“Propaganda... serves more to justify ourselves than to convince others; and the more reason we have to feel guilty, the more fervent our propaganda.”

- Eric Hoffer

COMMENT | Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s “Malaysian family” propaganda, like the Bangsa Malaysia kool-aid, are similar in that both are used to deflect from the failings of the political class that has gaslighted the public for decades.

People are quick to denounce the current prime minister for this kind of propaganda but the reality is that there has never been, and there will never be, an alternative to the race-based politics of this country.

For Pakatan Harapan to win in any election, they will need the support of a sizable faction of the Malay polity to have any legitimacy or credibility.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that the creation of Bersatu was a response to political reality on the ground that required a "Malay" party because the majority of Malays would not accept a multiracial party as head of government. All of the old maverick’s creations are to tap the Malay vote bank.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang is on record as saying that Bersatu was needed to court the Malay vote, especially from the rural heartland. Umno has said that Bersatu was created to destabilise the Malay vote. So history repeats itself and people are left wondering, is this all there is?

The system is predicated on this self-fulfilling prophecy and any kind of outlier thought is sanctioned.

Harapan not only has to contend with its...