GE2008 Post-Mortem 1: EsteemedReaders Hold the Fort!

This Post was first written on March 10,2008. Now it's UPDATEd on March 12, 2008 as Desi has been beesybodee shuffling KL-Seremban trying to taste of victory in the air rightly earned by the "reformer-fighters" -- BUT nobody bought me Hi or Lo-tea. So I shalt pen my 3sen worth shortly. Or should it read briefly?


Dr M calls for Pak Lah to resign
Mar 9, 08 2:14pm

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today his successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has "destroyed" the ruling coalition after disastrous weekend elections.

Mahathir, who led the ruling Umno which helms the Barisan Nasional coalition for 22 years before stepping down in 2003, lashed out after its worst performance in history.

"My view is he has destroyed Umno, destroyed the BN and he has been responsible for this," Mahathir told reporters.

He suggested Abdullah should resign, and said he had made a mistake in selecting him as prime minister.

"I think he should accept responsibility for this. He should accept 100 percent responsibility," he said.

"I am sorry but I apparently made the wrong choice."

Mahathir has previously said he never intended for Abdullah to serve more than one term, and that he should have opted instead for influential Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak who is now leader-in-waiting.

Worst ever result

BN suffered its worst ever result in Saturday's polls, losing its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since 1969 and conceding four more states to a resurgent opposition.

Abdullah was punished over rising crime and inflation in an election also tinged by rising racial tensions between majority Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians.

"I think the people must have been very angry, all the races, Chinese, Malays and Indians," Mahathir said.

"The problem is we (the government) have become so arrogant. We suppress any opinion that we do not like and they begin to believe in their own reports which are not actually consistent with what is happening in the country."

Abdullah was Mahathir's hand-picked successor when he stepped down, but after the new leader dumped several of his pet projects he began launching accusations of economic mismanagement, nepotism and corruption.

DESIDERATA: I had intended to take a HI-atus to Haiti or Tumbuktoo or TimbuckUpTheTree, but I am postponing my selfish needs and put my EsteemedREaders' interest first (See, I can also writHe like politikus!:, so I KIV my holidie Dow Under:(

I urge my ER to give me an hoinest-to-goodness opinion on the Above News Retport I sighted at Mkini (Go there to read more, their Free Access -- ala theSun -- ends soon!) After that I will algo gift thee my HonestTooGoodnurse No-HolesBarredOrBared opinion, 3sen worth.

I am inducing (or is it seducing, or bribing?) these honest-flowing-wit'GOoGness readers to become the first in the Q to offer their Comments by graduating to Frontpage their heartfelt input from Yesterday, when all our troubles seem (Not in d Past Tense like the Beatles!:) so far away...

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4 comments:
mindful mariner said...
Great post Desi, wise words,and sound advice.

The people have spoken.

Congratulations to each and every person who has contributed to the defeat of the BN's autocratic arrogance in whatever way, each and every little bit helps.

A great people-centric victory was witnessed overnight.

11:47 AM
kyels said...
I finally hear shouts for reformation! I'm indeed very happy w/ the results and the arrogance of BN has been deflated.

12:37 PM
Anak Merdeka said...
I can't believe I stayed glued to the TV until 4am and those gutless ppl dare not reveal the true picture to the Rakyat!! In the end, they just pack up and leave with tails btw their legs.

I'm now suffering from massive hangover after gulping down cups of caffeine and maggi-mee to stay awake.

But it was worth it!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed on Anwar's next move. Will he live up to the promises and expectations of the voters? Will Barisan Rakyat humbly accept the challenge and work twds greater success in the next GE?

1:38 PM
Twisted Heels said...
Lol. Like AM, I kept refreshing Malaysiakini (although the time difference meant I had to stay home on a Sat night!) I'm glad how things turn out. Hope it's all for the best!

7:11 PM
_________________________________________

Special comment plus my TEAser response plus ChallengiA:

moo_t said...
Change, this make a happy desi and moo_t :)

Now if the media license issue removed by opposition, desi will have a huge writing arena :)

More jobs for all Malaysia. :)

3:49 AM


desiderata said...
(Moo)_t:

I am AP, u got ap,
The Rakat arer awefully ap AP ap --

that's most important.

