GE 13 Is The Rakyat War Against Powerful & Rich Umno-BN Part 2

The rakyat may not be members of PR coalition parties but are supporters of PR and they have every right to know and criticized what are happening within the coalition parties. How than can leaders of PR brushed aside criticisms and complains from the rakyat regarding the party problems and termed them as outsiders interfering with party matters.

By Richard Loh

You can read Part 1 here.

In Part 1, I had written that 'Umno controlled BN' is no longer a viable coalition to be voted in to govern this country and must be rejected at all cost comes the 13th General Election. They had been given 12 chances and opportunities for half a decade and we are still facing the same old sicknesses plaguing this country and to no end. As the 13th GE draws closer they are playing with the feel good act, begging and giving you the same old story that they are changing to serve the rakyat, all in words form that will never be put into action. They are good, real good in this type of game but will the rakyat take the bait yet again?

So, what other choices have we got if not 'Umno controlled BN'? Good question, I, myself is scratching my head initially but have decided to go for broke by giving Pakatan Rakyat and the third force a chance. Ya lah, Ya lah, the misunderstood third force again, I will deal with that on the later part of this posting.

Lately I had been bashing PR, especially DAP and PKR, but it is for their own good, to jolt them from their day dreaming of capturing Putrajaya without actually having to work hard together with the rakyat for it to happen.

The coalition name is Pakatan Rakyat but lately they seem to have forgotten about the rakyat but their own individual party. They must know that without the rakyat, there is no party and there is no hope of being elected to be the government of the day. The changed in Taiwan, Japan, Philippine and the UK is not the power of the political party but the people power.

A political party must have the support of the rakyat and not it's members only. What do the rakyat see in a political party, not who are the leaders that their members elected but whether the party and the leaders can work together with the rakyat and for the rakyat.

Pakatan Rakyat, when talking about 'competency, accountability and transparency' (CAT) should not only apply it to State Governments that they rule but also to each of their individual party. Have PR forgotten what they preaches during their ceramah, 'orang melayu anak saya, orang cina pun anak saya, orang india pun anak saya, orang iban, kadazan dan lain lain pun anak saya', 'we are one big family'. The rakyat may not be members of PR coalition parties but are supporters of PR and they have every right to know and criticized what are happening within the coalition parties. How than can leaders of PR brushed aside criticisms and complains from the rakyat regarding the party problems and termed them as outsiders interfering with party matters.

When problems and infighting started to show up, the usual comments coming from party leaders are, 'these are normal, it happens in every political party, it's party internal problems, outsiders should not interfere'. These are bad publicity and affects the rakyat confidence of the party. Even though it usually happen to any political party and are treated as normal, why not do something about it to prevent it from happening rather than let it happened. Ever heard of "Prevention Is Better Than Cure"?

PR should look deeper into their individual party elections and selecting of candidates and find ways to prevent infighting, threats and abandon ship if they lost or not selected. Its a tall order, I guess, but it needs to be done if PR wanted to take over Putrajaya. The rakyat are always watching and remember that the rakyat's mind is always fragile and easily swayed by superficial sweetening offers from 'Umno controlled BN'. If you cannot put your own party in order, how are you going to run Putrajaya, this is implanted in the minds of the rakyat with the help of 'Umno controlled BN' multi media and TV stations.

The problem with party election is that each candidate has his/her own supporters and his/her supporters will vote for him/her without considering the quality, integrity and capability of the said candidate. We always complain of voters voting blindly for 'Umno controlled BN' even though they knew how bad they are. The same case is also happening at PR individual party election.

The rumor and speculation of PKR party election shamble is that of being power crazy with the aim to be Prime Minister and top government positions once PR takes over Putrajaya with the certainty that Anwar Ibrahim will be going to jail.

Whether this is true or not, PKR must sort out all their problems within these two months and be ready to face the 13th GE. From the concluded PKR election and with those being elected, I can safely say that there is no candidate suitable for the PM position nor the top tier positions, maybe the second tier ministerial positions for some. I suppose many will agree with me on this.

In order to avoid any conflict arising should PR takes the crown after the 13th GE results, PR leaders must start now in working out the Federal Government positions structure without Anwar Ibrahim in the picture. Anwar Ibrahim was the chosen PM by all the 3 parties coalition of PR but that does not mean his second in line will take over automatically should Anwar be sent to jail. PR must send a clear signal to aspiring leaders that the PM and all Federal positions are not a certainty for anyone holding top party positions. They must prove to the rakyat that they are capable leaders with integrity and sincerity to work for the rakyat and not just because they were elected party leaders by it's members.

What I said above may sound funny or nonsense to PR party leaders but my main point is, think of the rakyat first in whatever you are trying to do, inside or outside the party as long as your ambition to capture Putrajaya is still there. If your ambition is no longer there, than fight all you want, the rakyat will seek other alternatives or simply many will return to 'Umno controled BN'.

I will still root for Pakatan Rakyat despite seeing what had happened to PKR and to an extend DAP. DAP is taking the right approach to prevent any further showdown or crack in it's party election as shown by the Selangor DAP team, hopefully it is a sincere gesture and not an act. The main reason for my decision is that PR is running their States very well and above board and that, if given the opportunity to rule the country will definitely be much better than "Umno controlled BN'.

As regard to the Third Force, my advise to PR is to work closely with them. Stress out all the disagreeable terms or conditions. PR needs all the help from any groups, Hindraf or NGOs that opposed 'Umno controlled BN' in order to capture Putrajaya.

I would say that the third force got started on the wrong footing and many had misinterpreted its role and function. Even after the many explanations from Raja Petra and Haris Ibrahim, the online and offline media somehow still intentionally trying to confuse the public and working against Pakatan Rakyat for the benefit of 'Umno controlled BN'.

Just to put it plainly, the third force is like the reserve players of a football team. Anyway, rather then calling it the third force, the originator had came out with a new term, Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM), so that it will not get confused. You can read the latest about MCLM here.

The MCLM and this article by Selena Tay, Harakah, posted on Malaysia Today save me the ordeal in trying to explain further on the third force.

If the Third Force also has the good intention of ending BN’s rule, Pakatan Rakyat should by all means engage with them to field good candidates in the coming General Election. By good candidates, it means that they are morally upright and financially sound. They must also be honourable citizens who are well-known for their contributions to the well-being of society. Read Full Article

courtesy of Malaysia for All