Stop groaning and start working

Back in 2008 I asked the five Pakatan Rakyat states, in particular Penang and Selangor, to introduce free Broadband services in the states they controlled. I personally spoke to the Pakatan Rakyat leaders and discussed the matter at great length with Lim Guan Eng and Ronnie Liu.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There are those who resent it when I write articles not favourable to the opposition. What do you want to me to do? You want me to tell the emperor that he is wearing clothes when he is stark naked?

The question is: do you want me to tell you the truth or do you want me to lie and say only things you would like to hear? Have you not heard the saying that the truth hurts?

The argument they use is that we should not give the ruling party ammunition in which to use against the opposition. Hey, I am not creating the ammunition. The opposition is creating this ammunition. I am just pointing out that it exists and am drawing your attention to it. I can’t create what is not there. It is because it is there that I am able to point it out.

Umno and Barisan Nasional too lived in this denial syndrome back in 2007, just like how many in the opposition do today. And what happened? Umno and Barisan Nasional got whacked badly in the March 2008 general election.

Do you want Pakatan Rakyat also to get whacked in the next general election just like Barisan Nasional was in 2008? And if they adopt the same attitude as Barisan Nasional in 2007 then rest assured they will get whacked come the next general election.

Pakatan Rakyat, PKR and Anwar Ibrahim moan, groan, grumble, bitch and complain that they are being unfairly treated by the mainstream media. The mainstream media is spinning lies about Anwar and the opposition. So the opposition news agencies and Blogs should not throw fuel into the fire and do the same. The opposition news agencies and Blogs should instead say nice things about Anwar and the opposition.

Well, stop moaning and do something about it. As Lee Iacocca said: don’t get mad, get even.

Pakatan Rakyat has been running four (used to be five) state governments since the last 32 months. That’s roughly 1,000 days. 1,000 days! 1,000 days is a long time by any standards.

What has Pakatan Rakyat done over the last 1,000 days? Long ago we asked them to start a Malay language newspaper to reach the rural or Malay voters. Did they do that?

The Malay votes are split 50:50 -- has been since the last three general elections and has never changed much. Pakatan Rakyat knows it needs more Malay votes. And the mainstream media is poisoning the minds of the Malay voters and turning them against Pakatan Rakyat with talk about the Chinese calling the shots and about PKR and PAS being tools of DAP and so on.

But what has Pakatan Rakyat done to counter this? Where is the Malay language newspaper other thanHarakah? There are currently four states under Pakatan Rakyat. So they can publish four Malay language newspapers if they want to -- and twice a week if they put their minds to it.

In 1,000 days they did nothing. No Malay language newspaper. In 1,000 days they just grumbled about the mainstream media and about how unfairly Pakatan Rakyat is being treated.

Back in 2008 I asked the five Pakatan Rakyat states, in particular Penang and Selangor, to introduce free Broadband services in the states they controlled. I personally spoke to the Pakatan Rakyat leaders and discussed the matter at great length with Lim Guan Eng and Ronnie Liu.

Where is that free Broadband?

Penang and Selangor are urban states. The Internet penetration in these states is very high. The urban population of Penang and Selangor are Internet savvy. They read the Blogs more than Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia, The Star or the New Straits Times.

Okay, Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia, The Star and the New Straits Times are unfairly whacking the opposition. So fight back. Reach the voters through the Internet. Give free Broadband to the voters of Penang and Selangor so that they can access the Internet.

The Internet service provider is prepared to do this free of charge. Penang and Selangor do not need to pay them anything. You do not need to spend the taxpayers’ money to do it. Just agree to it and it will be done.

But, no, they dragged their feet for 1,000 days. Then they grumble about RTM, TV3, Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia, The Star and the New Straits Times. Then they grumble that Malaysia Today is being too critical towards the opposition.

Counter me then. Provide your own media and free Broadband and counter what I say. Why grumble and ask me to stop criticising the opposition? Fight me. Come out with your own news agencies and provide it free to the voters -- like how I am doing.

No, I will not stop criticising the opposition. This is because I want to see the opposition succeed. This is because I do not want to see Selangor go back to Umno like how Perak did. This is because I do not want them to live in denial syndrome. And if they can’t take this criticism then too bad. If Anwar wants to hate me for this then that is his problem, not mine.

The day I stop whacking the opposition or stop talking about them is the sign that I no longer care about them. My silence would be worse than my bark. And my bite can be even worse than my bark. Trust me on that one