ADUN SPEAKS | BN has been promoting the idea that it is the guarantee of stability. Its chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi even claimed that stability would only return to this country with BN winning a two-thirds majority and returning to the old order.

But what Malaysians rejected in 2018 was exactly this. The rakyat rejected the arrogant and corrupted one-party state that governed with impunity.

The old order was defeated but a new order has not been established. Why is this the case?

A new political order cannot be established because of the choices Umno and BN made immediately after the May 2018 general election.

Umno could have reformed and rejuvenated its party with new leaders and new narratives.

‘Scorched earth’

The Pakatan Harapan government pushed for parliamentary reforms, including bipartisan committees and administrative reforms like having open tenders before awarding projects.

These changes would have survived changes in governments and become the real change we hoped for. Umno-BN could have participated in this process.

But that is not to be. Umno chose Zahid as the president in its party election on June 30, 2018.

His only strategy is the "scorched earth" strategy to bring the house down in order for himself and former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to get out of jail by returning to power by usurping the people’s mandate.

Alas, as the then opposition party, BN had no willpower to reform but chose to fan hatred towards the Harapan government. Eventually, Harapan fell in February 2020.

Reject court cluster

Umno-BN came back to power, but have we achieved any political stability since? It even caused the fall of the Muhyiddin Yassin government in August last year.

Umno’s ‘Team A’ led by the court cluster is now pushing for a showdown against Umno’s ‘Team B’ led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob by pushing for a snap poll.

It’s the court cluster’s third attempt to bring down the sitting government since 2018 after having brought down the Harapan government and the Muhyiddin government.

A snap poll would only benefit Najib and Zahid, and not the people.

An unreformed Umno is exactly why we are going through political chaos.

Umno, especially the court cluster, is the source of instability that the nation faces in February 2020, August last year, and July this year. Umno and BN are not sources of stability.

Malaysians of all backgrounds, including Umno members who want a better Malaysia, should unite against the court cluster and thwart their conspiracy in pushing for snap polls.

LIEW CHIN TONG is Johor DAP chief and Perling assemblyperson.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.