Gerakan/Umno, KeADILan/DAP - Marriages of Convenience?
update: there are some pretty interesting comments below, i do recommend having a look :) also see Tian’s political analysis on the main issue LKY was commenting on, plus his compliments for Guan Eng :P :)
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Some criticisms are not worth responding to.
I’ll give Lim Keng Yaik the benefit of the doubt because he represents a party that once stood for truth and justice.
Gerakan adviser Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik thumbed his nose at the pact between the DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to take on the Barisan Nasional (BN) in straight fights during the next general election, calling it a “marriage of convenience”.
“If PKR was that good, Anwar would have brought this country to greater heights.
“The DAP criticised Anwar for all his excesses when he was the finance minister and today they are sleeping in the same bed. Do you think the DAP trusts Anwar or is it a marriage of convenience?” Lim asked.
“Gerakan criticised Umno-BN for all their excesses when they were in opposition and today they are sleeping in the same bed. Do you think the Gerakan trusts Umno or is it a marriage of convenience?” Nat asked.
In all seriousness, do you think that Gerakan is closer to KeADILan and DAP or to Umno in terms of principles and ideals?
KeADILan and DAP talk about Malaysian unity and integrity.
Gerakan talks about Malaysian unity too (but with no real Malay membership in the partylah), Umno talks about Malay supremacy. Gerakan talks about integrity too, but Umno is steeped head to toe in corruption.
In all sincerity, what’s the best answer Gerakan can truly give to this exceedingly simple question: Why does Gerakan support Umno?
I will not make excuses for DSAI’s previous choice of party, but ask anyone old enough and you’ll find that he had a reputation for integrity even then.
I think it was exactly his attempts to bring the country to greater heights by speaking out against corruption and cronyism in the late 90’s that got him six years in jail.
Lim said the Opposition knew that the increasing oil prices and weakening of the US economy were beyond the government’s control and yet harped on it, although they did not have a plan on how to run this country.
Prices for petrol, flour and cooking oil are going out of control in this country because the government is too busy stealing to even practice the simplest economic management principles and steady the supply of basic goods.
We raised petrol prices last year to save RM 4 billion but gave RM 4 billion away to corruption-ridden PKFZ.
The logical conclusion that we are forced to make is that we raised petrol prices to subsidise PKFZ corruption.
Via Najib, taxpayers paid out about RM 1 billion in fighter jet & submarine commissions to middlemen like Abdul Razak Baginda, but today, Nurin’s killer has most likely struck again.
What kind of economic management is that? Are these blows to our treasury “beyond government control?”
Clearly, Umno-led corruption is beyond anyone’s control right now, least of all Gerakan’s.
And all these financial scandals, can you really point to any of this magnitude during Anwar’s tenure as finance minister? If one could, don’t you think you would have heard no end of it by now?
“We have our hiccups and yet we have established a modus operandi or modus vivende, on how to solve problems for the sake of the country. We have this formula that works well for the multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural people of this country.
“It is not easy to look after the conflicting interests of a multi-racial society but I think we have done pretty well in spite of all the criticisms,” Lim told theSun in an interview.
Um… I suppose.. If you consider smiling sheepishly everytime someone waves a keris as you as “done pretty well.”
He advised Malaysians to stay united in facing global challenges and to support the party which has been tried out instead of gambling on something that has not been proven.
BN has been tried out for fifty years. If you really think they’ve done a good job, go ahead and vote them again.
But if you think they’ve done a lousy job, Dr. Lim’s logic cannot possibly hold.
One cannot conclusively prove how well or how badly KeADILan can run the country until they’ve been given the chance to.
People say we don’t have a clear strategy to govern. I’m absolutely convinced that we do. But if you’re not, I’m just not doing my job well enough, and I’ll work harder at it.
Choosing the opposition is not gambling, but it is taking a chance.
Nothing good in life comes without taking chances. If we refuse to take any, we will never better our lot in life.
If we refuse to take any, then we can only smile sheepishly as Umno as waves their keris at us again and again, until they control every aspect of our lives. It really pains me to say so, but that day is not as far away as we would like to think.
“We have our hiccups and yet we have established a modus operandi or modus vivende, on how to solve problems for the sake of the country. We have this formula that works well for the multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural people of this country.”
Hiccups? 1st, anyone in the the world should forgive Lim Keng
Yaik for uttering any oxymoronical statements coz the party is to be blamed for putting up a person with lisps, speech-impaired of what could only represent a Minister for the retards. (no insinuations on the true retarded humans)
Perhaps we should hold back praise for Anwar. My dad lost his job in ‘98 recession. Before the actual crash, Anwar, at that time Deputy PM, ordered all business contracts/works to halt because of the slowing economy and so put the last nail in the coffin. My father was in the middle of a big construction project under a GIC and lost his job just like that. Because all works were ordered to halt.
Also from my dad (who is neither a gov or opp supporter, but of the opinion that all politicians are the same) : Anwar (like so many then) also sent direct orders that certain companies affiliated with him and his cronies should get the prime projects. Hence, the tendering process was a farce.
