Will an ABU-ed Saifuddin Abdullah be Zaid-ized?

So ... or as the Japanese would say, so desu ne, wakakaka, not that I know Japanese well ...

... our dear Saifuddin Abdullah has now joined PKR (dipendapat saya, Parti Kosong Reformasi, wakakaka).

Oh dear, I have so many things to write of his move to PKR but I have to make do with just this post, at least for a while wakakaka.

Yes indeed, I had wanted to blog on the following issues (just sharing my earlier thoughts):

• Saifuddin's impact on Pakatan Harapan.
• Will Saifuddin contest Temerloh in GE-14?
• Will Saifuddin, already ABU-ed by Pakatan, be further Zaid-ized by PKR? Wakakaka.

But I suppose I have to make do with just this post, apart from my inclined laziness yesterday, and can you blame as it was such a lovely Sunday?

But let's make use of above dot-points to discuss some likely outcomes of Saifuddin's change of political allegiance.

Firstly, let me make it very clear that, as Saifuddin is NOT holding any federal or state constituency from the 2013 general elections (in fact the poor bloke lost his seat), he is NOT a frog, not like, for example, Mrs Hee was in the 2008 GE term. Mrs Hee won her ADUN seat for Jelapang under the DAP banner but subsequently switched her allegiance to BN while still holding that state seat within that same election term - a case of her disregarding the voters' choice, which in the end she paid for it (or as some alleged, was paid for it, wakakaka).

unprecedented
Yang diPertuan DUN manhandled forcefully out of DUN  

Another example would be Kamaruddin Jaafar. He was the PAS MP for Tumpat, elected in 2013, but left the Islamic party recently to join PKR. He took the Tumpat seat along with him to PKR.

Nik Nazmi, PKR Youth Chief, argued that there was nothing wrong with Kamaruddin exercising his right to freedom of movement or freedom of association by citing that former PKR treasurer Abdul Rahman Othman had left PKR in 2007 for PAS.

On the issue of frogology, Nik's argument has been pathetic in missing the principal point because Abdul Rahman did NOT win nor hold any federal or state seat under the PKR banner when he moved to PAS and thus was under no moral or honour-bound constraint to exercise his freedom of association, but Kamruddin Jaafar did in holding the PAS-won Tumpat seat when he joined PKR.

Okay, so current election laws bar any MP or ADUN from standing in elections for 5 years if he/she resigns prematurely before his or her term as a people's representative has expired, and is thus a damper on that MP (or ADUN) making a voluntary honorable resignation when changing party allegiance before an election term is up.

But then, shouldn't all MPs or at least federal opposition MPs be raising this in parliament to change this stupid election law ages ago, instead of wasting valuable parliamentary time in debating silly issues on whether a convict like Anwar Ibrahim should be able to vote in Permatang Puah, and various other publicity-seeking gimmickry such as a convict with a bad back, bad shoulder, bad this, bad that, be allowed to serve his convicted sentence in his own house (and why not the Istana Negara where he can then play catur or draughts everyday with the Agong?).

Anyway, a political frog is one who wins a federal or state seat (or even both) under the aegis or banner of Party A and subsequently within the same election term changes political allegiance to Party B and takes along the seat(s) he/she had won under Party A to his/her new Party B, a bloody subversion of the people's (voters') will/choice!

And let's not forget someone's 916 Gambit was promoting precisely such subversion of the ballot box, a vile disrespect for the supremacy of the people's voting preference.

I am not sure whether you are aware that Saifuddin Abdullah has been one of the UMNO few that I like or accept as a reasonable politician, the others (in the latter category) whose names I could easily pluck off from the air would be UMNO headkicker and at times obnoxious minister, Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz and former Trades Minister Rafidah Aziz.

Poor Saifuddin was ABU-ed in the 2003 general elections. In case you might have forgotten, ABU stands for Asal Bukan UMNOor Anyone But UMNO.

While I admire and support Brother Haris Ibrahim and understand why he launched the ABU campaign, I did not support the ABU campaign per se as I believe (still do) that it was far far too indiscriminating a la a single Chinese bamboo sweeping down everyone in its path.

Hence I have often lamented the tragic ABU-rization of this politically-moderate UMNO man in favour of a man who has blamed Valentine's Day and New Year parties as responsible for Malay single mothers who abandoned their babies.

