I've left the site for quite a while due to poor response. But a political tsunami has hit the nation during the last general election in early March,2008, and I don't want to miss the opportunity of examining my own thoughts on the matter. BN loss five states to the opposition and its two third majority in Parliament. What a whacking!
Why? How come? The PM has appointed a special committee of experts to analyse the election results. Perhaps we''' never see the reports since it'll contain a lot of dirty linnen. But the PM himself has stressed on a few causes of the BN's debacle. They include slow performance, rising costs of essential food items especially patrol and toll rates, underating the power of SMS and the blogs, widespread corruption charges against the Wakil Rakyat, work contracts not reaching the ground-level contractors,
subbotage work by Barisan strongmen not selected to contest the electiont, etc.
But some of the more obvious causes are rarely toched upon. They include the boastful and braggart-type of personality among BN leaders as a result of 50 years of undisputed leadership, obvious protection of delinquents and erring Wakil Rakyat by the top leadership naking them untouchable, the announcement and launching of huge mega projects with little or no opportunity for the smalltime contractors to get a share of the cake, the blatant propaganda type of programmes aired over the government controlled media especially RTM, the airing of Parliamentary debates which appeared to be no more than roadside quarrels and name calling, the Police inability to solve missing-person cases and the exasperating emphasis given on persecuting traffic offenders with the possibility of extracting 'coffee-money', the exixtence of double standards in mny governmental dealings etc.
A very important cause of a poor show in the election could be the PM's plea that peopole do not show their grievances and dissatisfation with the government through street demonstration and protest but through the ballot box. People took up the dare. So many Barisan stalwarts went down like heaps of bad potatoes.
The loss of 5 States to the opposition and its two third majority in Parliament is one thing. How PM and his strongmen are reacting to the loss is another. Many old faces in the Cabinet are dropped ( some to the great relief of people) and new, contoversial figures are brought in. Proposed MBs backed by the PM but rejected by the Sultans are causing a lot of problem.
In one case the Sultan's choice who is a BN man, is threated with expulsion from the party, and a vote of no confidence when
he calls the State Assembly to meet. It seems no one thought of the fact that a vote of no confidence to a BN led State Assembly will open the way to an opposition coalition to form the government. The previous performance of the younger ministers has not been seriously considered before giving them a new portfolio, thus enhancing the possibility of messing up what is already in a bad state of affairs.
Enough for now. This will be continued in the next posting.
