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By Mihar Dias
(C) Copyright April 2022
In some parts of South America people often gather underneath a big tree instead of a big tent.
In Costa Rica, there is a very big tree known as Guanacaste or elephant-ear tree. They grow in abundance in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, where they are highly valued for their shady relief from the hot intense sun.
Their sizes too are immense. Some are known to be as wide as 50 meters (165 feet). Just one tree with a large crown of that size may be able to shade hundreds of people.
Outdoor meetings are commonly held in comfort beneath the wide canopy of this elephant-ear tree instead of a big tent which might not be easily available in a developing country, like Costa Rica.
In Malaysia it is hard to find “pohon besar”(big tree) although an old saying does propagate the idea; “Bernaung (biarlah) di bawah pohon yang rindang”. For generations, Malays did take shelter under a big tree.
However, our population has grown over the years, so does the number of political parties and we are not able to find an elephant-ear tree or one of that immensity, to accommodate everyone.
Therefore, we resort to “khemah besar” (big tent) instead, for “kenduri” or a large feast or even for a big political gathering. Usually, these tents are air-conditioned to keep the temperature and tempers cool.
Khemah besar conceptually serves as a shelter providing cover for those who would like to group to work towards a common goal. As a result, Pakatan Harapan had opted for a “big tent” approach to unite all opposition parties to work against a common nemesis, namely the Barisan Nasional or UMNO to be exact that will likely lead the pack in the next General Election.
However, it seems to have stirred a difference of opinion between Parti Amanah Negara’s (Amanah) leadership. Its president Mohamad Sabu was against cooperating with Umno, Bersatu or PAS in GE15 under its “big tent” approach.
On the other hand, Salahuddin Ayub its VP said the door for cooperation with Perikatan Nasional should be opened. He urged Pakatan leadership to invite Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and PAS leaders to be part of the “big tent” movement for GE15.
He said, “We have a common enemy, which is Barisan Nasional and it is important for Opposition parties to ensure a one-on-one fight against them in GE15″. He made the statement at a press conference after buka puasa with the media in JB on April 20. He also said discussions should include Bersatu and PAS to form the “big tent” which was part of a resolution approved by Pakatan’s presidential council in Port Dickson in 2021.
He argued that although there were statements by Pakatan leaders refusing to work with “traitors”, they ought to look beyond sentiment because all opposition leaders should focus on unity and forgiveness for the benefit of the people.
Salahuddin added that the opposition has a brighter chance of winning if they were united and would be able to beat Barisan in a straight fight.
The Malay idiom “bernaung dibawah pohon yang rindang” or in this case a big tent is a great concept urging unity for the fragmented opposition. For in unity there is strength.
Let the tent shelter all for working out strategies to stop UMNO and kleptocrats associated with them from further ruining the country.
But these two leaders who mooted the idea must first work out their differences before bringing others under the same tent. Otherwise, no matter how strong the airconditioning might be under the tent, it would not be able to cool down flaring tempers
Mihar Dias is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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