In many ways I blame the mindless moronic mentality of some voters, especially non-Malay voters (yes, Chinese and Indians) who lashed out blindly, indulged stupidly in an Aladdin-like "new lamps for old lamps"* and allowed PAS Nasrudin Hasan to replace Saifuddin. ABU should instead be Asal Bukan Ulama, wakakaka.

* by the by, just an entertaining trivia, if you weren't aware, Aladdin was Chinese as was his wife Princess Badrouldbadour who made the lamp exchange, wakakaka. Coincidence? Wakakakaka again. But they were probably Muslim Chinese in Xinjiang. Their principal foe was a sorcerer from the Maghreb (western North Africa)

Aladdin or Ah Lah Ting in the Magic Garden

Princess Badrouldbadour 

Okay, so how will Saifuddin's presence or membership in PKR impact on the national political landscape?

Political analysts opine that he won't make much of an impact. One of them, associate Prof Dr Ahmad Nizamuddin Sulaiman of UKM, gave a more or less common observance, commenting to the MM Online that:

“I think Saifuddin, his idea of being moderate is suitable for PKR. All this while his views in Umno were also being rejected he’s not comfortable in Umno even from the very beginning when he was a deputy minister.

“But he’s a moderate-ideas figure, not a leader with huge grassroots supporters that is strong. He’s not very public like Anwar in Permatang Pauh.

“I don’t think he can swing a lot of votes.”

I personally believe it's time for low-key, decent, serious and deep thinking politicians like Saifuddin Abdullah (then UMNO, now PKR), Hanipa Maidin (then PAS, now Amanah), Dr Bari (then PKR, now DAP), Liew Chin Tong (DAP), Zairil Khir (DAP), Ti Lian Ker (MCA), Baljit Singh (Gerakan), Ramkarpal Singh (DAP) and my matey Hsu Dar Ren (then Gerakan, now partyless) to grace our politics.

I have had enough of flamboyant, attention-grabbing or even ultra-robust heel-snapping brand of politics as demonstrated by Anwar Ibrahim and his former mentor Mahathir (plus mouthpieces Pak Kadir Jasin and former Min-Info Zainuddin Maidin), Lim Kit Siang, Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli (both are okay when they stick to their economic forte and not so-called strategic but stupid politicking like the nonsensical overburnt Kajang Satay), and those vile bigots from UMNO & 'associates' or oppressive ulamas who misuse god's divine name to threaten people with brimstone and fire.

Our politics need more Truman's than Roosevelt's, more Anwar Sadat's than Gamal Abdel Nasser's and more Zhou Enlai's than Mao Zedong's. And it need to be said that on the DAP side I would like NOW to see more of Tan Chee Khoon's* than Lim Kit Siang's, wakakaka.

(the late) Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon

* the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon was not of DAP but initially the Labour Party and thus Socialist Front, then (as a founding member of the original 1969) Gerakan before he left in disgust over Gerakan joining Razak's BN, to form his own Pekemas. A truly great Malaysian and a politican respected by both sides of politics.

Moving on, we have been informed there was allegedly a certain someone (wakakaka) who wanted as many of our federal constituencies to be made up of mixed ethnicity voter composition, along an average of 60 to 70% Malays and 30 to 40% non-Malays, because in those days, the majority of the 'nons' would be pro-BN. Thus even if the Malays were split right down the middle between UMNO and PAS, the 'nons' would determine the results in those constituencies in favour of the BN.

"So it has been said, so it shall be was done."

Guess where this phrase originally came from? Wakakaka.

Temerloh is one of such constituencies, having voters made up of 64% Malays, 33% 'nons' (and about 3% 'others'). But alas for that 'brilliant' strategist, his desired 'mixed ethnicity' constituencies were to ricochet on his party with a wee adverse repercussion.

The tsunamic swell in 2008 saw BN lost its 2/3 majority (held since 1974 when Razak's newly formed BN won 135 out of 154 federal seats).

Pakatan Rakyat's strength gained more grounds by 2013, enhanced not only by the ABU campaign but by a younger generation becoming new voters, which turned such 'mixed' constituencies into liabilities rather than assets for the BN. Temerloh in 2013 has 46% of its voters below the age of 39 and another 20% below 49.

In fact, one of PAS (Erdogen's) strategies was to capture around 60 such federal seats with the support of Chinese and Indian votes, hence its initial enthusiastic embrace of the non-Muslims and its promotion of the 'welfare state' instead of theunpalatable-to-non-Muslim hudud.

