HERE AND NOW, BLOGGERS, HERE AND NOW!

Here And Now by Luther Vandross

Here and now is what matters. The future in unpredictable and the past, unalterable.

Here and now, let me state without reservation that my fight is not with RPK or Haris. They are not the enemy. Quite the opposite. Ther are comrade in arms.

Let me state for the record and acknowledge that both these individuals have made substantial and concrete contributions in the awakening of a nation to the indisputable fact that corruption, racism and religious bigotry must be confronted, challenged and destroyed. Corrupt, racist and bigoted administrations, politicians and government must be replaced and their successors made answerable to the Rakyat. 

They have also proven that the pen is, indeed, mightier than the sword. They have walked the talk.

Their rights to free speech and their own opinions are unquestioned by me. All I ask is that they be true to themselves, consistent and focus on the primary task at hand. 

And if we are not talking about a Tahrir Square response, but Rome and the ballot box (as per RPK), then our options have self-imposed limits. For there would have been no Rome without a Caesar who was undone by perceptions of having unbridled dictatorial ambitions. 

But what happened on the morning after the revolution? What happened to the backstabbing Brutus and Cassius or their counterparts in the 1789 French Revolution, Robespierre, Danton and Marat? - exterminated and consigned to the foootnotes of history, that's what. You can't lead or rule a nation of 30 million on a wing and a prayer or by mere consensus, common sense and disparate committees.

But lately, Haris and RPK have been walking a peculiar line.

And that's where we have a problem.

Here and now we do not have the perfect situation in the Opposition as a combined entity. We do not have 100% pure, pristine and wholesome candidates to field for GE 13. Would that we had, but we have to make do with the tools we have.

Nor do we have a fully awakened, educated and aware Rakyat who can unseat BUMNO/BN all by themselves by fusion and chain reaction. The time is too short. 

And as much as Haris and his supporters are lobbying for it, none of PKR, PAS or DAP are going to let backline NGO's or prominent individuals determine which candidates they should field or agree to a 1:1 challenge against BUMNO/BN. These NGO's do not have the weight of history behind them, and in the end, who determines who has objective views and who, subjective ones?

Sure we have admirable candidates like Malik Sarwar and some doctors and lawyers, all pretty much untested. If elections are called in a few months time, do we have the bag of winners?

So, what's the first step? It must be to identify our goals.

Politics, as defined by Plato, is about achieving the ideal form of social organization and structure. Leadership and power are cornerstones of it. Without it, nothing concrete or lasting can be achieved. Integrity is another. Ideally, we would like to have perhaps a dozen Mandela's in our midst. But that's wishful thinking. Lasting leadership at the top has always been about the Power of One. 

Here and now:

1. What is our Principal Objective? To unseat the EVIL BUMNO/BN hegemony and consign them to a minority party in Parliament. Is that too difficult to fathom?
2. What is out strategy? To unite the opposition to BUMNO/BN under one banner to fight at GE13.
3. Having identified the Leader of Pakatan for GE 13, what should we do? Back him up 100%, of course 
4. Do we have a precedence on it that we can hang our hats on? Damn right we do. GE 2008.
5. In victory, be magnanimous (you don't have to be generous) to the vanquished. Equally, the murderers, thieves and looters now camping in Putrajaya, MB's offices and the Economic Plundering Unit, ALL must be brought to book. Do remember that the evil is not BUMNO,MCA,MIC,PPP or Gerakan per se; it's in their leadership. Remove that layer permanently and you'll have a bright, new and glorious dawn.

Here and now, who can do it? Well, the candidates are not difficult to identify at all:

1. Anwar Ibrahim of PKR
2. Nik Aziz of PAS
3. Lim Kit Siang of DAP

Given that it was AI who achieved the improbable at GE 12, I don't think we need look further for the Leader of Pakatan for GE 13. I am certain neither Nik Aziz nor LKS can make a fist of it. Anyway, why try and reinvent the wheel? (As an aside, it's interesting that some claim Daim Zainuddin had predicted the outcome of GE 12. I don't remember hearing a peep from Diam Diam, but of course, a million armchair "pundits" all forecast these things with the benefit of hindsight!).

Here and now, this is where we have another problem.

Having identified the logical steps we should take in achieving our objectives, some who profess they fully support these aims, seem to be doing everything to undermine it. In any planning, be it corporate or government, there are short, medium and long-term objectives and strategies. And when you don't have pure, pristine candidates, then you pursue what game theory advocates - minimax/maximin strategy.

Simply put, you drop the obvious losers, shirkers, non-performers, thieves and crooks and go with the rest. Then you co-opt in the new faces strictly on merit and all  of whom are already known in the public domain. There is no 100% guarantee, but the Leader has to go with gut feel and we have to back his judgement to the hilt.

This is not some treatise on political strategy, I don't have that kind of knowledge or practical experience. But it sounds simple and often simplicity is a good basis for tackling complicated issues. 

We don't need Tai Chee or Sun Tzu and his 'Art of War'. With the Rakyat, talking straight from the shoulders is always the best strategy.

