents. They are Malaysians who have earned their place through service, capability, and commitment to the nation.

A personal testament of belonging

I am personally offended because these remarks erase the lives and sacrifices of Malaysians like my late father, Sadhu Singh Malhi.

He migrated to Malaya in the 1940s and joined the police force on July 1, 1952. He served with distinction until his retirement on June 1, 1983 - more than three decades devoted to protecting the people and preserving the security of the country he had made his home.

His was not the life of a transient outsider, but that of a man who gave the better part of his life to this nation.

His service earned national recognition: the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s Pingat Pangkuan Negara (Dec 18, 1982), 16 commendations from the Perak police chief, and 48 monetary awards from the government for diligence, courage, and incorruptibility.

The government granted him land in Tapah and Bidor, Perak - tangible recognition that he had earned an honoured and permanent place in this country.

My question to Hadi and Sanusi is therefore simple: by what moral or national standard can a man who risked his life for Malaya, served its people honourably, was decorated by the King, and was granted land by the government still be dismissed as a “pendatang”?

My father may have been born elsewhere, but through service, sacrifice, and loyalty, Malaya - and later Malaysia - became unquestionably his homeland. His seven children built their lives here and know no other country as home. They are Malaysians, full stop.

History should unite, not divide

History is far too important to be reduced to political rhetoric. When presented honestly, it enables citizens to appreciate the complexity of their shared past. When selectively interpreted, it becomes an instrument of misunderstanding, resentment, and division.

Political leaders therefore carry a special responsibility. Their words should strengthen national cohesion rather than foster suspicion between communities or question the belonging of citizens whose roots, service, and future are firmly embedded in Malaysia.

A confident nation can affirm the historical role of the Malays while recognising, without qualification, the equal citizenship and belonging of every Malaysian.

Sanusi’s remarks are dangerously flawed: they perpetuate the toxic idea that some Malaysians belong more fully than others. That idea must be rejected categorically.

The term “pendatang” may accurately describe an immigrant at the point of arrival, but it must never become a hereditary label imposed upon citizens generation after generation.

Citizenship is not provisional, and belonging cannot be determined by ethnicity.

Non-Malay Malaysians are not guests, temporary residents, or second-class citizens. They are rightful citizens and co-owners of this nation, bound to it by birth, loyalty, service, sacrifice, and a shared future.

Their ancestral connections to China, India, Indonesia, or elsewhere do not make those countries their homeland any more than the ancestral origins of other Malaysians diminish their belonging here.

Malaysia is their one and only homeland. It is ours to build together, as equals, as citizens, as Malaysians.

And then there is the possibility of taking another 25 at least with Hamzah Zainudin’s new Parti Wawasan Negara. Wawasan Negara already has 19 seats after its MPs broke away from Bersatu, which has the remaining six. Bersatu seems only to have a ghost of a chance of retaining them.

With PKR on the decline, some of their seats won with Malay support may be fodder for PAS or even Umno. Thus, it is likely that a PAS/Umno combination may have the most seats post GE16, as I explained in this article.

The Najib factor

That combination towards power seems more likely post the Johor polls. But if Umno thinks this is a licence to give Najib a “get out of jail card”, they are mistaken - I am not saying it, the numbers say so.

Umno’s support declined from 88 parliamentary seats in 2013 to 56 in 2018 when they lost power following the 1MDB scandal to 26 in 2022 when they kept harping on a pardon/house arrest for Najib.

How could a move to pardon or put under house arrest a person responsible for billions stolen from borrowed money in 1MDB’s coffers get public support anywhere? What is it that Umno wants to achieve? I am at a loss for answers.

Like Harapan, Umno also needs to pay attention to public sentiment over certain things. By now, it must be quite clear why an increasing number of people, barring non-Malays, are leaning towards PAS as their saviour. I don’t support it, but that’s the way the curry puff crumbles.

Bersama may make some headway in terms of a handful or two of MPs at the general election, but it is very difficult to predict their performance except to say they will take votes away from PKR and DAP, especially in urban areas.

It will take them at least until the next polls before they can become a threatening third force with their laudable and very reasonable Malaysian approach - the only one likely to give long-term benefit to all Malaysians.

