opinion

The Sept 11 tragedy has shifted the political pendulum worldwide to the right. President George W Bush, who was second-placed in popular votes in the presidential election and won by a Supreme Court decision, now has the backing of most of the American people and the bipartisan Congress.

In Australia, John Howard's Liberal-National coalition retained political power over its refusal to grant asylum to the Middle East boat people. In other countries, authoritarian measures that undermine individual human rights are justified for the sake of 'national security'.

However, as we step into the 21st century, the trend has been for political parties, both left and right, to move towards the centre. While in the 80s Ronald Reagan's Reaganomics and Margaret Thatcher's liberalisation became the order of the day as conservative parties swept into power, the result of the fallout of the masses due to their economic policies have propped up centrist governments.

Bill Clinton's claim to being a New Democrat gave him victory in the 1992 American presidential election; while Tony Blair's New Labour won convincingly in the 1997 British general elections. But Clinton's insistence that the party must shift to the centre reverberated further - the New Party in Japan, Germany's Social Democrats and Professor Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition in Italy all embodied the new, moderate, centrist ideals.

Filling the void

Thus detained Keadilan Youth leader Ezam Mohd Noor's appeal to make the party a centrist party, or zentrumspartei , at Keadilan's recent AGM should be taken into consideration. That is the future of Malaysian politics. The Barisan Alternative, representing a chiaroscuro of political ideals and opinions, should strive to fill the void in the centre as a moderate coalition capable of attracting support from the masses.

The government presently is dictated by realpolitik - trying to appear conservative to certain electorates while appearing moderate to others, trying their best to manipulate the situation and project the opposition coalition to be a loose bunch of extremists.

DAP, before leaving BA was depicted as being a Chinese-chauvinist party to the Malays, while PAS as fanatical Islamic fundamentalists. Keadilan, on the other hand, has been painted as being a gaggle of rowdy street-demonstrators and rabble-rousers aimed at overthrowing the government through violent means.

Following the events of Sept 11, the government used this to their advantage in isolating PAS from the masses. DAP decided to leave BA, much to the benefit of the ruling BN coalition, while they continued to justify the use of the ISA as being a preventive measure that 'would have deterred' a tragedy like Sept 11 attacks in the United States.

Rainbow coalition

The parties in BA, with Keadilan playing a pivotal role, should not play into the hands of the BN's smear campaign and media blitzkrieg by moving away from the political centre.

Just like Keadilan, BA itself is a rainbow coalition, and by portraying itself as moderate, practical and pragmatic, yet remaining idealistic at the same time, the opposition pact would open the eyes of many Malaysians as a prospective, alternative government. We should concentrate on the common ideals and aims that the coalition shares, rather than the dividing differences.

To be an electable government, BA should be able to garner mass support by both holding on to their traditional voters yet at the same time opening up to new members from diverse groupings to represent Malaysians from all walks of life.

This is an advantage that Keadilan has, compared to other major Malaysian political parties; it cannot afford to lose its multiracial image so as not to lose the support of the non-Malays. While PAS, being a much established and respected political organisation that is highly experienced in the local political arena, Keadilan's appeal lies in it being a brand new political organisation, grouping together former politicians and activists, religious leaders and professional representatives.

Politics is increasingly losing its right and left poles, as people find the centre more appealing for a potential ruling government. To put the ruling party out is not an impossible task, if BA strives hard for it. The opposition parties have to be willing to undergo their own Bad Godesberg - the German spa town where the Social Democrats renounced their links with Marxism to portray themselves as humanistic, idealistic and a potential ruling party.

NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD, nearly 20, is a college student with a keen interest in current affairs, history and politics. He is attached on a part-time basis to the Political Education Unit, Institute for Policy Research and is editor of SuaraAnum.com.