Monday, August 11, 2008

The Annoying By Elections That Is Permatang Pauh

If there was ever a prize to be given for the most wasteful and pointless by-election ever in the history of modern democracy, the coming Permatang Pauh one would be a leading contender.

I'm sure by now some naive pro-Anwar lad would start getting wound up by this view of mine, but it does not mean that I am wrong. Across the nation, people are worried about the economy, crime, the state of our education system, the rights of citizens, some more equal that others, enough so that conferences, symposiums and workshops are being held nigh every weekend. But now comes a by-election and the entire effort of a nation goes into the toilet for 11 days+!

I was at a meeting last night where the organising committee of a conference planned for this weekend decided to postpone the event as a result of Permatang Pauh's nominations being held on the same day. It seems the PAS Muktamar being held that day was not as big a problem, as some Pas sympathisers would still participate in the conference, but now all the UMNO-related fellows have been asked to help at Permatang Pauh on the nomination day! WHY?

Everyone KNOWS Anwar is going to win the Permatang Pauh seat. In fact, this is such a blatant fait-accompli that it has been a task in itself to get anyone to run against Anwar Ibrahim (As an aside, the leading contender should surely be the current real PM of Malaysia, Kamaluddin Abdullah! Is he a Datuk yet? Maybe a Tan Sri?). The result is such a foregone conclusion that Anwar has been trying to show that it would be difficult for him to win... that's just so typically pathetic...

So why are all the UMNO guys so excited about Permatang Pauh? Not to stop Anwar from winning. Not even to get him a reduced majority; in fact, a reduced majority would likely be a miracle from Allah to curtail Anwar from coming to power... for any sensible person would expect a further rejection of Pak Lah to be the overwhelming signal from this by-election. Fat lot of good that would do us... Pak Lah is either too Thick Face Black Heart, or just simply too thick, to get it...

So why are all the UMNO people excited? Because this by-election will likely be the last major event before Ramadhan where all the contenders for positions in the coming UMNO AGM can line-up and show of their 'prowess' to the party power-brokers, the faithfull and potential allies in the coming race. And all at government and BN expense! Of course they're going to Permatang Pauh, not to beat Anwar, but to join in the big UMNO internal political campaign event!

And in the meantime, the rest of us concerned citizens, who want to see actual tangible results from activity... we've been waiting almost 5 years for some... are left begging! Again! This is just stupid. Politics at its worst.

"Oooh, but isn't this by-election important as it will get Anwar to Parliament? How is he going to take over government on 16 September if he is not an MP?", says the naive PKR supporter...

WOI, ANWAR WILL NOT TAKE OVER GOVERNMENT ON 16 SEPTEMBER LA! The only way he can is if a whole bunch of UMNO fellows join PKR, turning PKR into an UMNO-ciplak (+ a minority of Anwar's Indian lawyers, and Tian Chua, as MPs) AND convince PAS and DAP to join the expanded UMNO-ciplak PKR in a coalition government. And so, Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang and Lim Kit Siang are going to agree to join a coalition with an UMNO-ciplak party? NO WAY!

So, what is the point of the by-election then if Anwar isn't going to be PM, yet, anyway? Exactly... NO POINT! Waste of time and money and energy and hopes and dreams of a nation only!

And in the end, why is the by-election being held? Because the sitting MP, Wan Azizah, is fed up with politics and wants to hand the whole mess back to her husband who is the main beneficiary of her efforts and sacrifices all these years. In the end, what a stupid reason for a by-election... Ketuanan Rakyat? Rubbish...

6 comments:

mrknightsbridge said...

consider this...malu just to tell people i m from umno...check out this guy who was sacked,ISAed,locked up for 2 years,jailed for 6,beaten up,humiliated,61 and oh..attempt to
humiliate him again...and he is your political legend(not your dad)
in this country..brave ya?

YOU NEED BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE GOOD LEADER...

Unknown said...

mrknightbridge, apart from anwar being sacked,ISAed,locked up for 2 years,jailed for 6,beaten up,humiliated,61, u forgot to include, SODOMIZER.

Unknown said...

Being brave is one thing, but being single-minded to the exclusion of almost everything else is a form of
insanity.

In 1998, anwar was willing to sacrifice the economy to kick TDM out and become PM. When I say economy, I mean US the people particularly businessmen like me in those days who had to put up with 5 to 15 percent credit card monthly repayment, shorter period of non-performing loans with banks, excessive increase in loan interest rates. My customers couldn't even pay me during those days so it was a vicious cycle and the economy was going downhill faster than you can say Al Gore. Until salvation by TDM who instituted the then novel solution of currency control et al.