“However, original handwritten birth records couldn’t be retrieved. Instead, official copies were issued based on secondary evidence,” he said, but what secondary evidence was adduced and from where?

What documents did it receive from these countries? If they had been birth certificates of the grandparents, NRD would have known none of them were born in Malaysia.

Side-stepping fundamental issue

But the Home Ministry’s statement side-stepped a fundamental issue. It said that the discretionary power over citizenship applications is subject to the provisions of the Federal Constitution and is exercised with due care, taking into account various factors, including public interest, national security, and the facts of each case.

The ministry said it would examine the findings and, together with relevant agencies, including the NRD, the Immigration Department, and the police, would identify appropriate areas for improvement.

These include aspects of strengthening standard operating procedures, documentation, coordination of work processes, as well as governance mechanisms that are aligned with best practices in the public service.

Really? Does the minister have the power to exempt the residency period and issue citizenship within 40 days instead of 10 years?

Why then the rebuke from EAIC? Does it also mean that the NRD did not coordinate with the police and the immigration authorities regarding the seven players? Then who did the security vetting as required by the law?

So, the inevitable question is: Did successive home ministers exercise a power they did not have under the Constitution?

Data debunks minister

Twentytwo13.com, a news portal that specialises in sports and related activities, compiled data based on information available in the public domain.

What is startling is that while Saifuddin continues the charade of “underwent a lawful and transparent process in full compliance with the Federal Constitution”, this table counters that claim.

None would have met the 10-year requirement, and it goes to show that the citizenships of these journeymen were fast-tracked, albeit illegally (or improperly - the polite terminology used by the EAIC).

Take the case of Briton Lee Tuck, who had been playing football in Malaysia since 2017.

On Merdeka Day, 2022, he announced on Instagram that he had become a naturalised Malaysian citizen. Six months later, he represented Malaysia in the Asean Football Championship, producing a Malaysian passport.

Where is he now? After that, he packed his bags and left for Halifax, England, midway through the season to focus on his real estate career, but still feels there’s money to be earned in Malaysia and suggested he would return.

“Currently, I am not playing for any club. Terengganu are a great club, and I have many fond memories. My daughters were born in Kuala Terengganu, so it’s a very special place for our family.

“Thus, I am ready to wear the Terengganu jersey if there is an offer from the team,” New Straits Times quoted him as saying on Feb 27, 2024.

Best of both worlds

Dual citizenship enables journeymen to enjoy the best of two worlds! No allegiance, no patriotism, no loyalty, no commitment. Period.

Again, the same question has to be repeated: Did Tuck and the others surrender the passports issued by the country of origin, and have they revoked their citizenship elsewhere because Malaysia does not recognise dual citizenship?

The time has come for everyone involved - the FAM, the Youth and Sports Ministry, the sports commissioners, the NRD, and especially the minister, to come clean by placing all cards on the table.

They cannot go on dishing out fictitious information or telling tall tales.

Now, the final and most important questions: Will the citizenships of the 23 players be revoked because they did not meet the residency period?

Secondly, have they all given up their citizenship from other countries and submitted their passports to the authorities as required?

Or are some of them having one leg in two countries and enjoying the best of both worlds?

This scandal is not just football. It is about accountability. Taxpayers have been misled by shifting narratives, half-truths, and contradictory announcements - many of which have now been exposed by the EAIC.

Each misleading claim has chipped away at trust in the institutions charged with safeguarding the Constitution.

Respect constitutional recognition

Citizenship is not a ministerial favour or a sporting shortcut. It is a constitutional recognition of belonging, and its integrity must be protected.

When approvals are rushed, rules bent, and oversight ignored, the cost is borne by ordinary Malaysians who expect honesty and transparency from their leaders.

The time has come for systemic accountability. Officials must stop hiding behind legalese and half-truths. They must disclose the full facts, accept responsibility, and commit to reforms that ensure citizenship is never again treated as a bargaining chip.

The taxpayers whose RM30 million went to the FAM for “boosting” the national team contributed indirectly to this fiasco, and we have a right to demand and get the truth.

Accountability is not optional - it is owed. Malaysians have been misled by half-truths, contradictory announcements, and evasive statements, all of which the EAIC has now exposed.