Now, regardless of how divine hudud is to Muslims, the 'nons' view the Islamic legal code of punishment with much fear and trepidation, and you can't blame them as hudud is not part of their religious beliefs and they sure as hell (excuse the pun) aren't going to trust their hands, skins and other bodily parts, let alone their lives, to religious blokes who claim instant 'connections' to the Almighty.

But thankfully, and maybe by the will and grace of god (Alhamdulillah), the ulama faction in PAS regresses to its intrinsic DNA, reveals its true 'nature' beneath its 'welfare' clothing and thus spares us in time of painful surprises in a frightening future.

And 'twas said that erstwhile Quranic-verse sprouting (DAP) politicians went into hallelujah-ing gratitude, wakakaka.

Anyway, it needs to be said that poor AAB and Ah Jib Gor inherited those alleged 'sculptured' political electorates and thus suffered from them, when BN lost the 2/3 majority that these 'mixed' constituencies were supposed to ensure, wakakaka. Yessir, Melayu shouldn't mudah lupa whence then they should have thanked the man allegedly behind those 'brilliant' electoral compositions for their respective poor performances, wakakaka again.

An example of above was Saifuddin holding Temerloh in 2008 with 52% of the votes, but losing to PAS Nasrudin Hassan in the following 2013 election when the tsunamic swell was at its apex. By then, Saifuddin obtained only 48% of the votes while Nasrudin won the former BN stronghold with approximately 50%, by a slim majority of 1.62% or 1070 votes. All Saifuddin needed was just another 536 votes but alas that was not to be. The Temerloh turnout was admirably 85.6% of registered voters.

It could be said that Temerloh in 2013 confers upon the federal constituency a political bellwether status, where 'bellwether' means a national trend as in the election result in Temerloh indicating a national trend - its 2013 results of Saifuddin Abdullah UMNO at 48% of the votes against Nasrudin Hassan's 50% more or less reflected the national result for UMNO-BN at 46% against Pakatan's 51%. So keep an eye on Temerloh in 2018, wakakaka. 

What will happen if PKR were to stand Saifuddin Abdullah in Temerloh again in the 2018 or 14th General Elections, say against PAS Nasrudin Hassan? But will they since PKR has a cozy PRIVATE arrangement with PAS outside of Pakatan Harapan? And with PAS also having an unsaid 'arrangement' with UMNO, one can only wonder which party or who will be standing in Temerloh?

If PKR dares not stand against PAS in Temerloh, then I would encourage DAP to stand Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji as its candidate there. Tengku Zulpuri is already the ADUN for the state seat of Mentakap which is happily within the federal parliamentary seat of Temerloh. DAP has no obligation to avoid contesting PAS, and since it's an issue between DAP and PAS, PKR has no say at all - f* PKR, wakakaka.

A few days ago, Zaid Ibrahim said he has doubts Saifuddin can make Pakatan stronger. I wonder whether Zaid has been diplomatic in not wanting to say bluntly that outside of the Anwar Ibrahim family-coterie which includes Azmin Ali, PKR only accepted or accepts members like himself (and many others who had long left PKR in disgust like himself) and now Saifuddin Abdullah as only machai (beh-knia in Penang Hokkien) or in more polite English, supporting cast.

By the by, can anyone visualize PKR top leadership beyond Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali, Wan Azizah, Nurul Izzah or even Nurul Nuha?

sorry lah, there's little room at a pyramid top  

Zaid Ibrahim was reported by the Star Online as follows:

"I was in a hurry to be a leader of Pakatan Rakyat and paid the price. He should be more careful," the former law minister told The Star Online.

Although Saifuddin, who on Thursday announced that he was joining PKR, would be a great asset to the party, Zaid said he was less convinced that he could make the Opposition pact stronger.

"Even (former Opposition leader Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) could not do that," he said, and advised Saifuddin to play it safe in his new party.

Zaid was referring to the time when he decided to contest for the PKR deputy presidency despite being a newcomer.

He later withdrew his candidacy, alleging fraud and electoral misconduct by his opponent, Azmin Ali.

Zaid subsequently resigned from the party in November 2010, saying he had lost confidence in the PKR leadership.

Zaid was a former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department overseeing legal affairs and judicial reforms under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He resigned from the post after criticising the detention of several people under the Internal Security Act in 2008.

