Tag: PKR

I do not blame Nik Nazmi for being dumb, but this is the problem that we have in our country. People who talk big-picture, do not seem to realise what is the big-picture. My dear Nik Nazmi, the big-picture is not about getting you re-elected nor is it about putting you and your friends into parliament. Dude, you got this so wrong:

If anything’s anything, a third party would simply split the vote of Malaysians who want to see real change. To me therefore (and I may be wrong about this), the only effect a third party would have in Malaysia would be to simply ensure the continuance of Barisan Nasional’s rule.

Or is that the point?

I cannot agree more with Nik Nazmi on this – because any third force will just split PR’s votes. Therefore, the solution is simple. Anwar admitted that PKR had troubles finding good candidates in the last GE. In fact, the same problem is faced by PAS and DAP too. That is where the third force comes in.

In order to avoid splitting the votes, PR should not run, where the third force runs. Simple.

Since PR has problems finding good candidates, if a good independent candidate can be found, PR should just withdraw from competing that seat and let that independent candidate go one-on-one with BN. This means that PR is unlikely to secure 51% of the seats in parliament but it will increase the chances of kicking idiots out of parliament (on both sides).

Honestly, I expected more from you. Are you so blind to even see such a simple and elegant solution?

I love it when someone with a small mind claims that someone else is missing the big picture. In a letter to MalaysiaKini recently, someone named Meng Yee claimed that Zaid’s recent outburst and backlash are character flaws. While I am not a supporter of Zaid Ibrahim, nor am I one of his fanboys, all I care about is what is good for Malaysia, our nation.

The big picture, is to fix the ails of our nation and not to put PR into power.

While some people may think that sending PR to PutraJaya is essential in fixing our problems, I am ambivalent about it simply because the creatures in PR are cut from the same cloth as the ones from BN. I would not be surprised if some of them fight each other during office hours and play golf together over the weekend.

What I want, as a Malaysian, and I think that I share the same objectives as most Malaysians – is to fix the problems of our country. I do not care which monkey is in charge as long as it is able to pluck the coconut from the palm tree. That is the big picture that I am working towards and will support.

In this sense, I truly believe that we need a third force as a balancer.

Update: Ship up or ship out, Pakatan!

The news sources and blogs are abuzz with the withdrawal of PKR deputy president hopeful, Zaid Ibrahim, from all his party posts and the deputy president elections. There are plenty of people calling him all kinds of names and lots of conspiracy theories are in the spinning. Personally, I think that we need more people like him – disruptive!

I was offered to join this party under the belief that I could promote enlightened and progressive politics; nurture and develop principled political values and culture that I consider indispensable to the development of democracy and good governance in this country. I was mistaken.

Regardless of what we may think of the man, I think that his track record speaks for itself. He was instrumental in weaving the disparate parties of the opposition together and drafting a framework for their cooperation. He was the only cabinet minister who ever quit his job, in recent history, on grounds of principle. He is a maverick.

In business, we refer to disruptive technology as “an innovation that creates a new (and unexpected) market by applying a different set of values.” If we apply this term to Malaysian politics, it means playing the game with a different set of rules than everyone else. In business, this is the strategy to unseat a dominant player – by playing to different rules.

Maverick is exactly what we want. Disruption is exactly what we need in the country.

I had a short conversation the other day, where someone senior mentioned that our government has lost the younger generation. If things on the ground are to be believed, this is most certainly the case. However, the opposition does not present a credible alternative as they are cut from the same cloth and play the game by the same rules.

What we need in Malaysia, is to change the rules of the game. For that, we need players who are able to disrupt the market and change the entire playing field. We need to move away from desktops and laptops onto pads and phones. We need to move away from cassettes and CDs onto MP3s and live casts.

I hope that Zaid Ibrahim will take this opportunity to quit PKR entirely, and to form a new credible alternative to our country’s politics – the Third Force. We need a cadre of high calibre and principled people to fix our country’s woes. Let’s kick some arse.

PS: Please drag people like Izzah along. That will send the right message to the PKR supremo!

Disclaimer: I am a disruptive person by nature. It has often been said that I am a difficult person to work with. I guess that Zaid Ibrahim is difficult too.

