A political party is just like our car, a mere vehicle

If it works, keep it. If it breaks down, change it. Make it work for us. Don’t become a slave of our vehicle. And make sure that politicians understand that this is how we are going to play the game from hereon. We need to be ruthless and mercenaries. Then we will get a good deal. If not we will get a raw deal. And that will make us worse than prostitutes.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Many people do not understand what slavery and bondage mean. There are many forms of slavery and bondage. We have sex slaves. Economic slavery. Then we have mental bondage.

Mental bondage in itself comes in many forms. Denying the people an education or a proper education is one form of mental bondage. Uneducated people can’t think for themselves and their minds can be manipulated.

Then we have another form of mental bondage perpetuated by religion. Much in religion is about reducing us to slaves. We are told what we are allowed to think and most times we are not allowed to think. And we are told we must not rationalise but accept the unproven based on ‘faith’.

Faith is the word used to explain the absence of evidence.

Economic slavery is another very popular and effective form of slavery. If people are too economically independent then they become a political problem to the ruling elite. Better the people are poor and dependent on the government. Then they become compliant. (Does the NEP ring a bell?)

Developed countries see changes in government every election or every few elections. Poor countries see the same government for decades, sometimes for 50 years without change.

Then there is another form of bondage and slavery, which I want to talk about today. And this is political slavery.

We are told that only Umno can look after Malay interests, or only PAS can safeguard Islam, or only PKR and DAP can guarantee us multiculturalism, or only MIC can protect the Indians, or only MCA can defend the Chinese, or whatever.

Actually, the truth is, Umno, MCA, MIC, PKR, DAP, PAS, Gerakan, PPP, PBB, SNAP, SUPP, LDP, PRS, SPDP, UPKO, PBS, PBRS, KITA, PRM, PSM, MDP, SAPP, BERJASA, HAMIM, (all the two dozen or so political parties in Malaysia) have only one purpose in mind. And that purpose is to seek power.

They are all political parties, nothing more and nothing less. And the job of political parties is to get into power.

Let’s not believe the bullshit that they are here to serve us. Political parties serve themselves. And they use us to get into power.

Many working-class Malaysians suffer and struggle to pay for their motorcar. Sometimes half their salaries or more go towards paying and maintaining their car or cars. Why is this so?

A car is merely a convenience. It is a vehicle to get us from point A to point B. It is a tool to enable us to go to work. So why are we working for our car instead of making our car work for us?

It appears like we are tools of our cars instead of our car being a tool for us. We should not be emotional and sentimental about our car, a mere vehicle for our convenience. But that is not how most Malaysians view it. And that is why we work for our cars instead of making our car work for us.

A political party is also a tool. It is a convenience. It is merely a vehicle to enable us to get from point A to point B.

So we should not also be emotional and sentimental about political parties. Being a tool or vehicle, we should make the political parties work for us. We should not work for the political parties.

A political party must serve us. It is there merely to fulfil a purpose. And this purpose is to run the country the way we want it to be run.

It does not matter which political party we give that job to, just like it does not matter what car we drive. A political party, just like our car, is a convenience, a mere vehicle to help us achieve our objective.

A political party, like our car, is not the objective. It is a means to an end.

Let us not be emotional or sentimental about political parties, just like we should not be about our car.

If our car can do the job we keep it. If it breaks down we repair it. From time to time we service it to prevent it from deteriorating or breaking down. If it becomes a problem we get rid of it and buy a new one. If a better model or make comes along we get rid of our old and problematic car and opt for the latest.

That is how we should treat our cars. And you should not suffer by working long hours just to pay for your car. A car enables us to get to work. We should not work so that we can pay for the car.

And we should not burn all our salary just to pay for the car.

That is also how we should treat political parties. If it works, we keep it. If it breaks down, we get rid of it. If it can do the job, fine. If not, then why bother with it?

We must use political parties. We should not allow political parties to use us. Political parties want only one thing, to get into power. And they will use us to get into power. So we must be smart enough to use them instead.

We know what political parties want. That is fine with us. But we should make them work for it. We should turn them into our slaves. Make them crawl on the ground and beg and kiss our feet. We should not instead become their slaves.

At least prostitutes know what to do. They know you want their pussy. So they open their legs and let you have what you want. But you have to pay for it because what they want is your money. And they make sure you pay dearly for it.

Prostitutes do not open their legs and then pay you money as well. You pay. So why are we allowing political parties to screw us and then we pay them on top of that instead of making them pay? That makes us worse than prostitutes.

And we have the cheek to look down on prostitutes when they are smarter than us?

I am not emotional or sentimental about any political party. If they do the job I expect them to do then they get my support and vote. If not then I trade in this old and problematic ‘car’ for a new one.

(Incidentally, since 1974 to 1994 I voted for PAS is Kampong Kolam in Terengganu and since 1999 till 2008 I voted for PKR in Subang USJ9).

Anwar Ibrahim has changed ‘cars’ before when the old one broke down. So has Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. The first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman did the same thing, as did the third Prime Minister Hussein Onn, and his father before him, Onn Jaafar.

Dr Mahathir Mohammad changed ‘cars’ many times. Rais Yatim, Shahrir Samad, and many cabinet ministers -- as did many PAS leaders, party presidents included -- went that same route.

So you see, if it works, keep it. If it breaks down, change it. Make it work for us. Don’t become a slave of our vehicle. And make sure that politicians understand that this is how we are going to play the game from hereon. We need to be ruthless and mercenaries. Then we will get a good deal. If not we will get a raw deal. And that will make us worse than prostitutes.