AKMAL SALEH

 

Like him or hate him, Akmal Saleh is playing a longer game than most - and that, in politics, often counts as intelligence.

He understands a hard political truth: today’s critics frequently become tomorrow’s partners once the numbers align.

History shows this repeatedly. Parties that denounce him now will work with him later if power demands it - as they always do.

Most political actors prioritise access to power above all else. Principles, outrage, and moral posturing often sit far out on the periphery, invoked loudly in opposition and quietly abandoned in negotiation rooms.

Akmal also appears to see something many prefer not to say out loud: that PAS and Malay unity will shape political power more deeply over the next few election cycles. Not as a passing mood, but as a structural force- demographic, cultural, and organisational. This is not about slogans; it is about numbers, ground machinery, and voter discipline.

Seen through this lens, much of the hostility directed at him functions less as conviction and more as sandiwara - political theatre meant to signal virtue, mobilise bases, and keep options open. The rhetoric is sharp, but the doors are never fully closed.

Akmal seems comfortable with this reality. He absorbs the noise, counts the numbers, and waits.
And when he reaches a position where he can dispense power, narratives will adjust accordingly.

Even DAP - like others before - will find language to justify cooperation. It may be framed as racial balance, political representation, national unity, or checks and balances.

The vocabulary will change, the principles will be reinterpreted, and the past rhetoric will quietly fade.

Because in the end, ideology explains behaviour - but power explains alliances.

Peace, anas