I am not sure if Zaid is a trojan horse or not, as some parties are insinuating. However, I know that he is at least saying and doing the right things. After reading the letter in MT by Sivarasa, I decided to look up Zaid’s original piece. Needless to say, I did not find anything remotely wrong in the original statement entitled, “Empowering Keadilan”.

I am totally disillusioned by PKR simply because it is unable to get it’s act together. When I say that, I mean – focus on the plot – and not unite and close ranks. Internal dissent is actually a very good thing for a political party. I hate all these ‘tow the line’ and ‘behind closed doors’ crap, which is totally against the spirit of democracy and freedom of speech. Now, the trouble is that PKR stands for Parti KeAnwaran Rakyat in my mind. It has always been that way to me, which is a shame. PKR could be so much more.

Unfortunately, Zaid is one of the few leaders inside PKR whom I think would be able to actually steer the party away from self-destruction. The party must realise that our present government seems quite determined to lock Anwar up, regardless of whether the charges are trumped up or not. So, any rational person will focus on the next logical thing, which is the bigger picture and the main plot – to save the country! That is the only way that Anwar can ever be redeemed. He may never see himself on the seat of Prime Minister but he will leave his mark on history.

That said, PKR needs to get its act together, now! They are far from the democratic ideal that they espouse. There is just too much of the ‘old ways’ inside PKR. As many people have alluded, they are the weakest link inside Pakatan Rakyat. While having direct elections for top party positions is a good start, manipulation of candidacies is just lame. While the mainstream media may be blamed for inflaming their nomination blunders, PKR must accept the fact that there is no smoke, without fire.

I am certainly at a loss to understand Zaid’s campaign strategy as he seems bent on publicly and continuously criticising the party and its leadership (which I must remind he is also part of) instead of strengthening the party, and championing the party’s policies, processes and issues including that of UMNO-BN’s persecution of Anwar.

The answer to that is a simple one Sivarasa. And if you are unable to ascertain it, you no longer deserve to be at the top.

Sigh.

The soon-to-happen PKR party elections just seems to be fraught with so many scandals that it is turning into a farce. While I am not a member and have zero interest in the well-being of the party, I am a concerned citizen watching the drama. There are many things to be said but I will just say one tiny thing.

Izzah would make one heck of a Deputy President.

An article in TheStar said that, “Nurul Izzah has many hurdles to clear to convince her party why she deserves this important seat.” I see things differently.

Firstly, nobody deserves the seat. That is the wrong mentality that is plaguing our country. However, she is rightly qualified for the seat, more so than most of the other party members who think that they are her better.

She has balls. I do not see anyone else from within the party who has the guts to take on giants from the other side. She took on Sharizat, a senior cabinet minister, to seize her constituency. More recently, she has challenged our dearest Tun Dr Mahathir to a debate, which has gone unanswered. The fact that she is even running for this position says that, she has got cohones. We need leaders who are able to take on the old ways, if we want real change.

She has been with the cause from the very inception. Nobody can deny that fact. On the day that her father was first detained, she may have just been studying for her math paper at university. But since, she became the pillar of strength that held up the cause – the Puteri Keadilan (Princess of Justice). This is baptism by fire and is a credential that nobody, not even any of the others running for office, can claim to have.

I do not claim to know what is happening inside PKR but if I was a member, she would have gotten my vote, over all the others. While I do not fancy her chances of winning, I am sure that she would have at least given everyone else a run for their money. A shining beacon of hope is a very powerful intoxicant.

It fantasy was reality and she won the seat fair and square, it would have been a Good Thing for the party. She would have signaled the entry of a whole generation of young leaders – Mahathir’s Children – into leading roles within our country. She would have opened the flood-gates for other women to seek for highest office that even Tun Rafidah Aziz and Ng Yen Yen failed to do. She would have rocked the boat and changed things.

She would have been the distinction that sold PKR as an agent for change. Instead, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.

blink blink

Update: seems like she is now eligible to run! While I am jubilant that she will have the chance to kick arse, the way that PKR seems to be running this election just perplexes me. Go Izzah!