Now the PAS-, DAP- and PKR-led states must DELIVER or
the Rakyat will Vote them out in 4/4 years time.

Hey, come to bum2008 and I'll offer thee Puerh tea!:)

2:32 PM

CHALLENGIA: What so special? REWARD: Any GOoDe response near what Desi has in mind will be invited to Puerh cum Dinner so-ON?!

__________________________________


**************** Come back tonight for aMore
If Desi is put in the GOoD mood, he may even offer Puerh tea
on top of Teh-tarik or Rut Bir!
Behave thyself, my dear/deer/doe
or knottyaSsusual like this blardy writHer:) ~~ Desi

*****************



UPDATEd @6.36PM as mGf fellow scribe KIM QUEK emailed me an excellent piece which fits in tightly, knightly but not nightly, as what should be the LEAD (which means the opening paragraph of any story/report, but I think Kim -- an honourbale outpost of Rudyard Kipling's imagination?) -- will understand and forgift Desi!:)


OPPOSITION MUST TREASURE THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY


10.03.2008


Malaysian Election 2008 has heralded the arrival of a new era. The spectacular election results demonstrated in no uncertain terms that the racial bondage that has imprisoned this country for 50 years has finally begun to disintegrate under the combined onslaught of PKR, DAP and PAS.



Not only the target of breaking Barisan Nasional’s long standing two third parliamentary majority was achieved, but more importantly, the opposition has unexpectedly captured the heartland states of Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah, in addition to retaining Kelantan in a landslide. These achievements would not have been possible, if not for the new ground boldly broken into by the electorates themselves – hordes of Chinese and Indians who never supported PAS before had rushed to vote for the latter, while Malays in unprecedented numbers had voted for DAP. And needless to say, all the three major races have supported PKR enthusiastically.


It is this willingness to break the racial and religious taboos (which have been instilled into the people by BN) that has opened up a new vista of great opportunity for the nation, made possible through the electorate’s newfound wisdom of choosing a government not based on race or religion but on merits. Henceforth, political parties must fight their battles with sound policies and ideals and records that are most attuned to the welfare of the masses, not by appealing to the primordial instincts of race and religion; as the electorate are clearly discarding the latter for the former. This will surely result in vast improvement in governance through better selected political leadership.



However, this rosy scenario may come to naught if the opposition parties fail to transcend their differences and work together effectively as a team to transform promises into realities.



COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP


None of the opposition parties has a simple majority in any of the state assemblies of Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah, so they have no choice but to form coalitions if they want to rule these states. Since coalition is thrust upon them, they must form a political partnership, and this partnership should logically also extend to states where a partner may have only one seat, namely Penang (PAS: 1) and Kedah (DAP: 1). The inclusion of PAS and DAP in Penang and Kedah respectively will ensure that policies made in these states will have taken cognizance of the interests and views of the constituents represented by these parties in these states. Besides, these minor inclusions will help to foster solidarity among partners and minimize dissatisfaction of minority constituents in these states.


A major faiture of the BN model of leadership is the over-concentration of power on the leader and the lack of mutual respect and genuine consultation among partners, as the former encourages corruption and abuse of power while the latter will doom the partnership to eventual disintegration through desertion by the victimized partners.


Hence, the opposition parties must genuinely practice collective leadership in the state governments, not only to avoid pitfalls of BN but to ensure long term flourish of the partnership. All policies and major decisions must be the product of consultations, not whims of the autocrat.


With the understanding that the leader is but the executor of policies, which in turn are collectively decided, the choice of the leader (chief minister or menteri besar) should not be an oversensitive issue, as long as the decision is collectively made and the candidate is deemed suitable.



TOP PRIORITY


The main scourge of this country is corruption, which is the root cause of high crime rate and inefficient government which in turn is a contributing cause to economic hardships manifested by stagnant economy and runaway inflation. We have promised the electorate to wipe out this vice, so anti-corruption measures must be on the top of the opposition agenda. As a start, I propose these two immediate measures:


One, push for public declaration of assets of all elected representatives, with those in PKR, DAP & PAS taking the lead. All opposition-controlled state governments should include in their official websites a section showing the assets of all assemblymen. Pass a resolution to call for these public declarations if BN assemblymen are reluctant to do so. These asset details should be updated regularly.