Saifuddin, before joining PKR on Thursday, was facing disciplinary action in Umno for attending a round-table discussion by the Opposition on the rebirth of the coalition as Pakatan Harapan.

However, Zaid believed Saifuddin would not end up like him.

"No, he is a better politician so he is more adept. Anyway, situations have changed," he said.

Zaid Ibrahim had a torrid time in PKR. It was said he was sabo kau kau right in the back (okay lah, between the shoulders, wakakaka) by someone in PKR (wakakaka again) in the Hulu Selangor by-election on 25 April 2010.

Apart from that he also experienced amazing EC-like party election process ..... but wait, my apologies to the EC as it has had no experience on par with the PKR party elections in 2010, wakakaka.

Then, Brother Haris Ibrahim of the People's Parliament blog was informed by Zaid Ibrahim's polling agent, Rashid Azad Khan, of phantom voters in PKR Kubang Pasu. Zaid’s polling agent reported that the voter turnout in Kubang Pasu was only 84, yet the result mysteriously showed Azmin winning with 80 votes while Zaid obtained 76, a total number exceeding the actual turnout by 72 votes, wakakaka.

Shades of the phantom voters that PKR had blamed UMNO for! Wakakaka again.

Rashid also pointed out that there was a 30-minute blackout (wakakaka) immediately after the election ended but candidates’ agents were not allowed into the polling room, at a time when the ballot boxes were still not sealed. He also mentioned an election officer was caught on camera wearing Azmin’s campaign badge, raising questions over the officials’ impartiality.

The gravest indication of the questionable polling process came to light after Zaid’s agent lodged a complaint on the extra 72 votes as well as his exclusion from the polling room during the blackout. Rashid Azad Khan said the party election monitor decided, probably in the face of such damning complaints, that the Kubang Pasu result should be a tie of 81 to 81.

Wakakakakakakakakakakakaaaaa!

Undoubtedly, in the annals of Malayan and Malaysian election experience, it was an amazing, bizarre and unprecedented decision, where the election official not only raised the total votes cast to 78 above the actual turnout (instead of the earlier extra 72 votes), but could rule arbitrarily on a fairy tale result, from the earlier dodgy 80 to 76 to an outrageously ta'malufabricated nonsense of 81 to 81.

And PKR dares to use the slogan of Reformasi? EC, eat your bloody heart out, wakakaka.

According to Haris Ibrahim, Rashid Azad Khan then confirmed that the Zaid team had evidence in hand of the fraud in Kubang Pasu and had communicated this to Saifuddin Nasution, the party's secretary general. Rashid says that Saifuddin Nasution promised to see them but apparently reneged on that promise.

Well, Saifuddin Nasution needn't worry about his broken promise anymore now that Zaid had long left the DeformasiParty, wakakaka.

In the immediate aftermath of his resignation from PKR, Zaid was reviled by PKR as an apostate (though not of Islam but) of‘manmanlai-ism’. Zaid was then the very epitome of a syaitan-ishfrog which came from the UMNO pits of hell to brazenly challenge the PKR consecrated Messiah and his Chosen One.

That he had earlier resigned from his position as Law Minister on principles, in a protest against an UMNO minister allowing the misuse of ISA against a Chinese news media reporter and a DAP politician, did not highlight his integrity, political courage and personal character, no, not in the least, because he had committed a far greater sin, in insolently and sinfully challenging anointed Azmin Ali, Anwar's heir apparent and destined by Providence to ascend and ascend and ascend (at least guaranteed within PKR).

To anwaristas, Zaid was also a man driven to bitterness by his loss in the Hulu Selangor by-election to a tambi novice (can’t remember his name - was it Kamal, Nathan or Hands-kissy-one?), but of course they failed to take into account who had contributed to his loss, such as providing UMNO with photographs of him in the Muslim indiscretion of yamseng-ing.

According to RPK then, the backstabber was not an UMNO or pro UMNO person but … gulp .. gasp .. no, surely not, it can't be .. alamak … a PKR man – one who saw Zaid as a (then) most imminent potential threat to his own party position.

Thus I wonder whether poor Saifuddin Abdullah may be Zaid-ized kau kau if he does not know his place in PKR, as one no more than a mere machai.

As I had once lamented about Zaid and now I do the same for Saifuddin Abdullah, he should have joined DAP where he would have been well received and accorded a proper high position in accordance with his merits, talents and, undeniably for a DAP looking desperately for top class Malay leadership, his Malay ethnicity.