The Port Dickson (PD) by-election was no ordinary by-election. It was a case of might makes right.
PD was a classic act of the powerful crushing the individual. Many Malaysians have reserved a special name for this by-election - "syiok sendiri". They have also started calling the prime-minister-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, "Dear Leader".
The state machinery and various MPs were forced to mobilise behind Anwar in a big sham of solidarity. It put Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a quandary, because he could not allow Anwar to lose, as it would reflect badly on the party.
Only the blind would call Anwar's win a victory. Contesting in a safe seat is like taking candy from a child.
The alternatives to Anwar were a politician who was accused of money politics and bled Felda dry. A person whose bedroom antics were legendary. A person who was incensed by arrogant politicians, and wanted genuinely to do more for local causes. The PAS man, a woman and one other.
As Umno-Baru abstained from taking part, and their supporters warned to keep away, the result is not a true representation of the PD vote.
Far from a show of democracy, PD was a betrayal of democracy. If one of the main aims for change in GE-14 was to have clean, free and fair elections, then the PD farce should have been used as a good starting point for real reform.
The PD people may not realise...
What happened, or rather what should not have happened, but happened anyway, has set a dangerous precedent for all of Malaysia. A by-election should only happen when an MP dies, is too ill to continue his work or is involved in a crime.
The PD people may not realise the consequences of their actions now. They believed Anwar, who sold them the dream of turning Port Dickson into another Dubai, the "paradise in the desert sands"; a city built from slave labour for the enjoyment of people with money.
At the start of his campaign, Anwar warned that he would reshuffle the cabinet once he wielded power. A few days before the PD folk cast their votes, Anwar said he would reform Parliament. Is he undermining Mahathir, even before becoming an MP? With Anwar at the helm of Harapan, Umno-Baru knows that its legacy is intact.
This talk about reshuffling and reforming Parliament is a bit rich, coming from a man who is unable to control his own party and has allowed the spat between Rafizi Ramli and Azmin Ali to boil over into the public sphere.
For starters, the by-election was based on a false premise. There was already an elected MP, Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, who five months after he was elected, proudly announced his loyalty to one man, Anwar Ibrahim. Danyal disgracefully rejected the 30,000 people who had voted for him.
If the former admiral had abandoned his post during a conflict, just because another man wanted to take control of the bridge, he would risk a mutiny.
Anyway, worse was in store for the PD folk. When Anwar talked about reshuffling the cabinet, alarm bells must have rung in the various ministries, just in case Anwar would dump the ministers when Mahathir was no longer PM.
Such is the level of patronage and the power this man knows he could wield, that rich, powerful businessmen, even alleged triad members were courting him, with free makan. They could smell an opening for business, and tripped over themselves to please the heir apparent to Mahathir.
Was Anwar not aware that a free makan creates future hidden obligations?
Anwar will brook no criticism
Anwar will brook no criticism, and has already told the Election Commission (EC) and election reform movment Bersih not to go overboard.
If the rakyat are not critical of the new Harapan government, our 61-year-old struggle to throw off the oppressive and kleptocratic shackles of Umno-Baru/BN may be in vain.
Sadly, some PKR politicians have difficulty in exorcising the Umno-Baru/BN DNA demons from their blood.
If they care to read this, the rakyat are more intelligent and politically astute than the politicians think. We have gone beyond just ticking the right box on the ballot paper at any election. The rakyat want politicians who act with integrity. They abhor MPs who abuse their trust.
With his pardon and release, Anwar's Dr-Jekyll-and-Mr-Hyde character has surfaced. Will he be able to contain his ego? How will he stop himself from being the spanner in the works?
We cannot have a cabinet with two leaders - one who was rightfully elected, and a backdoor leader who carps on about his rightful inheritance and the fact that he has suffered.
I agree with Kedah MB, Mukhriz Mahathir (photo, above), who requested that Mahathir be given sufficient time to clean up the government administration. He argued that the PM and his team should be allowed to revitalise the inefficient civil service and the many areas where there have been breakdowns of processes. Will Anwar respect Mukhriz' wishes?
For the past month, we have been distracted by the side-show in PD. How much of the rakyat's money was spent on security, and the smooth running of the by-election? Instead of keeping our eyes on the ball, keeping our MPs on their toes, keeping track of the machinations of former, disgraced PM Najib Abdul Razak, and other important matters, we allowed ourselves to massage Anwar's ego.
There have been numerous election offences, but until the EC is made independent, the new chairperson's most potent weapon will be to issue "reminders".
Anwar's supporters claim that he needs to become an MP, and then PM, in case Mahathir ceases to be PM; but what would happen if Anwar were to be incapacitated before Mahathir? Do they think Malaysia will stop functioning?
If only Malaysians are able to look beyond their noses and reflect. There will be a number of qualified, able and dedicated MPs who could take over as PM. Malaysians just need to get over this race and religion thing, and put Malaysia first.
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