Two, make it compulsory for all contracts under state government control to go through open and transparent tendering system: all tenders to be advertised and tender prices announced promptly (including posting in official website) upon closing of tenders. All tenders to be evaluated professionally with known criteria and awarded through the tender board.



PUBLIC SUPPORT CRUCIAL


Now that the electorate has given the mandate to the opposition parties to govern these states, the people can help to make these new governments a success by giving them whole-hearted support and constructive criticisms where they are due. We must not forget that Malaysia has been badly managed for a long time, and it is only through maximum co-operation from the public, that the arduous task of reforming an old and impaired system can be speedily accomplished.


As for the opposition parties, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to demonstrate their competence to take over the helm of the entire country by doing a good job of running these states. This, I am sure, can be achieved if the leadership of these three parties are willing to put the nation above personal or parochial party interests at all times. And let all adopt the motto: “The nation must always come first, no matter what happens”.




Kim Quek.



DESIDERATA: My ER are requested to banter with Sdr Kim who resides in Johor Bharu and constantly files for Malaysia-today.net and Mkini, I believe. I added the last two words in the preceding sentence because readers must themselves train to ask questions, even of Desi and Kim, challenge them like I did with an academic who betrayed the PKR's casue by attacking "historical" events of common knowledge which must have been JUST brought to another Rip van Wrinkled clone before GE2008. So sad. But I am glad the GE2008 puts an RIP to this shamefaced turncoat -- ah, but RM-sign succeeeds in "turning over" many minds, goldmines too.:(

*******************************************************
DESIDERATA gifting thee tigasen worth on March 12:

First, I share Anak Merdeka's expression of quiet Joy, and that we were rewarded for making a good decision.
"
But it was worth it!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed on Anwar's next move. Will he live up to the promises and expectations of the voters? Will Barisan Rakyat humbly accept the challenge and work twds greater success in the next GE?" ~~ AM

Anwar's next move is predictable -- his wife Wan Azizah who was an "accidental politician" following her husband's jailing on "trumped up" charges will now resign her Permatang Pauh seat for a by-election. Barring unforseen circumstances, PKR's defacto leader Sdr Anwar Ibrahim will win the seat in the by-election,GODwilling/InsyaAllah.

As Opposition Leader in Parliament -- as well as key adviser to the PKR-led State government of Selangor -- Anwar would deliver what has been promised since he came back actively into politics promoting THE NEW ECONOMIC AGENDA.

Without any shadow of the doubt I believe the Selangor state will enjoy a period of greater accountability, clearer transparency and a more responsive government -- as all eyes, especially of the Bloggers -- will detect every minor misdemeanor of the Government, what more the mega-spendings and abuses so glaring under the old BN-UMNO rule. NO MORE ZAKARIA MAD DEROS, NO MORE KHIR TOYOL type of corrupt "Close one eye" politics. I would like the Govermnemt at an appropriate time TO REVISIT ALL THE ABUSES OF THE PAST MB AND HIS CRONIES, and do the right thing by THE RAKYAT.

IF ANYTHING, GE2008 SAW THE AWAKENED VOTERS VOTING FOR CHANGE.

Desi's happy that the disease of MASOCHISM I had lamented often enough via this Blog had finally been excised from the sickened electorate's psyche. Nomoe complaining and complaining against the BN governemnt, yet in the Polling Booth, mark the cross againstthe Dacing!

ONE SALUTE and a shiny porcelain cuppa of Puerh tea to all you "V"OTERS!

THEY ARE NOW NO MORE AFRAID TO BREAK OUT OF RACIST LENSES TO HELP THE MALAYSIA SYSTEM MATURE INTO A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM, close to the UK and USA scenes.

Giving credit where it is due, Pak Lah did the citizenry a favour by allowing the appointment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the VK Lingam's video tape. This truly opened up the eyes of the people. And the enabler, LOH GWO BURNE, RIGHTLY DESEVED TE KELANA JAYA's PARLIAMENT WIN!

