If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.
– Stephen King, American author
I returned to Kuching, a city which I’m always proud to call my beloved kampung, and spent the whole of July to write and eventually completed my book which I titled ‘Hijack in Malaysia: The Fall of Pakatan Harapan’.
I suppose the movement control order (MCO), in force since March 18, has given most of us all the free time in the world, perhaps to do something which each of us, individually, would consider worthwhile and meaningful.
So it was with me too, and what better things to do, in my case, than to spend a month of quiet and solitude in penning a book. The lockdown, despite the hardship it has inflicted upon many and the inconveniences, has its positives too.
Originally, a political book was not my first choice. By the second week of the MCO, in early April, I had wanted to embark on a book on the Covid-19 pandemic — an unprecedented health crisis and arguably, the worst to confront the human race.
But the pandemic situation was clouded with so much uncertainty (and still is) and there is no time frame when it will come to an end.
Coincidentally, at around this time came a call from my old friend and former schoolmate, Richard Song. In our chat about other matters, he also suggested that I write a book and he would publish it. I accepted his proposal.
We saw the fruition of our first author-publisher collaboration last Saturday, Aug 22, at the book launch and hope this will not be the last. I must record my sincere thanks and appreciation to Richard for his support and encouragement.
So why this book? I have followed closely the events leading up to the 14th general election since 2016, the historic Pakatan Harapan victory on May 9, 2018, the coalition’s strengths and weaknesses as a government and its eventual collapse after only 22 months in power.
Many Malaysians rejoiced when the kleptocratic BN government was ousted and were looking forward to the PH’s promised ‘New Malaysia’.
For the first few months, it must be acknowledged that leaders of the new PH administration had attempted their best in governance – working hard to put the nation’s financial health back on track and hurling key leaders of the previous BN regime to court for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
But the good vibes and the positives we had witnessed soon dawned disappointingly to many that the ‘New Malaysia’ was a farce.
It was back to the ‘old normal’. Politicking within PH seemed to be the order of the day for a good part of 2019. Cracks soon appeared and allies became enemies. The ruling coalition was also defeated in five out of 11 by-elections that were held after GE14.
I specifically zeroed in on the dilly-dallying of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his reluctance to hand over the premiership to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after the voter-mandated period of two years.
The many U-turns of Dr Mahathir triggered the collapse of the PH government in February this year. I maintain that the nonagenarian was a major cause of PH’s downfall.
Like many Malaysians, how could I forget the deserters and traitors who hijacked the PH government? It is true that the enemies from within are the most dangerous. We all know who the traitors were from PH who betrayed their allies and worse, the voters who supported the coalition.
My main objective of penning this book is to put on record for posterity the characters involved in this most treacherous coup in Malaysian political history.
The coup was unprecedented as this was the first time that a democratically-elected government was replaced by one via the back door.
There is no necessity to name names here as they are all recorded in the book.
Malaysians must never tolerate or forget such treachery and we should tell the schemers, plotters and betrayers that their act against the will of the majority of Malaysians is unforgivable.
These treacherous politicians must be voted out in the next elections and we have to send them where they rightfully belong — in the dustbin of political history.
Finally, I wish to record my appreciation to a dear friend and ex-schoolmate, Datuk Sebastian Ting, for gracing the book launch last Saturday.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune. Feedback can reach him at tribunenew2019@gmail.com
