'We often hear how difficult it is to implement ‘western-type' democracy. But I dare other political parties to follow PKR's direct polls before criticising its flaws.'
PKR president defends controversial polls
V Georgemy: Never in the entire political history of Malaysia have we witnessed such political awareness as now. It happened especially after the formation of PKR.
PKR got the most of the print space in the alternative media on the just-concluded party elections. In my knowledge, no political party in Malaysia has conducted direct election except PKR. As a new opposition party in Malaysia, it is impossible to conduct such elections.
We often hear how difficult it is to implement ‘western-type' democracy in Malaysia due to our short history as a functioning democratic country. I personally salute the PKR leadership, especially its de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim, and dare other political parties to follow the model adopted by PKR before criticising its flaws.
KSN: Again, you've gotten your figures wrong, madam president. You say PKR has 400,000 members. How many voted? 30,000 less than 10 percent. What does that say?
In my view, the members have lost faith in PKR for reasons you should know. If this is the response from your members, what do you think the non-members of PKR feel - the voters who supported the party in the last elections
I overheard an Indian man telling a Chinese vegetable seller this morning that PKR was finished. I could not help joining them and concurring with their views. PKR has indeed self-destructed.
Magnus: "Quoting Robert H Schuller, she (Azizah) said, ‘Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.'"
Here are two quotes from Mahatma Gandhi:
1. "There is no human institution that has not its dangers. The greater the institution, the greater the chances of abuse. Democracy is a great institution and therefore it is liable to be greatly abused. The remedy therefore is not avoidance of democracy but reduction of the possibility of abuse to a minimum."
2. "All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take."
I have great respect for Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail - and for Anwar Ibrahim, who in my opinion, has the potential to be a great Malaysian leader.
But the voting mechanism is an important fundamental in the system of democracy and it cannot be compromised or surrendered to human incompetence or manipulation as too many people's lives depend on it to work properly/perfectly.
Protest, anti-Anwar newsletter mar opening
OZ: It is justified for any member of a party to voice his/her views against any regularities within the party, but it is surely ironical for the former-member or non-member to voice his/her views of the party.
If you don't like Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Azmin Ali or any of the founding members of PKR, you should not have joined PKR.
Lonestar: KS Kotappan, no one (apart from God) is perfect. Similarly, no one political party is perfect. The rakyat has just got to work at it in order to get a near-perfect party to govern. At the same time, there are proper avenues to get this done, and it is not at this party congress.
1Malaysia: It looks like the protestors are very small in numbers but are very well-organised. Who produced the banners and leaflets? It cannot be one of the protestors, right?
Mat: Democracy, dissent and protests are good and healthy for they provide feedback to the leadership. Anwar should take heed, buck up and win back the hearts and souls of his followers.
Last-minute campaign ahead of tomorrow's polls
Rolls-Royce: All these different teams and different groups - are these differences due to different policies, programmes and visions for the party? Are these differences due to different levels of integrity, truth and transparency?
Or are they merely differences in personalities and idiosyncrasies? Frankly, what are you fellows disagreeing about?
1Malaysiakuku: I certainly hope the Rainbow Coalition under Teng Chang Khim withdraws. If not, I vote for the Unity Team under Teresa Kok.
Teng has a long history of not being able to get along with anyone if he does not get his way. He seems to have quarrels with just about every leader in DAP. The worst was when he demanded Lim Kit Siang to step down from DAP, very much like Zaid Ibrahim demanding Anwar Ibrahim to step down. Malays call this ‘kurang ajar'.
If Teng wins, he will have fulfilled his dreams of being a party warlord, which he so wants. It will be havoc for Pakatan Rakyat. I say reject Teng.
Confucius: Listen up, DAP, things are bad enough with PKR. We are a bit concerned about the fragile fabric holding Pakatan together. Get your act together and stop any infighting as the 13 th general elections may be just around the corner.
Lim Chong Leong: There are no two teams, as everyone can see. Just the Unity Team against one man, who himself knows is a lone ranger. He is a one-man show. So there is no Rainbow Team, just one man and his followers. That is why he is the speaker of the Selangor assembly.
He is one man who will put rules first before party and alliances. It goes to show that Pakatan and DAP are fair.
Focus: I am not worried at these so-called differences that are happening in DAP. Differences are there because it is practising democracy. By and large, DAP politicians are mature. They can walk hand-in-hand even though they don't see eye to eye. They know pretty well that unity is not about uniformity.
Believe me, they will close ranks after the party election. These are the high expectations of DAP members.
Anonymous: Undeniably, both camps have good leaders. But in order to select the best team, the DAP Selangor delegates must have the wisdom to select who they want as leaders at both state and national levels.
Also, the delegates must bear in mind that Selangor is an important fortress for Pakatan to defend in the 13th general elections as well as contributing to Pakatan's aim to take over Putrajaya. It is on this basis that potential candidates are going to be selected for state and parliamentary seats within Selangor.
On the other hand, Selangor is a fertile ground to groom cabinet ministers in case Pakatan succeeds in forming the federal government. DAP must show its maturity where winners do not grab all but are willing to absorb potential quality candidates from both camps who lose in the contest.
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