Started by prominent blogger and Malaysia Today webmaster Raja Petra Kamarudin – self-exiled and now UK-based – the movement aims to field in as many as 30 independent candidates for the 13th general election, which is widely speculated to be held in the first quarter of next year.
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today
YEAR-END SPECIAL Apart from the possibility of an early election, next year could be a dramatic one with the possible conviction of influential Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim who is facing a second sodomy trial.
His conviction could prove lethal for Pakatan Rakyat, the fledgling opposition bloc Anwar leads, given the former deputy prime minister's role as the "cohesive element" that holds the frail pact together amid clear ideological clashes.
Anwar is charged with sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a charge he vehemently claimed is trumped up. While Pakatan leaders have refrained from making any subjudicial statements about the ongoing trial, many have silently expressed belief that it will lead to their leader's eventual conviction.
The Permatang Pauh MP is generally agreed by all Pakatan component parties as the person fit for the prime minister post should the opposition bloc wrest federal power.
His conviction, however, will leave Pakatan with a gap to fill. This is the contentious part. PKR's recently concluded polls saw Anwar's blue-eyed-boy Azmin Ali clinching the deputy president's post amid a bitter fight for the No 2 post that saw contender Zaid Ibrahim sulking and quitting the party.
Following this, the image of the party was also battered as indicated in a recent survey conducted by Universiti Malaya.
Azmin is widely tipped to be Anwar's successor. But doubts remain if Azmin can muster the needed support from other component parties.
While it is without a doubt that Azmin won with a staggering majority, the fractious PKR polls, marred by as low as 10% voter turnout, allegations of irregularities and nepotism, also signalled the strong anti-Azmin presence within the party.
This will be one of the major issues that will dominate next year's headlines in case Anwar is convicted. Observers have noted that the failure to address this will lead to the eventual demise of Pakatan.
PAS, DAP and the Islamic state
Leaders in PAS, the Islamist party in Pakatan, have also hinted that it fancies a go at the (opposition leader's) post. Its argument is that Malaysia is "technically" a Muslim country and therefore the post must be taken by a Malay Muslim leader.
The staunch secularist DAP has not shown any signs that it will back PAS' political agenda. The heated antagonism between the two on the sensitive issue of the "Islamic state" has yet to be resolved.
It is notable that there are no open arguments between the two on this but, observers say, this is due to a compromise reached and engineered by Anwar, because an open debate on the subject would only give Barisan Nasional the ammunition needed to drive a wedge between them.
DAP chairman Karpal Singh at the Pakatan's recent second national convention said there should be dialogue on the Islamic state issue between his party and PAS. This was welcomed by PAS although the move was seen as a political expediency on the part of the Islamist party.
All eyes will be focused on the success of this dialogue between the two parties. Any inroad made on this extremely taboo subject will give Pakatan a glimmer of hope in a sense that its ideological incoherence can be tackled through diplomacy.
Will the third force impact Pakatan?
This year has seen the emergence of the so-called "third force", a movement now going under the name of Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) comprising "concerned individuals", mostly professionals.
Started by prominent blogger and Malaysia Today webmaster Raja Petra Kamarudin – self-exiled and now UK-based – the movement aims to field in as many as 30 independent candidates for the 13th general election, which is widely speculated to be held in the first quarter of next year.
MCLM has named two candidates so far, both lawyers, and is likely to field them in urban areas like Lembah Pantai or Petaling Jaya Selatan where voting trend among a more educated electorate would likely be based on ideology than personality.
