YOURSAY | ‘If you don’t have a sense of right and wrong, you don’t have the moral compass to lead.’
Postpone Jho Low-like dinner for voters, Bersih tells Anwar
Roger 5201: We still remember having to pay for our dinner while listening to aspiring politicians speak not too long ago.
We also remember donating to a former parliamentarian facing jail time for blowing the whistle on the cow scandal. We even know a leader who mortgaged his house to help fund his party in the last election.
We did not, however, know that leader had enough leftover to treat up to 4,000 to a free sit-down dinner in Port Dickson just days away from the by-election.
If it is not right to give away a free pen or durian, a free dinner, even in a private setting, is equally inappropriate.
Shovelnose: If you do not have a sense of right and wrong, you don't have the right moral compass to lead. Although you may not have personally sponsored the dinner, such an event is a no-no in a more developed democracy.
You do not want the dinner expenses to be included in your election expenditure limit? How are the watchdogs going to account for election treats like these?
Jasmine: It’s highly likely that Pakatan Harapan candidate Anwar Ibrahim and his spokesperson will claim that the financing for this mammoth dinner is coming from persons who love him.
They will say that it is sponsored, but not by PKR or the candidate himself. As such, it will be further asserted that it’s not in violation of Section 8 of the Election Offences Act 1954.
We all know what Bersih is espousing here. When they say “clean”, they mean clear consciences, not Houdini-style evasions to prove no misconduct.
In a way, Bersih has been used and is now being discarded by the very beneficiaries of the blood and sweat of the group and those who took to the streets.
Oxymoronic Tendencies: While it is proper that the EC and Bersih monitor candidates’ expenditures and campaigns for compliance with regulations, the silence from both Bersih and the Election Commission on the fielding of a candidate like Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan – who is undoubtedly funded by those only interested in tarnishing Anwar’s name and keeping the infamous sodomy charges front and centre in people’s minds during the election – is dirty politics at its worst.
Abasir: Anwar is likely to repeat that Bersih's reminder to not violate Section 8 is "too much". And to pre-empt any further ‘incursions’ into military camps by the other contenders, the Armed Forces chief has declared that the camps are no longer to be used for political purposes – after Anwar did just that.
What’s not to love about 'New Malaysia'?
At best, Anwar is a polarising figure with the singular ability to get both the pro and anti-groups to spew garbage in this comment section.
Maybe that is just about what this newly impoverished country can afford from a future leader – one whose emergence from jail saw a dramatic widening of the schism among his own party faithful, while the craftily engineered poll has succeeded in pitting recently liberated ‘new Malaysians’ against one another.
Perhaps the time has not come for the country to be served by a smart, self-effacing, broadly respected role model known for his ethics, courage, vision and grounding in reality. So it is que sera sera after all.
ChuenTick: It is unbecoming of Anwar to be called out by Bersih and the EC on these infringements. He is, after all, prime minister-in-waiting and he ought be setting the tone for the change the rakyat has voted for.
Anonymous 562531438261476: It will be stupid for Anwar to attend the free dinner. He is going to win anyway so why get himself into controversies.
Anonymous_1404366050: Indeed, PD people have already made up their minds who to vote for. No need for all this last-minute desperado act. By the way, please, no more by-elections.
Blogsmith: Harapan should not copy BN’s style of campaigning with questionable "bribes" like free dinners. We do not want a BN 2.0 type of government.
No more, after such a difficult struggle to get rid of Umno/BN. We have zero tolerance for more abuse and corruption.
Anwar: Why can't I have dinner?
Odysseus: Anwar, you can have dinner with Saiful or anyone else, we don't care. This is a by-election and there are rules to observe and follow.
If you can't follow this simple rule, do you think the rakyat can trust you to uphold the law of this country? You need to walk the talk first before asking for our trust.
Homesick: Harapan kicked out BN without any of this nonsense. People came out in the tens of thousands for every Harapan ceramah, regardless of the weather.
People came out, stood in the rain for hours at these ceramah. Also at every ceramah, people donated willingly to the cause. So why the need for this disgusting practice now?
Hearty Malaysian: Anwar being the prime minister-designate should not compare himself with the rest of candidates and insist on carrying out the old Umno tactic of giving freebie dinners.
It is quite worrying for the nation to have such a prime minister-in-waiting talking as if he is above the law and resorting to such low-level antics.
What can we expect once he becomes prime minister, rubbing shoulders with big businesspersons? Najib 2.0 in the making?
Malaysian Malaysian: "Responding to Bersih, which urged the PKR president-elect to hold the event after the Oct 13 polls, he asked: ‘Why can't I have dinner?’” This is hubris, plain and simple, not reform.
To think this candidate made an MP resign so he can get into Parliament to “carry out reforms”.
It’s sad to think all the effort the rakyat put in to oust BN has come to this. Nurul Izzah, Rafizi, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid and now Fahmi Fadzil, how do you explain this petulance?
Mano: People are paradoxical. We want change but we expect the change from others. Some people say it is okay to do all the wrong things as long as it is us doing it.
We want Anwar to win, but with an unimpeachable record of campaigning. By doing this, what kind of credibility and integrity would he have as a minister, more so a future prime minister?
You have to be clean and be seen as clean. By the reasoning that "Malaysians are not that foolish to be easily bribed with just free food", would it be okay for the judges of former PM Najib Abdul Razak's court cases to dine with him if he were to say the same?
Bersih is just helping to elevate the standard. This is what the rakyat want. The excuse of “everyone else is doing it” should not be used.
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