A little bit for you to chew on. Keep your hat on :D
Dr Lim - if your party cant even stand up and support your own party member from being slapped around by another component party - how are you able to stand up and speak for the people you are supposed to represent?
No doubt rising oil price is a global thingy and Malaysia cant control that but the question is WHAT IS THE CONTINGENCY plan? How are the government going to deal with that in a transparent manner that will burden the rakyat less?
On another note - I read S comment with much interest. Here is a first hand account of what DSAI did when he was in power. I think most would like to know if today DSAI is a reformed DSAI - in a sense that he wont “again” allow power to detract him from bringing malaysia to greater heights.
he has his chance. lost it. incarcerated. reformed?
i really hope he will be true this time round - .
Nat,
I am coming around to DSAI and DAP but I can’t come around to PAS. A lot of people feel this way.
If you say PAS has changed, I can’t say I believe it. This is because I still read reports on Harakah Daily about really silly issues such as ‘young people wearing santa hats on Christmas’. They connect this to the downfall of the youth’s ‘akidah’. I’m writing a piece about it soon. It won’t be nice, I warn you.
PKR or DAP have my vote, but PAS has to prove itself to the voters. Issues such as ’santa hats’ are just too idiotic for me to comprehend and accept. Right now they rank so low on my list. (sad to say)
[...] I pause to think of reality, the economic reality, the political reality, the world does indeed seem a little depressing. The only constant is people are born and people [...]
This is not the time to ponder. Haven’t we had enough of all the craps that are ongoing? I am sorry we are not going to find another TERMINATOR, eventhough this guy is not perfect. He does not have to be perfect.
I suffered when he was the education minister. Do we cry over spilled milk? Let’s pickup the pieces and move forward, and hope he does not repeat the same mistakes. We have to compromise and give him the chance to lead for the betterment.
I believe the risk of voting for the opposition is better than the risk of status quo.
PKR and opposition parties is the ideal platform to challange the arrogant and failed BN. It requires an almost equal and opposite force to dilute and possibly deny of their chances to continue harming people.
To achieve this effectively, we really need a joined force from DAP, PAS, PRM, and all other opposition parties.
I love watching his inspiring ceramah on video clip and would add:
“KITA LAWAN”
“LAWAN UMNO”
“LAWAN MCA”
“LAWAN MIC”
“LAWAN GERAKAN”
“LAWAN SAMPAI MENANG”
“MAJU PKR”
“MAJU DAP”
“MAJU PAS”
“MAJU PARTY PEMBANGKANG”
“HIDUP MALAYSIA”
tx for comments all :)
on the dsai issue, i don’t have a way to verify all that right now. but in the case of an overheated economy, perhaps some of those painful measures were the only way?
but i’m not an economist, and i’m truly sorry your dad lost the job :(
on dsai more generally, for the sake of argument, let’s assume dsai was evil back in the day (i don’t believe this to be true. again, do ask ppl involved in politics then, even ppl still in umno now). even then, dsai is a human being like us. if we went through what he did, incl six years in jail, can we really confidently say that we would emerge unchanged?
some ppl say he is saying all the right things, but will do all the wrong things. how can we possibly know until we’ve given him the chance?
look at the alternatives - people who do all the wrong things AND say all the wrong things.
for instance, ppl often fear that to vote for opposition is to change m’sia into an islamic state.
the two TOP leaders of this country have already declared this to be a islamic state, so what are we talking about here?
and all this nonsense about chopping of hands or what not, is there a single incident of such things happening in kelantan all this while?
on the issue of pas, i can certainly understand that every now and again, some random quarter of pas will say something quite silly.
but i do invite you to look at the bigger picture. this is a party that, in my personal experience, has demonstrated great integrity and sincerity in their search for a better malaysia.
i have found them to be truly interested in upholding truth, justice and equality for all.
look as well at the political trends within the party. observe how the top leadership is now dominated by more reasonable minded people who have very moderate views on things.
don’t let the silliness of a few blind us to the very real service they provide to many people and to the integrity of their principles - if we look carefully, we’ll see that there is far more than unites than divides.
of course there are differences, but with a strong opposition, i think we can accomodate these to the satisfaction of most.
again, tx for comments all! :)
nat
this time, i am gonna vote for the PAS candidate. PERIOD
When Lim Keng Yaik’s masters in UMNO sneezes, Lim Keng Yaik will come running with tissues in less than 2 seconds. This is the cooperation they have in UMNO-BN …. UMNO sits at the head of the dinner table enjoying a hefty meal while throwing scraps at MCA, MIC, Gerakan.
Haha, I know Nat won’t be happy, but my two cents on DSAI and PAS:
I think the reason a lot of people distrust DSAI is because of his history as a political chameleon. A lot of his rhetoric today is the same as when he was a student leader deploring injustice in the country, and a lot of his talk about liberalisation seems reminiscent in a sense of what he was saying as DPM - so people are looking for an even more tangible sense that he has changed than just talk, because the content of his speech has not changed all that much from in the past.
