Penang PKR Youth chief Yusmadi Yusoff said Pakatan cannot rely on mere political ideology and identity if it wanted to remain relevant in the rapidly changing political landscape.

He suggests a Pakatan mainstream setup that would include non-political grassroots leaders from NGOs and civil society groups.

“Pakatan should become a hybrid coalition; quasi-political and (also) non-political (members) to share political power and decision-making power with non-politicians as well.”

Such a concept, says the young Balik Pulau parliamentarian, would expand Pakatan’s agenda and make it relevant to the people’s sentiments and aspirations.

“All politicians must comprehend the fact that political power was given by the people. The people are the real stake holders in political power. Therefore, it’s not wrong to include them into our political sphere,” he said.

‘Choose members wisely’

However, he cautioned that Pakatan could not simply include just any non-political organisation into its fold without obtaining a consensus on a common agenda and political destiny.

He said the NGOs and civil rights groups should first agree with Pakatan’s struggle, reform drive and a common agenda to bring about political change for the betterment of the people.

The groups, said Yusmadi, should also agree to work hand-in-hand with Pakatan political allies to go to the ground, disseminate information and effect the desired change.

“Only then the objective of a hybrid coalition can yield the desired results,” he said.

According to Yusmadi, the current political scenario was not about political membership and one-upmanship games.

“People now demand results. They are not interested in politicking. They want the politicians to perform and deliver,” he said, adding that politicians would benefit enormously by having non-political grassroots leaders by their side.

He said NGO and civil rights leaders would represent the interests and aspirations of grassroots, providing valuable input for Pakatan to draw up plans and strategies to carry out people-orientated programmes.

In this aspect, he said a close cooperation with the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and civil rights movements in Sabah and Sarawak was crucial and vital for Pakatan.

He said minority interests and rights should form part of Pakatan’s hybrid agenda.

A hybrid political and non-political coalition would be incomplete, Yusmadi explained, without direct and effective participation of these civil society groups.

He said it was time for politicians to shred their old way of thinking that political governance was only for politicians.

People, he said, now wanted to be part of the political governance and decision-making process. They were no longer interested in being just bystanders, to be guided by politicians.

He believes the people now want to self-determine their common destiny and that his idea, if realised, would help them do so.

“It would encourage the desired bottom-to-top political development, unlike the Barisan Nasional’s top-to-bottom political style,” he said.