By Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

In this Merdeka special article, I wish to be a cold and calculating political strategist to game a scenario of retaking Malaysia in GE15. Political gaming scenarios are similar to war game scenarios played by politicians and military commanders. Anyway, most online gamers are already used to this concept of strategic planning.

I wish to outline 5 strategies that the people of Malaysia can take in order to counter the powerful onslaught of the Muafakat Nasional coalition. The MN's war game strategy is very simple. Use race, DAP and religion as the main tool of convincing Malays which are already mostly on its side. The MN will also use their partner political parties which are race based to break up the votes from non-Malays. I predict that these parties will never win a single seat but they are acting as distractors for the main onslaught on the Malay voters. These party leaders will be richly rewarded and they would have sold the fate of their communities for the value of their bank accounts. Money to buy votes will of course be used especially to purchase the Sarawak and Sabah kampung seats.

In order to win any war, one must use several counter offensive moves and a direct attack at vulnerable points while also introducing a new game move that is totally unchecked by the opponent. I will propose three counter offensive moves, one attack move and one non-counterable game scenario that would tip the balance of battle.

The first counter offensive move is to NOT take the race, religion and DAP baiting tactic. The issue of RUU355 and JAWI will play a center stage. The way to handle this is …to ignore it. The more the Dong Zong, GBM and SEKAT try to attack the JAWI issue, the war is lost. Let PN do whatever they wish with JAWI and RUU355. Civil society activists must also refrain from attacking in an abusive and an ill-mannered form any of the religious and Malay personalities however obnoxious their statements are. Answers to their vitriol must be responded in the most courteous manner or better yet not to answer them at all.

A second counter offensive move is that Malaysians must try to contribute RM100 million for the election. Malaysians have shown their commitment in collecting RM4 million in just one week in the Lim Guan Eng issue. When money politics is used to buy votes with villages and Orang Asli, then the people must answer in like manner. RM200 means a lot to poor villagers and they have no ideas about selling off their future and their children's future. Their concern is what to eat the next day. This RM100 million by the people must be managed by a group of civil society activist and not by any one political party. Tawfik Tun Dr. Ismail has started an impressive group of first and second Generation Merdeka citizens who have sterling contributions to the country. They call themselves the Malaysia First Group. The group's main aim is to reestablish the Constitution of the country and the Rukunegara as the two sacred foundations that would ensure dignity for all ethnic and religious or non-religious adherents in Malaysia. The Third Force group alongside MAJU have also started serious moves and they are part of the Malaysian First group flank battleships. The Third Force Group will also start crowdfunding for their 30 independent candidates that would ensure no party hopping can disable a government elected by the people.

The third counter offensive must be by moderate Muslim Malay groups. Amanah must lead the fight by outlining how Islam which is inclusive and progressive can create economic and moral prosperity rather than the narrow minded Malay-Muslim only approach of MN. The Muslim-Malay group can also start asking interesting questions on such issues as the RUU355. Muslims can ask what is the punishment of 'rasuah' or corruption involving public funds? According to Tun Mahathir the corrupt people in the 1MDB affair are 'pencuri'. Thus, will these politicians hands be the first to be cut? Secondly, those who profited from the 1MDB money were also called as 'pencuri wang rakyat' and thus will they also have their hands cut? It is strange that a person stealing a pair of Jeans will have his hands cut but a person misusing billions of public funds meant for the poor, education and development just sit in prison. Amanah must also outline how the young Muslims can be exported to work overseas with lucrative income by practicing a more open and inclusive approach to Islam that would also secure their afterlife. Amanah must hone in the point that supporting corrupt Muslim leaders would include them in Hellfire because they would be considered as colluding. Rasuah or corruption at the moment is not seen as a big sin because it is clouded by false patriotism to race and religious political agendas.

The main attack move by the people is to support Tun Mahathir and his newly formed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air. Now, many in civil society and Malaysians are wary of the games and agendas of the Old Man. However, speaking as a cold and calculating political strategist, Tun M and his party are key weapons in this war because of several reasons. Look at how Bersatu has defections even before Pejuang is registered. Look at how the Malay media is exceptionally propping up Bersatu in PN as being stable and unaffected by Pejuang. The PH coalition, including Anwar and PKR must back this party as they did PPBM as Tun M's race based party. It is nonsense of Anwar to harp on insisting on a coalition of multiracial party only when the elephant in the room is still the 30% Malay voters swing that would decide the fate of Malaysia. Without that swing, forget the existence of any stable government of integrity for Malaysia.

Now, the final killer move. This move can never be countered by MN because of their Tanah Melayu rhetoric. The people of Malaysia in the Semenanjung must offer the post of the Prime Minister and 40% Cabinet posts for the Sabah and Sarawak nations. The Muafakat Nasional will NEVER give up the post of PM and the portions that was suggested. This is, thus, the key that would turn the tide of war. If there are opposition leaders in Semenanjung who still dream that the PMship is his alone because of being Malay and other privileges, Malaysians should leave this individual and his party alone. All Malaysians including the Kadazans, Orang Asli, Murut, Bajau and the remainder 35 ethnic groups are eligible to be the Prime Minister of a people's Malaysia. No two ways about it.

In ending this article, I would like to remind Malaysians that different times call for a different gaming scenario. To change, we must all expect to do different things and hold off our emotions that was based on a narrow interpretation of the past. If we start alluding to the past actions of individuals which we never understood fully in the first place, then we would go nowhere. If we also think that change can come by us turning up to vote and waiting two hours to mark an X, that time has past. We need to do 200% more than that. This gaming scenario is predicated on the assumption that Malaysians who want change must come out strongly and sacrifice much to affect the desired outcome. Without that will, this gaming scenario is just another story structure for a harmless online game.

Our fate is in our own hands. Viva Merdeka, dear Malaysians! 

(Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor at a local university.)