Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Wake up and smell the coffee boy!

Twists and turns of the tale and what do we get, Anwar Ibrahim saying he has 31 of our colleagues supporting him to be Prime Minister.

And he wants to meet the current officer bearer Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to discuss transition plans.

Coffee, boy! Wake up and smell the coffee boy!

Or have you done so already.

The Siber Party of Malaysia (M) - like the rest of Malaysia - want to know names, not any of this tricky turns of phrases of peaceful transition plans.

Put up or shut up.

Today is Malaysia Day, not April 1st. Anwar took us for a drive to the future but it looks like more of a ride to nowhere now.

Shame on you, Anwar Ibrahim!

Selamat Hari Malaysia

Selamat Hari Malaysia!

Two score and five years ago, yadayadayada blah blah blah... Yep, Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore formed Malaysia on this date in 1963, which was also Lee Kuan Yew's 40th birthday. (Makes you wonder why it never actually happened on August 31, 1963!)

So, the man who coined Malaysian Malaysia is 85 now and is a Singaporean, the independent tiny red dot and shopping mall with a United Nations membership. And where are we today?

Tricked into thinking that we wake up today to a country with a different government, a new and fresh approach to politics where meritocracy rules but natives are still taken care of, and what-have-you... oh yes, petrol prices will be 70 sens cheaper. Right!

It hasn't happened yet. Anwar Ibrahim promises to reveal names today and has sent a letter to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for a peaceful transition of power. Really? Bold, brazen, he has gumption, cojones and as most schleps would say, chutzpah!

But we are still in a land where petrol is 2.55 ringgit a litre, Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin are both still under investigations for a maximum of 60 days under the Internal Security Act while Hindraf leaders spend another day of two years in Kamunting under the same law.

And race and religion is still an issue although for the rest of the world, the turmoil in the world financial markets and sinking US lenders and merchant bankers hold more interest than these orchestral manouveres in the dark and dingy world of Malaysian politics.

Dr Mahathir griped about this as much as he grumbles about the lack of life in Putrajaya's main boulevard and lack of leadership under the giant green onion dome that used to be his office.

(You do know that the onion dome is just not form but also function - it serves to store the dirt under the carpet from his years in administration and makes you wonder why Abdullah has some sinus issues).

Be that as it may, the Siber Party of Malayia (M) believes we wake up today in the same manner our brethren across the South China Sea and south of the Johor Causeway did 45 years ago, nothing new but with a sense of freedom and optimism for a future that we will shape ourselves.

Abdullah, Anwar, Najib, Dr Mahathir are the catalysts for us to make the change for a better Malaysia, if not a Malaysian Malaysia.

For sure, Dr Mahathir's views still hold great traction among us because the crop of wannabes like Hishamuddin, Khairy, Husam, Liow, Sothinathan, Nur Jazlan, Tony Pua, Nasharuddin, Sulaiman Taib and the rest of the younger set have not put forth their views well.

We need opinions. We need vision. We need leadership.

The Siber Party of Malaysia (M) is here with the rest of Malaysia for a Malaysia founded on September 16, 1963.

Monday, September 08, 2008

A question of Leadership

The hangover following the March 8 polls is not leaving any of us in a hurry.

The Pakatan Rakyat grabbed five states and denied Barisan Nasional its taken-for-granted two-thirds parliamentary majority by eight seats. Nine today if you consider poor Joseph Kurup's defeat in election court after winning unopposed on Nomination Day.

The score is 139-81, one Independent, one in abeyance.

But more than that, we will finally observe and not ignore Malaysia Day this year. Not because Malaysia was formed 45 years ago but due to Anwar Ibrahim's promise to take power with the help of at least 30 MPs from the BN. 

We wonder if any of the 49 bound for Taiwan are among the 30 or 40 he thinks has joined the exodus from the winning team of March 8, BN, to the losing team PR.

The tipping point could be the question of leadership especially in the face of one Ahmad Ismail's rant in the heat of campaigning during the Permatang Pauh by-election. Do we allow one man to tell us the history of Malaysia?

Of course, we should all be upset. As he is now that his Umno party seems to be losing control of Malaysia to "squatters" as he calls them. Then again, he should know that Malaysia or Malaya would not exist without the alliance of the three major races in Malaya and later Malaysia with the consent of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

Do the leaders of Umno know this? Do Umno members think governing Malaysia is their birth right that even some, if not all, of the state constitutions say only Malay Muslims can be chief ministers and such?

All this boils down to a question of leadership in Umno, and by extension BN, or for that matter the allies within PR. How far will they go to allow extreme voices speak in the wilderness or bring them in line with mainstream political thinking of compromise and cooperation?

Is anyone less racist for helping others in election campaigns? Is anyone more racist for harping on squatters and their lesser right to run the nation? Are we a nation of racists who cannot tolerate racists?

The Siber Party of Malaysia (M) believes in Malaysia and that it has no place for racists. Ahmad Ismail and his ilk have their right to free speech but also face the right to hear what others say about them. It is easy to blame the media but they should know that what they say have repercussions.

Going racial, insular and parochial in a time of change is as Samuel Johnson said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". Ahmad Ismail, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Abdul Razak best remember that.

We are looking for heroes at a time of change when uncertainty rules. Not zeroes.