We should not feel sorry for Khairy because he made his political bed but what is important was, unlike many others, he chose to tune out the noise and carry on with the job at hand.

Not only was Khairy a health minister during a pandemic, but he also had to deal with the clusters within Umno who were anathema to reform and out to destroy those who opposed them, the religious provocations of his coalition partners which hampered the response to the pandemic, the moves of a prime minister who was using the pandemic to extend his hold on power, and of course, an opposition (which rightly) was acting as a counterbalance to governmental policy or overreach. In other words, Khairy was a stable presence in a chaotic milieu. 

All-or-nothing no more

When Anwar said that the DAP is not going to control Harapan, he is doing more than just attempting to negate the Malay uber alles propaganda, he is in reality attempting to reassure undecided Malay voters that the BN formula that was effective for decades in maintaining stability and garnering a majority of votes would be possible with a Harapan regime.

If you are a rational voter, you would understand that Harapan is merely attempting to replicate the successful BN formula. The defining characteristic of that formula was political stability. Political stability needs political operatives from all factions to understand the bigger picture.

Outgoing Damansara MP Tony Pua recently commented that the reality of politics in Malaysia would be factional alliances post-election. This would be the new normal.

To operate in such a political landscape, we need political operatives from various factions to be competent and understand that building consensus is far better than maintaining stability by attempting a tenuous hegemonic rule.

It also means a voting electorate that does not put blind party loyalty ahead of any other consideration when voting.

This is what is troubling about those not wanting to vote because this would be a vote for Zahid. Why can’t a vote for Khairy be a vote for someone who is competent in his job, even though he is from Umno and all that means?

This is part of the all-or-nothing narrative that PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj was talking about when he wrote about the lack of nuance in Malaysian politics. This is also part of the apocalyptic-type narrative that has damaged Harapan in terms of voter expectations in the past.

Indeed, the fact that there are so few component ministers in Umno is indicative of what a moribund party it is. All these old Umno ministers are on their way out. Malaysia is changing too rapidly for them to keep going for their self-interests. 

Times are changing but this may not necessarily be a boon for Harapan. The more establishment politics fails to offer genuine choices for the voting public, the more fractured and segmented we will become.

Honestly, I wish there were more candidates in BN like Khairy, because, ultimately what this country needs is more rational choices rather than blind party loyalty.

If you are voting in Sungai Buloh, you should vote for Khairy.