Now, this man is single minded again in his determination to become PM, boasting about garnering 60 MPs to cross over to his side (what? FOC only, is it?!), getting assistance from foreign governments like US and Israel, and even talking up about making everybody abide by meritocracy and becoming one "Malaysian." Meaning he is willing to sacrifice his bangsa and negara just so that he achieve his aim (from his student leader days) to become PM of Malaysia.

The question which begs to be asked is, sukat baju pada badan sendiri lah. I.O.W. what exactly does he bring to the table if he ever becomes PM?

Based on his past failures, I don't see much of anything. In fact listening to his speeches also doesn't give any indication what ideas and the vision he bring to the table if he ever gets that coveted PM-ship?

Sure, he might not sleep on the job as much as the current incumbent, but besides that, what else? As an aside, *Not Sleeping* during meetings dealing with matters of national urgency while you're supposed to be chairing the meeting, has to be the LEAST we should expect from our leaders, but Hey! who am I to comment?

I fear no one has seriously looked into this, or if they have no one is telling.

What value-add does this man bring to the table if he ever gets to become PM?

Someone who lies (e.g. he was not invited by the Turks to go to their embassy, but he said he was) when he is in trouble or facing a predicament is a coward. Which flies against the common perception among his followers that he is somehow "brave" for still sticking it out and wanting to become PM. I say the man is insane. I mean, indulging in buggery is already one good indication, do we need any more?

whackthembugger said...

1. UMNO members are presently leaderless as the present leadership failed to set the exemplary leadership in these challenging times. Thus concerned and desperate, the majority UMNO members are acting like a wild heard, wanting desperately for thr party not to loose out further. Some of them could be very genuine in their actions while others merely want to “carry PM’s balls”. Whatever it is, we should not stop them from acting whatever way because they may have their own reasons for their stance, otherwise pushing them too hard, your political friends will become less supportive. All we hope is that DSAI does not win that big in this one sided by election and more importantly gauge the sway and quantum of Bumi voters. Let the law take its course on sodomy 2; DSAI can’t go far, Insha’Allah

2. Yes, the by election is a big fuss and most people are aware that it is a desperate effort by DSAI (and his family) to deflect the incrimination of his personal lusty character. Racial based politics are here to stay as we can see from last week protest against the Bar Council Forum, the rejection to the call to open up UITM to non-Bumis and the unity calls to protect the special Malay rights and religion. Similarly the latest action by the authorities against the Herald. Thus PKR and DAP will be eventually rejected and Pakatan will never work and as time goes by; its death is a definite certainty. The Pakatan are desperately clinging onto power based the protest votes against PM and not due to the merits and ideals of their individual parties. While they are up to no good in deceiving the country, we must continue to pressure PM for his earliest retirement, definitely not 2010.

3. We should also focus on eradicating the Bar Council from further destructively interfering in the politics of this country under the deceptive cover of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Those representatives from the 7% of our racial composition being lawyers as well hard core human rights activist in the Bar Council, PKR leadership (don’t you see them smelling DSAI’s arse everywhere?) and HINDRAF are creating chaos and mayhem in this country, of course with the full support of the US administration. They should be ousted from the country or put under ISA before the country explodes. They make many of us very sick and most polarised.

all about food said...

my 2cents comment. those supporters for both parties have park their car everywhere and causing huge traffic jamms at the highway.i myself was stuck on the highway for almost 2 hours and it show how unethical both supporters are as well as being selfish without having any concern for the highway user. i begin to hate all these scenario and the looser are the malays

Anonymous said...

Azlina:

Why do you say the losers are the Malays? Can you elaborate? It is easy to make a claim and not provide evidence or substantiation.

Aren't all Malaysians losers, esp. since corruption under the present and previous administrations had spread its silent, slithery fingers to every nook of our beloved country?

As for Nitro:

Can you show me which lawful court proved with evidence that Anwar is guilty of the crime you accuse him of? As long as a person is not proven guilty, he is innocent. Simple as that.

To Akhramsyah:

Agreed, this is a very wasteful election. It is made exceptionally wasteful since the Barisan Nasional is ploughing millions upon millions to win (more than the 'sweets' that Abdullah Badawi offered Sabah to support him -- see http://tinyurl.com/6xyb4x). It would be nice if they could argue based on issues. Instead, Barisan is squandering millions to conduct a campaign of slander.

And if Dato' Seri Wan Azizah wants to resign, it is her right to do so, taking responsibility for her actions and understanding the consequences and value of doing so. If the people of Permatang Pauh disagree to her resigning, they can show it by voting Barisan to victory. If you would like to canvass the opinion of all Malaysians to see if they agree to whether she should have resigned to enable a by-election, why don't we suggest the Merdeka Center to conduct an opinion poll? If we believe in the concept of simple majority voting, and if at least 50% of all Malaysians agree to having a by-election, then can we dispute the will of the majority of Malaysians? After all, the election is funded by all Malaysians collectively, not just by you or me.

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