AND THIS RCI EPISODE EVIDENCED THE LOUD CRY OF THE PEOPLE THAT FORMER PM DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD HAD INDEED BASTARDISED AND IMMOLATED THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY. This daed from the 1988 sacking of Lord President Tun Salleh Abas, continued throuhoy=t the remaining years of Dr Mahathir's reign-- and the rotten state of affairs was still carried on, albeit in a smaller magnitude, and less destructive way, IMHO, up till the appointment of of a UMNO lawyer to the third ranked Judicial position, then promoted to second rank, and now awaiting for a few more months to take over the Chief Justice post. Hopefully, as a lesson from losing the two-thirds majority in Parliament, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would not proceed to enable this judicial top post to be further occupied by anyone with less than credible charracter or whose integrity is subject to questioning.


I do not empathise at all with Dr Mahathir's present lamentations as I believe, to a large extent, THE ROT IN THE UMNO-LED GOVERNMENT STARTED A COUPLE OF DECADES AGO,
and THE HALF-ASLEEP "PAK LAH", THE NICE GUY HE WAS PERCEIVED TO BE, JUST F***ED UP THE FEW OPPORTUNITIES TO "FIX IT"!

The winds of change that came along with GE2008 were unexpected in their force -- and it was only made possible with the release of Anwar soon after Abdullah Badawi was in line with his Mr Nice Guy mark. While Mahathir had cause now to admt he made "a mistake" in picking Pak Lah as successor, I believe this mistale served the nation well.

At least Pak Lah allowed the eveil and corrupt ways ofUMNOputras to be publicly displayed -- ala "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES".

I retrospect after the fact of the fall of five states into PKR-PAS-DAP arms, some credit must be given to the ELECTIONS COMMISSION. The conspiracy theory about the last-minute reversal of decision to use the indelible ink worked in faour of the Opposition. The bugbear to allow for "manipulation" did show up in certain cases,including the high-profile REMBAU parliament contest involving Che'Gu Bard and the famous/infamous SIL, but let' see if an Election Petition would open up another spirit from the Pandora's Box.

As for Dr Mahatjir's call to resign, here is my one sen worth ...

WHY SHOULD HE? REMEMBER YOUR OWN DECREE THAT EVEN IF YOU WON BY 1 VOTE AT THE UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S PARTY ELECTION WHEN TENGKU RAZALEIGH CONTESTED AGAINST YOU, YOU STATED FIRMLY YOU WOULD STAY ON AS UMNO PRESIDENT. Which in fact I did agree at that time. I do also agre now, for that's what is meant to be -- the one with a SIMPLE MAJORITY is usually declared the VICTOR, whether you likeit or not. Unless, of course, the crown was "stolen", which may be the case with the famous/infamous ... ah, did I digress?

DR MAHATHIR, YOUR SUCCCESOR REMAINS SAFE AND SOUND BECAUSE HE INHERITED YOUR LEGACY OF THE PARTYT'S REQUIREMENT THAT ANY CHALLENEGER TO THE UMNO PRESIDENCY MUST OBTAIN AMINIMUM NUMBER OF NOMINATIONS (is it 64?) Clearly with the survivors among UMNO's top guns, no one is in sight with the calibre to be able to mount such a challenge.

The current DPM Najib Tun Razak as the CHALLENGER? A veteran journalist well-versed with UMNO affairs I met a couple of dauys ago stated that Najib had no guts. Desi's view is that a Damocles' sword in hanging over the ambitious fatcat,and of course, I agree he has not the balls.

I second many of Sdr KIM QUEK's views, so I would just reiterate that PKR-led HGovernmet must rise up to the challenge of delivering a responsible, clean and responsive Governemnt in Selangor. I have no doubt that in Khalid Ibrahim, with much government and corporate serviceexperience, will be dedicated in proving that the former Opposition party will lay the satge to form the ALTERNSATIVE GOVERNMENT AT SEVERAL MORE STATES AS WELL AS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL FOLLOWING THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS.

The Rakyat's duty is to stay VIGILANT.
Watch over the DAP-led Government in Penang with an Eagle's eyes.
Watch over the PAS-led governments in Kelantan, Kedah and Perak, 24/7 too.

Today I sleep wellA knowing that the Rakyat, regardless of etnnic origins, HAVE CLEARLY RESPONDED TO THE CLARION CALLS BY VARIOUS PARIES -- including from humble, okay even not so humble,but not Goblok, Bloggers! -- THAT "IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE".