Party elections versus general elections

And that is why Azmin Ali refuses to give Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Nurul Izzah Anwar state seats in Selangor. Dr Wan Azizah is barred from contesting a Parliament seat while Nurul Izzah is contesting an unsafe seat, Lembah Pantai.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A total of 727 seats -- 222 Parliament seats and 505 state seats -- are going to be contested on 5th May 2013. This excludes the 71 Sarawak state seats or else there would be 798 seats in all (Sarawak already had its state election two years ago in April 2011).

Those who have been politically active -- meaning ‘on the ground’ -- for some time would know that the party elections are always seen as more important and more hotly contested than the general elections. More money is spent on the party elections than in the general elections.

It would appear that these 3,000 (or more) Malaysians are offering to serve the 28 million rakyat (citizens) as their wakil rakyat (people’s representative). And it would also appear that these 3,000 (or more) Malaysians are selfless people who only wish to serve and do good deeds for the rakyat.

Actually, they will be paid a lot of money to do the job that requires no education or qualifications. They only need to know how to talk and how to apple-polish their party bosses and those who decide who gets to contest the elections.

Ultimately, this is cronyism and nepotism at its best. Those who get chosen to contest would be those who are loyal and can serve the interest of the party bosses. Those considered a threat to these party leaders would definitely be sidelined and would not get chosen to contest.

The general elections are crucial to politicians who wish to climb the party ladder or who wish hold on to their position in the party. If they are not wakil rakyat then their political future is bleak and they would not be able to climb the party ladder or hold on to their position in the party.

Hence becoming a wakil rakyat is the first step to bigger things. And if you cannot clear this first hurdle of becoming a wakil rakyat then forget about your political career in the party.

And this is why there is a lot of jostling for seats in every general election. Failing to get a seat means that the party and the party leaders do not have confidence in you, do not trust you, do not consider you one of the gang, do not wish for you to rise up the party ladder, and so on.

The general election is basically the trial run. If you get chosen as a candidate and you make it, then that means you are going to go places in the party. If you do not get chosen or you lose the election, your future in politics is not so bright.

And that was why many of those who were not chosen to contest in 1999, or lost the election in 1999, soon faded away and were never seen again. The same thing happened in 2004 and 2008. And that is why many who were not chosen to contest left the party and/or crossed over to another party and/or contested as independent candidates and/or sabotaged the candidate who was chosen over them.

And this is the greatest fear that Umno and Barisan Nasional faces -- that those who are not chosen willmerajuk (sulk) and damage their own party out of spite and vengeance. (Note the many statements by Umno hinting to this over the last few weeks).

Let me put it this way. If their real interest is merely to serve the rakyat, then what does it matter who gets chosen to contest the election and what does it matter if they are not chosen? Why must it be them and only them? After all, anyone can serve the rakyat, not only them.

Well, that is because it is not about the rakyat but about their personal political career and future. And if they do not get to contest the election, no doubt the rakyat loses nothing, but they who do not get chosen will lose everything.

Now do you know why it is so important that you get chosen to contest the election if you wish to go places?

On the other hand, those who make the decision in choosing these candidates need to consider how these successful calun (candidates) can serve them and whether they will be loyal and not bite the hand that feeds them. And if certain people are seen as a threat, those decision makers need to make sure that these threats are eliminated -- meaning they do not get chosen to contest the election.

And that is why Azmin Ali refuses to give Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Nurul Izzah Anwar state seats in Selangor. Dr Wan Azizah is barred from contesting a Parliament seat while Nurul Izzah is contesting an unsafe seat, Lembah Pantai.

Now, if Dr Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah are given state seats in Selangor, and if they are given safe seats on top of that, then the mother and daughter will most likely win the election. And this would mean that their political careers are secure.

However, since Dr Wan Azizah is no longer going to be a wakil rakyat and Nurul Izzah will most likely lose the Lembah Pantai seat, they can more or less kiss their political careers good-bye.

So who will rise up the party ladder instead? Well, the plan is, Azmin Ali will go for President, Zuraida Kamaruddin for Deputy President, and Rafizi Ramli for one of the Vice Presidents.

Hence ‘Team Azmin’ will emerge victorious while ‘Team Azizah’ is dead and buried.

And that is the only reason why Malaysia holds a general election every four or five years. It is for the party to weed out ‘threats’ to the party leadership. And this is what Umno does each and every time, as do all the other parties within Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat.

And this is what is happening to Dr Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah as well. They are being weeded out because they are a threat to Azmin Ali.