Malaysians, especially Johoreans in Tenang, have nothing to lose in giving the benefit of doubt and their ballots to the Pakatan Rakyat in the coming by-election.
For the die-hard or hardcore Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters or voters, at least use the Tenang by-election to send a clear message to their leaders.
Stop the arrogance and display some sincerity in wanting a truly 1Malaysia or united Malaysia. Stop the racism.
This one seat – Tenang – will not alter the state government. It will mean nothing to the BN state government as they will continue to rule.
But a loss will rock the arrogant and corrupt BN leaders, hopefully jolting them to their senses to start serving the rakyat faithfully and sincerely.
Hopefully, they will also see the folly of disrespecting the laws of the country and manipulating the administration with the powers bestowed on them by the rakyat.
Most of all, the rakyat must send a clear message to the BN that Malaysians don’t want the country to be turned into another Myanmar-like authoritarian administration.
The voters in Tenang have the opportunity to tell BN to stop the rot or else … what have you got to lose?
To continue supporting two-faced BN leaders who preach 1Malaysia but sleep with Perkasa is nothing short of making fools out of Malaysians. Such leaders will continue their ways if Malaysians don’t start sending the correct message. There are too many examples to show how insincere the BN government is in serving the interests of the rakyat.
The best example that directly affects all Malaysians is the unabated price hikes. Why the need to hike prices of necessities while continuing to give billions of ringgit in subsidies to the Independent Power Producers (IPP) and toll concessionaires?
The IPPs and toll collectors are just filthy rich, and the operators are BN cronies benefiting shamelessly from law-abiding taxpayers without losing a drop of sweat.
Malay rights group Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali has announced that the political pressure group will stay out of campaigning in the Tenang by-election in what is seen as an attempt not to jeopardise BN’s chances among the Chinese voters there who form 38 percent of the electorate.
Ibrahim was quoted as saying: “Perkasa wants to remain neutral as an organisation. We have many Umno members. It is good for Perkasa to stay neutral.” If I believe what Ibrahim says, I also believe humans have evolved to grow wings to fly.
Perkasa has been vociferous about the need to keep Malay rights, upsetting Umno’s allies in the BN and stoking fear that it could affect rather than improve their chances at the ballot box.
Asked how the Malay right-wing group could maintain its neutrality in the Tenang campaign, Ibrahim stressed that Perkasa members could only join the campaign trail in their capacity as Umno members or individuals.
Tell me about two-faced politicians and double-headed snakes and their unreliability. Isn’t this clear enough that a sizeable percentage of Malaysians are allowing themselves to be fooled at the expense of their democratic rights?
The Pakatan convention in Penang unveiled a 10-point resolution which the BN will surely dismiss as rubbish or nonsense, just because it looks too good to be true for the rakyat. But what have you got to lose, anyway, by giving the Pakatan the benefit of doubt to rule at federal level and the chance to deliver its promises?
After all, if Pakatan does not keep its promises, the rakyat can still give them the boot, and perhaps a viable third force may emerge. If not, the rakyat can return the BN to power, and hopefully this time it will be more sincere and consistent in both words and actions.
That is what democracy is about.
What have you got to lose? The Pakatan’s resolutions are:
- A restructure of institutions including the Elections Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Royal Malaysian Police. During a debate on the policy framework, DAP’s Anthony Loke said PR bring the MACC under the purview of Parliament.
