Can Zaid be a third force?

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — With forces in Umno pushing for action to be taken against him, former de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim appears headed towards joining Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR.

Zaid has been asked to show cause by Umno, a move that sets the stage for his sacking or eventual resignation.

Except that with the spotlight in PKR focused on adviser Anwar, Zaid might find himself isolated if he does join PKR.

If he eventually finds PKR unpalatable, Zaid has the choice of remaining independent and work to forge and lead a third force in national politics.

It is a serious issue for a bold, forthright and uncompromising man like Zaid whether he can really fit comfortably into a party like PKR or for that matter political parties that are usually dominated by powerful, ambitious and ego-driven individuals.

In any case Zaid might not exactly be welcomed in the PKR because potentially he might overshadow the likes of vice-presidents Azmin Ali and S. Sivarasa and information chief Tian Chua, who all share the same secular, liberal political platform.

It’s probable that Zaid, having been a minister who had the gumption to resign and shown a willingness to speak his mind on sensitive issues, would be another star attraction in PKR besides Anwar.

He would most definitely overshadow Anwar's underlings and possibly spark friction in the PKR if he does joins the party as is widely speculated.

Not only would the secular leaders be unhappy, the fundamentalist hardliners like Kulim/Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin would also find Zaid anathema and are expected to object.

These and other political considerations are going through Zaid's mind, his aides said. "He is prepared to burn his bridges with Umno but is not sure yet on his political career except that he would continue to speak out against injustice," one aide said.

Bold or foolish, Zaid has challenged the Umno power brokers with his stringent views on the need to bury the NEP, promote meritocracy and repeal the ISA.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has picked Zaid as his latest punching bag and unleashed a volley of attacks on his blog aimed at tarnishing Zaid's reputation by questioning the source of his income.

This is just for starters because Dr Mahathir is not one to start a fight and leave the ring without victory.

Zaid naturally invites retaliation and it is not surprising that the new Umno leadership that is taking shape has asked Zaid to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken.

Frankly, political analysts say, Zaid is just too big and too bold for Umno and the Umno power brokers feel they are better off without him.

Umno insiders said although some liberals in the party are strongly against it, most of the incoming team is for taking some action against the party's most wayward and headstrong member.

Zaid, who joined Umno in 2000 and who was suspended once as Kota Baru division chief for "money politics", might be either suspended again or sacked.

It would be a loss for the party to sack a man once described as the conscience of Umno.

With some doors shut and others not so palatable open to him, Zaid is confronted by the one logical choice before him — to develop and lead a third force in national politics besides the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat coalitions.

He is ambitious enough, rich enough and national enough to carve out a platform for himself and not necessarily at the head of a new political party but potentially as leader of a fledgling NGO with the potential to grow into a movement.

If the venture takes off he can later convert the movement into another multiracial political party.

Zaid has the stature and boldness to win support across the political landscape much as Anwar was able to do except that Zaid is open and bold enough to challenge the sacred ghosts of Umno and Pas unlike Anwar who avoids the minefields for fear of losing Malay support.

Scandal free and not bogged down by the Islamic baggage nor the need to pay obeisance to the Ketuanan Melayu ideology, Zaid is better placed to lead the Malay moderates who have always looked for a Malay leader to confront the growing impact of Islamic laws into what they see as their "private life."

Inter-racial collaboration is a fact in the Pakatan Rakyat but the push for more Islam and the need to defend Malay rights is also a growing force in the coalition that is fuelled by PKR hardliners and conservatives in Pas.

The tussle between the hardliners and the liberals is a constant theme in the Pakatan coalition and one that is quite impossible to resolve unless the coalition sets the rule, spells out clearly its agenda and works out a constitution.

It has to speak as a Malaysian party to all Malaysians unlike the current set up where each party speaks differently to its different constituents.

In such an environment Zaid has the advantage to speak to all Malaysians with a common message — an end to race politics, equality and meritocracy in an egalitarian society.

There is firmness and clarity to Zaid's message — that the old order is dead and a new one is necessary — that is missing in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition which is a marriage of dissimilar political parties glued together by the skills of one man.

Zaid should consider leading the emerging third force in national politics.