Regarding PAS, it’s difficult to escape the proliferation of position papers about an Islamic state on their website - the only reason they aren’t chopping off hands is because states cannot implement criminal laws like the hudud.
Having said that, Malaysia is going to hell either way, so there’s really no reason to stick with BN. At this point I’d rather take my chances with DSAI and PAS.
- yh and fmf: thank you for the support, it is as always, truly appreciated… :)
- ‘know nat won’t be happy’, but john goes ahead and approves his own comment, hahaha :P :) that’s the trouble w/giving rascals like him access to the blog, haha :)
- dsai: wait, you seem to be saying that he has consistently been talking about deploring injustice and liberalisation? and the problem with that is?…………. :)
- pas: do the guys currently leading pas (think DS Hadi, Nasharauddin, Husam, Dr. Hatta, Mustafa, Dtk Kamaruddin, etc) reaaalllly strike you as the kind of people who want to chop people’s hands off? i really think they’re more interested in battling corruption and providing decent welfare for Malaysians.
- nonetheless, it’s the last para that counts, and i thank you for it sir :)
The co-operation between DAP and PKR in Penang in fighting the BN in the coming election is excellent. I only wish that the co-operation be further extended to states like Selangor,Perak Johore and Selangor.
Oldmantalks
Haha, when you’re logged in your comments are pre-approved what…you expect me to unmoderate my own comments ar…
My perception is that people see DSAI as unreliable because despite talking the talk for years, not a great deal of walking the walk occurred. He criticised corruption, but he himself was party to graft, in just the most well-known example.
PAS is an odd creature in that it is actually quite benign, but comes off as a scary bogeyman for a lot of moderates. There’s no question that they’ve been electing more technocratic leaders as of late, but public perception has yet to catch up - it’s still stuck in the old mentality, and things aren’t helped much by the occasional foot-in-mouth some minor PAS functionary makes which gets blown up by the media/liberal bloggers.
In any case, I’m just making observations about public opinion - my own opinion is that although I don’t want a PAS government, if I want to be screwed over, I’d rather be screwed knowing that I tried to change things - voting opposition, in other words - than be screwed knowing that I caved in to a government which threatens its own people, calls them names, and warns that it will kill its own citizens if it does not get its way.
Therefore, we should join forces to continue to blog the hell out of BN and its associates.
Are you sure when PAS/DAP govern Malaysia in 2008, the price of everything (eg:fuel) will fall down..and everything in Malaysia will be free ? Is it logical without cutting the taxes and workers’ salaries ? Unless DAP/PAS manufacture money together..
How sure are you that DAP and PAS are a suitable/matched ‘couple’ ?Hmm..seemed to be a chaos one day ?
Dare to list my comment ??
nat:
che, listed far worse comments before :P :)
no need to manufacture money my friend, just stop things like 4.6 billion bailouts to PKFZ and multi-billion arms commissions.
yes, i do believe dap/pas can work together, esp in a KeADILan led scenario. it’s all about compromise and accomadation.
Allah Maha Besar dan Maha Adil…maafkan saya sekiranya off-topic…
5 negeri ditawan untuk dibela nasib rakyatnya…
selepas Pilihan raya umum…maka selepas ini DUN Sarawak akan menjadi gelanggang pertarungan politik…
saya memohon…bagi sesiapa yang berada dalam mana2 parti alternatif agar menggunakan isu tempat letak kereta sebagai salah satu senjata menawan rakyat di kawasan bandar kuching…terutamanya di kawasan bt3, satok, dan sekitarnya yang melibatkan kesengsaraan beribu2 rakyat di sini…silalah beritakan kepada pemimpin pas, keadilan, dap yang akan turun padang klak agar membangkitkan isu ini…
senario sekarang:
pihak DBKU/MBKS (majlis bandaraya kuching utara/selatan) mewakilkan sebuah syarikat swasta (pastinya kepunyaan kroni TAIB) menjaga tempat letak kenderaan sekitar kuching…padahal majlis bandaraya sepatutnya berkhidmat untuk rakyat, setelah si subkan kepada swasta, sudah tentulah keuntungan lah sasaran utama mereka…
masalahnya, tempat letak kenderaan tidaklah di naiktaraf tetapi mereka sekadar mengecat dan menandakan kawasan untuk di kenakan bayaran…masalah yang lebih besar adalah mereka meletakkan kuota yang sangat kecil bagi pembelian kupon bermusim…yang bererti mereka sengaja ingin mengenakan denda kepada rakyat yang mana keuntungan nya lebih besar…sehingga mencecah beribu ringgit yang kian bertambah sekiranya tertunggak…bayangkan…seorang beribu di darab beribu orang…betapa meletak kenderaan pun mereka mengaut keuntungan sedemikian…sengaja mewujudkan senario di mana rakyat lah bersalah kerana tidak meletak kenderaan dengan betul padahal kupon parking bermusim sengaja dikuota agar tidak mencukupi…rakyat bergelut2 seawal 6 pagi membeli pada satu hari yang ditetapkan setiap bulan…tetapi kebanyakannya pulang dengan hampa…
Ya Allah…bebaskanlah kami dari masalah yang menyiksakan ini….