Here and now, what we don't need is:

1. RPK to tell us that there is/has to be a future without Anwar Ibrahim. We all, and all our uncle Bob's too, know that. But here and now, what's the alternative? No one is indispensable, and we can see clearly that AI and PKR have already in place a succession plan supported by much younger, but seasoned veterans to guide Nurul along. And if RPK is 90% sure AI is "morally unfit" to become PM, I can tell you 100%, he is. 
2. As soon as some political scandal with sexual undertones erupts, all these slimy guys coming out of the woodwork and saying "Yeah, I knew Anwar in MCKK...used to hang out in the showers and gym with the boys (what else did you expect in an all-male boarding school?)....yeah, I knew about it but kept quiet for 30 years....." kind of BS. I once put that question to the late Captain Yusuff aka blogger Ancient Mariner who exposed the $12.5 billion PKFZ scandal. The Captain, who also schooled at MCKK, replied," That's 100% pure, unadulterated BS." That's good enough for me from a gem of a man who had no enemies and no political axe to grind.
3. Haris and especially RPK, taking all sorts of potshots at AI and making all sorts of demands and innuendos backed up by unverifiable hearsay on really, here and now irrelevant issues. Bros, if you have a viable and workable alternative, state it and justify it. Convince us you have the know-how, savvy, experience and can deliver. Then we may well go with you. We, the Rakyat together with you, are the 3rd Force. We have to trust each other.

We don't have much time and the situation is not ideal or perfect. The system is stacked against us. Why do you think that despite Big Wig's huge unpopularity for over 20 years, no one could unseat him from Malaysian Indian Circus? His stooges were eased into power at every level, and with virtually unlimited money, they could stop anyone from mounting a successful challenge to their dictatorship. Thus, it took the Power of One, the great and heroic Dr. Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj of Socialist Party, to slay The Beast of Sg. Siput,  in an epic David vs Goliath contest.

So, we are looking at taking our best shot, under the most challenging and trying of circumstances, to putting the known OGRE, BUMNO/BN, out of its misery and voting in PAKATAN! BUMNO/BN is too far gone down the line of corruption and wants, is begging, to be consigned to political oblivion for a while. But because of FACE and FALSE PRIDE they can't ask openly for it. So, the Rakyat has to take the initiative.

What's the known track record now of Pakatan?

1. The new MB's in the Pakatan-controlled states are all known to be clean and not condone or perpetuate corruption. Isn't that a great start and achievement in 4 years vs 32 years of absolute political and financial mayhem and looting under BUMNO/BN?
2. The Pakatan-controlled states are all running budget surpluses, holding cash reserves for re-investments and topping the destinations for FDI's. Isn't that another great start? BUMNO/ BN Federal Ministers are all falling over themselves claiming they contributed to it. But hang on, why did it NOT occur before this? Hmmm?
3. Penang was the 1st state to reward its citizens with cash bonus. BUMNO/BN stirred the faeces pot by playing the racist and bigoted religious card by saying some of this money could have come from tax on 'haram' businesses and asked Muslims to return it. Barely a heartbeat later Dr.Imelda Birkin Rosemajib launches his $500 low income earners bonus scheme. What happened to all that "haram tax money" doubts?

Once we have won, then we can tinker and tweak the system and strive for perfection. But how are we to get there if there are any number of strategies, any number of opinions and any number of "do-gooders" (many of whom are "wolves in sheep's clothing") with any number of agendas?

Here and now, more than anything, we need a WINNABLE LEADERSHIP. Get that in the bag and it we'll coast to victory.

Or else, what's your proposal, Haris or RPK? What's your short-term strategy for assured victory?

Know and play your role. If you are an out-and-out blogger only, slaughter with the pen. If you are a blogger with political aspirations, then enter the arena. I do not doubt for one second that if Haris stands in the right constituency, it will be slam dunk. The only way to be sure is to take the risk and "turun gelanggang". If it were possible for RPK to return, then he too should "turun gelanggang" because that's the only way to slay the beast.

Yes, you can write and blog, but only so much. The last mile solution lies in uniting the voters behind you and engaging the enemy, face to face, at the polling stations and booths.

Do you have even a half winnable plan or not? Teetering and tottering from People's Parliament to Anak Bangsa Malaysia to 3rd Force and MCLM and Kita and ABU shows utter lack of focus.

Otherwise, here and now, stop griping, sniping and sabotaging (unless of course, your real intention is to back BUMNO/BN). Unite under one banner and back Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan. All we need to know and be assured of are, if more than anyone else, does Anwar have the character, qualifications and track-record to lead us to victory, and guide us thereafter. 

Let's not fall for this Mahathir, Najib and BUMNO red herring that Anwar is ambitious to become Prime Minister??!! You mean Mahathir and Najib entered politics beacuse they had no ambitions to become PM but aspired to retire as Chief Mandore to the Deputy Speaker or some such post? Sheesh, what pathetic hypocrites and creeps these BUMNO promoters are. 

We only need assurance that Anwar is for Rome first, and Caesar, second.

So PEOPLE, here and now, let us take our best shot and vote for the damn bloody obvious choice -PAKATAN! 

Out with BUMNO/BN!

Donplaypuks® with our day in the sun, man!