The institutions involved must face the public with honesty. Taxpayers deserve the truth, not tall tales. Integrity, transparency, and accountability were promised as the foundation of governance.

Delivering on those promises is the only way to restore trust. Although the process should have begun on day one when Fifa’s disciplinary committee made public its findings, it is still not too late.

The state Harapan chief, Aminolhuda Hasan, who opted not to contest in the Johor state polls, even stated that the coalition would “bury” or “kuburkan” BN in Johor for the second time.

This kind of attacking mindset, perhaps not suitable for a state election in a place like Johor, where voters value a more practical and policy-minded approach towards governing, would plague Harapan during the entire campaign.

This includes Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim calling the caretaker Johor menteri besar candidate (then), Onn Hafiz Ghazi, “kurang cerdik” or “not very clever” during one of his campaign speeches.

The delay in launching the Harapan manifesto, one week after BN had already launched theirs, and with no clear spokesperson to explain the manifesto to the public, allowed BN to label the Harapan manifesto as a “copy and paste” version of the BN manifesto.

The attempt, particularly by DAP, to say that a vote for BN is a vote for PAS, and to link the Johor campaign to the possible royal pardon (or house arrest) of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, looked increasingly desperate towards the last days of the campaign and obviously did not work.

In other words, the entire Harapan campaign in Johor was a “hot mess” compared to the disciplined campaign of BN, led by Onn, and ably backed up by Khairy Jamaluddin during his campaign for various BN candidates in the state.

(ii) Lack of coordination among Harapan parties

During the campaign, I was receiving images and posters via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram of various ceramah being organised by Harapan across different constituencies in Johor.

What became clear to me was that each Harapan component party was running their own party campaign in Johor rather than running a coordinated campaign under the coalition’s banner.

For example, most of the ceramahs in seats contested by DAP featured mostly DAP speakers.

Even in seats like Jementah (part of the Segamat parliamentary constituency, with a PKR MP), Penggeram (part of the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat, with a PKR MP), Johor Jaya (part of the Pasir Gudang parliamentary seat, with a PKR MP), and Perling (part of the Pulai parliamentary seat, with an Amanah MP), I did not see much of the presence of the respective MPs for these constituencies in the ceramahs or the walkabouts organised by the DAP.

Perhaps they were busy campaigning for their respective parties in other constituencies, but the outcome was that Harapan was not properly coordinating its campaign.

(iii) Lack of self-awareness, especially among certain DAP leaders

In the interview on the Star Online, I said that BN had two poster boys in the Johor campaign.

Meanwhile, DAP deputy national chairperson Nga Kor Ming, in an exclusive interview with Oriental Daily, said that he would resign from the cabinet if BN won big in Johor and Najib was freed.

This not only allowed BN leaders, including Umno deputy president and foreign minister Mohamad Hasan, to urge Nga to resign even before polling day, but also made this a campaign theme for the Malay voters to come out and vote against Harapan and to vote for BN.

To a lesser extent, the remarks by Pua, before and during the Johor campaign, on the pig-rearing issue and later the LRT3 issue in Selangor, seemingly directed at the Selangor sultan, also provided ammunition to BN and PN cybertroopers to galvanise Malay voters to swing their support behind BN in Johor.

I do not have conclusive survey data to support this view, but one of the reasons why I think the Malay voter turnout in the Johor state election, estimated at 77 percent, was much higher than the Chinese voter turnout, estimated at 58 percent, was because the Malay voters were much more motivated to vote against the DAP and Harapan (and in support of the BN).

In comparison, Chinese voters did not seem to have a compelling reason to vote for Harapan.

I am making an educated guess that the anti-DAP backlash led to an anti-Harapan swing, which resulted in Malay support strongly returning to BN with an estimated 85 percent of Malay support in the Johor state election.

While the Chinese support for DAP and Harapan remained above 50 percent, estimated at a maximum of 80 percent overall (but much less in seats like Paloh and Yong Peng, which were won easily by the MCA incumbents), this is a reduction of at least 15 percent compared to the 95 percent support received by Harapan in the 2022 general election.

