Desi enters the commentary and debate with reluctance, and it's also because of what Raja Petra Kamarudin wrote about the episode relating to the recalcitrant PKR MP for Kulim Bandar Baru, starting another controversy in his lodging a police report again fellow PR MP (from PAS) Khalid Samad because of opposing stands on the use of the term "Allah" issue.
Let me start from a comment I just posted at Haris Ibrahim's blog on this episode and its related events/commentaries.
"
ylchong Says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation. Hey, many of non-PKR members speak from a theoretical perspectoive, adding speculation to innuendoes and rumours that don’t help the Agenda for Change or Oppoisition cause.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim/DSAI spent six years in jail on what many of us believed was conviction on trumped up charges. He knew how rotten UMNO had fallen and so he divorced from UMNO to enhance PKN-PKR founded by his wife Datin Wan Azizah.
Now DSAI is facing a REPEAT (remember de javu?) of what got him into jail away from politics, and here socalled supporters for CHANGE/Reformation to overthrow the evil BN-UMNO government are adding fuel to fire to indulge in non-production speculation and innuendoes to hurt DSAI’s fight to remain free to prepare Pakatan Rakyat for GE13 — if you people can’t help his cause, at least pray for him to remain strong instead of pouring cold water. This guy need aall the spiritual strength to fight the UMNO regime known for its CRUL AND ILLEGAL WAYS OF DEMOLISHING THIE ENEMIES — forgetten about Salleh Abas’ sacking, VK Lingam, Eusoff Chin, Teong Beng Hock already?
I’m going to share a personal case of referencing a party activist — let’s call him AA — to PKR Hq for action — I accompanied 2 AA’s victims, ch=eated of RM2,000 minus RM1,000; the other of about RM20,000. After due process by the Disciplinary Committeee, this AA was warned to behave himself. At least he had to remove the pictures of party leaders, including DSAI and Wan Azuu=izah on his four-wheeler, and now he has quietened down and no more going around Seremban town “conning” more victims, or has he? I’m citing this case that even for a lesser known PKR member (not a wakil rakyat), IT OULD BE DICFFICULT TO BUILD A CASE TO HAVE AA SACKED, what more when Zul Noordin is an MP!
Cheers, Stay the course, YL, Desi
PS: I apologise if I had written a longish comment, and if I did digress, my repentance is I’ll pray hr=ard to recruit more of you non-members to join PKR so that you know better the challnenges facing a political party 10 years old compared to its rivals of 40-50 years or more…
DESIDERATA: To be continued...
Taking a breather to laze by sunshine and sea -- or should it read the Other way, sea and sunshine? -- Desi cometh back from PD to resume this post a day later by a Cut&Pastry, from fellow Blogger called Pak Sako. I am assuming I have got his AP; otherwise, I will gladly do other community service in penance (I realised I used another word wrong above, " ", but what's writ remains in cyber space so we shall not desecrate the first rites! If you no understand mubo-jumbo, blame it on tuu mush tehtari'!:)
Although I have views to share on various recent events and issues, I have been occupied and have not been able to blog.
But I shall take a moment to comment on the Zulkifli Noordin matter.
Zaid Ibrahim is
of the view that Zulkifli Noordin should be given the boot, and
the sooner the better. Personally, I concur. The person in question has breached party and coalition lines by taking undiscussed renegade action against
a coalition member.
The public's disappointment over the PKR leadership council's
decision to give the disciplinary committee up to one month to decide on Zulkifli Noordin's position is understandable. I too was expecting a more forthright handling of the issue by PKR. However that was not to be.
Haris Ibrahim, for example,
laments over this lack of decisiveness and its political cost to PKR and Pakatan Rakyat as a whole. Yes, I believe there could be a political cost. But there are political costs either way.
I now speculate on and rationalise why PKR did what it did. There could be valid reasons. It could be possible that the political cost of taking this path is lower.
While a rapid sacking of Zulkifli Noordin could signal to the public that PKR is capable of rapid and decisive action, I believe there is merit in taking the current approach of going through the due party processes, such as submitting Zulkifli Noordin to the disciplinary committee prior to what could be an inevitable execution.
Remember that Anwar is the de facto leader of the party, not the official leader. Most importantly he is not and should not be seen as the dictatorial hand of PKR: enemies might politically exploit this impression. Moreover, if PKR is what it really stands for, then this sort of dictatorial rule is not in keeping with PKR’s stated culture of consensus and democratic decision-making. Anwar therefore should be and should be seen as a leader who promotes and abides by this culture of consensus and one who is able to give the subject fair hearing and a chance to have a say.
After that, the party could proceed to expel Zulkifli Noordin.
This is precisely the move that I (would like to) believe Anwar has taken.
And I believe there is virtue in taking this route.
First, it defuses any possibility of sensationalising Zulkifli Noordin’s expelling and turning him into a martyr and giving him the opportunity to garner more support than he deserves. By taking this route, we dampen any possible gains that Zulkifli Noordin could make, put him to shame for his poor actions and then sack him without fanfare. Second, there is also value in retaining the freedom to produce the trump card at will. Instead of letting their hand be forced (to immediately sack Zulkifli Noordin), Anwar and PKR are choosing the option to deploy this trump card by their own will at a strategic moment. Third, party decisions must at least appear to be as if they were made after having been given due consideration, not as if they were made spontaneously or haphazardly. I'm sure
Machiavelli,
Sun Tzu and
Kautilya alluded to such things in their respective magnum opuses.
Of essence here is speed, as is the view of our honourable prime minister (
"Speed is the new performance benchmark";
The Malaysian Insider). Thus the disciplinary committee should not
wait for the tail end of the one month it is accorded to convene and decide. It should display vigorous dynamism. It should get going and pass its judgement
as soon as possible.
The single notable drawback to all this is that the public may lack the patience to attempt to comprehend the subtleties of decisionmaking, and it is often tricky for political groups to explain such strategies to the public without being seen as verbose, cunning, or laying bare their strategising to rival political groups.
In the meantime, let us sit back and watch how it all plays out. As a French diplomat once noted, between a crisis and a catastrophe, we might as well have a glass of champagne.
→ 12:51 PM 
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