Sadly, many DAP leaders don’t realise that what they say in the ceramah in their own constituencies will affect the Malay sentiments in other constituencies, including those contested by PKR and Amanah, which are mixed and Malay-majority.

DAP may have defended six of the 10 seats it won in the 2022 state elections in Johor, but at what cost, especially to its coalition partners?

(iv) Losing the moral high ground

One of the incidents which were reported during the final days of the campaign was when two DAP campaigners, Ong Hui Xue (special officer to Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh) and David Tiang (special officer to Housing and Local Government Minister Nga) were caught on video hanging a banner with the title “Bebas Najib” next to the billboard of Li Tiang Soon (or “Ah Soon”), the BN-MCA candidate for Yong Peng.

What really shocked me was that Wong not only defended the two DAP campaigners for putting up the banner during a campaign speech in Yong Peng, but they were even invited on stage by Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee, and were then applauded and congratulated by the crowd of supporters!

The DAP I joined back in 2012 would have criticised BN for hanging banners demonising party elder Lim Kit Siang for being anti-Islam during election time, for example, and would have lambasted any BN candidate for asking their campaigners who hung such banners to go on stage to be applauded and congratulated!

To me, this was the moment when the DAP lost any moral high ground that it may have had, including on the 1MDB issue.

And this is after the revelation by DAP’s former Skudai assemblyperson, Marina Ibrahim, that a senior DAP leader who had been campaigning hard against Najib on the 1MBD issue also told her to expect the former prime minister to be pardoned eventually, in a very matter-of-fact way.

(v) Loss of trust towards Harapan among Indian voters

I do not have access to the detailed ballot stream results for Johor, which would reveal more distinct voting patterns among the Indian community, but the anecdote by former Klang MP Charles Santiago that Indian voters are “angry, not disappointed” with Harapan when meeting Indian community leaders and voters is telling.

The fact that the DAP lost badly in Paloh, a seat with 15 percent Indian voters, and lost Perling, a previously safe seat with 13 percent Indian voters, should be an indication that Indian voters have defected from Harapan in larger numbers in Johor.

This is a reflection of a much larger national trend where there is no clear narrative from Harapan on its deliverables to the Indian community, despite numerous declarations and campaign manifesto promises in the past.

What applies at the national level and what doesn’t

Of course, there are some trends in Johor that don’t apply to national sentiment and to other states. This is what some Harapan and DAP leaders have and will continue to say.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad, after the Johor results were announced, said that Harapan still has the advantage at the federal level because Anwar is a better prime minister candidate than whoever BN has to offer.

While this may be the case if we take the latest Merdeka Center polls as an indication, would Harapan be confident of retaining the same number of seats which it won in GE15 (Harapan won 82 parliament seats in 2022) if a general election were to be triggered before the end of 2026?

Yes, BN doesn’t have Onn as a poster boy in states other than Johor, but does Harapan have someone close to the stature and popularity of Khairy at the national level, who has higher approval ratings among Malay respondents than Anwar in the recent Merdeka Center survey?

While Khairy may not be BN’s candidate for prime minister, he has shown in Johor that he can be a very effective campaigner, perhaps more effective than Anwar himself.

Even if we restrict BN’s popularity to Johor, a translation of the state election to the parliamentary seats shows that BN would go from winning nine seats in GE15 to winning 25 out of 26 parliamentary seats in Johor, including wresting 14 out of the 15 Harapan seats, leaving the latter with only Bakri.

Of course, Harapan leaders can say that they would fare better in a general election compared to a state election, but this remains to be seen.

Other factors could come into play in a general election that would continue to disadvantage Harapan, including lower turnout rates among the coalition’s supporters.

Implications for the N Sembilan polls

BN should not be overconfident and expect the same kind of result in the upcoming Negeri Sembilan state election.

They do not have the same kinds of advantages, such as having a popular menteri besar candidate like Onn.

It is also not the incumbent state government, and Harapan, as the incumbent, should be able to run a more coherent and disciplined campaign.

What may continue to apply in Negeri Sembilan is the loss of confidence and support among Malay voters towards Harapan, as well as continued implicit and explicit support for BN by PAS.

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READ MORE: COMMENT | Hot Negeri Sembilan polls

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It is too early to say whether this will be sufficient for BN to retake Negeri Sembilan, but what is clear is that another wake-up call has been issued to Harapan and particularly to the DAP.

I am not confident that DAP leaders have woken up yet.

So here are 12 ways Harapan can save itself.

1) Do serious reforms

Better late than never. Even if they lose the next election, at least they’ll go down as heroes. When BN or PN inevitably screw up, Harapan will have some credibility to regain power.

2) Cheap medical insurance

Control private hospitals’ profits, or create a good, affordable Madani health insurance to win back middle-class voters. Waiving the RM1 ATM fee is just not good enough.

3) Racial harmony law 

Pass this to stop provocations by the likes of Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh and gang. This has been talked about since 2023, but it was the usual NATO (No Action, Talk Only) from Anwar.

4) Anwar should step down

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s brand is in tatters, so it’s best that he steps down - make him minister mentor to save some dignity.

If only Rafizi Ramli were still in PKR to take over. Meanwhile, Anwar’s daughter and PKR deputy president, Nurul Izzah, is clueless and also part of her daddy’s damaged brand.

Another senior PKR leader, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, has also been plagued by scandals.

The least tainted PKR Malay leader is Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun. If Anwar lets him lead, it would be like Dr Mahathir Mohamad passing power to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as prime minister because he was seen as “Mr Clean”.

Pak Lah led BN to its greatest victory in 2004 because he promised reforms (but failed).

5) Provide jobs via e-tuk-tuks

Stop protecting Grab’s e-hailing profits. Allow electric tuk-tuk (beca) e-hailing as a more affordable option for poorer people to access LRT stations, like in China.

Many B40 folks, especially Malays, can become owner-drivers. Win votes by giving jobs, just as food delivery does.

Safety will be monitored by the e-hailing apps via passenger ratings and complaints.

6) Orange jumpsuit for Najib

Make former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and other convicted VIPs wear the orange jumpsuit when in court.

This is a powerful symbol that Harapan is serious about battling corruption. There’s no need to give face to Umno anymore after their betrayal in Johor.

7) Local council elections

Start with Malay cities like Kota Baru, Kuantan, and Shah Alam to reduce racial protests. Next, Kuala Lumpur, which is half Malay and half non-Malay.

Then maybe the Selangor state capital of Shah Alam (under a Harapan-appointed city council, mind you) will build pedestrian sidewalks to LRT3 stations without waiting for a viral video to shame it into last-minute action.

8) Redraw seats fairly

One urban vote should equal one rural vote. Stop electoral manipulation and gerrymandering.

Many suburban seats like Bangi, Gombak, and Selayang in Selangor have huge Malay-majority populations but can only choose one MP. Meanwhile, the same number of rural voters can choose six MPs!

Don’t punish urban voters, said Suhaizan Kaiat, the Johor Amanah deputy president. It’s unfair to make urban votes less valuable than those in much smaller rural seats.

This will benefit Harapan, so what are they waiting for? Umno’s approval? Will Anwar wake up and prove he’s “cukup jantan” or man enough to do this?

9) Fight corruption

Clean up the MACC, then make it answer to Parliament, not the prime minister. Set up an Ombudsman system comprising respected retired judges with powers to probe anyone.

Pass an unexplained wealth law, as former Klang MP Charles Santiago proposed.

So if a civil servant earning RM7,000 monthly has three big bungalows and five luxury cars, they can be quickly seized if they can’t explain how they paid for them. No need for forever court cases like Najib.

10) Political funding law

Use this to control the disease of “political donations” buying over leaders and policies. Umno also promised this in their 2022 manifesto, so there are no excuses.

11) Recognise UEC

Penang, Selangor, Sabah, and Sarawak already do. What is Anwar waiting for? The nod from the DNAA guy (Umno president and deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi)?

12) Should DAP leave?

If no serious reforms are started soon, DAP should leave Putrajaya before they drown with the sinking Anwar ship.

Return to the old fiery DAP as an “opposition from within Madani”, just as MCA and Akmal have been doing.

Conclusion 

Harapan has been spiralling down since the Sabah elections, and now Johor.

But it’s still possible to pull the plane up from the nosedive if Harapan takes decisive emergency action.