Anwar Ibrahim owes EC an apology

In this immediate post by-election stage, I feel it would be wise not to conduct a post mortem of the election campaign yet, to give the event a cooling off period, and instead to examine whether a number of prejudices and unfairness against the state organs responsible for the election and vital to its safe and peaceful conduct, have any grounds.

If we are interested in a 2-party system, where I questioned the aptitude of our Malaysian mentality, maturity and meanness for such a parliamentary system in my post Permatang Pauh - zillion miles from 2-party system, then we need to stop being unreasonably and blindly fanatical for or against anyone.

We need to lift the veil of sheer hatred for the other side and to see them as fellow Malaysians with a different political affiliation.

That’s a basic start to support our discussions in this post.

Let’s consider the EC.

The EC has the notoriety of being accused as an instrument of, not the State, but the ruling party, UMNO. And there’s some truth in this, though we need to see how much.

By the convention and biased logic of our prejudices, UMNO Arif Shah should have been the winner of the Permatang Pauh by-election, the constituency’s MP. And Anwar Ibrahim would have been politically cold storaged, virtually for good!

And didn’t Anwar Ibrahim himself tell the world at the very announcement of the by-election that he was bracing for ‘massive’ vote-rigging by the government to block him from winning the by-election? Read Malaysiakini Anwar braces for 'massive' vote-rigging.

Was that an Anwar ‘pre-emptive attack’, to blame the government if he were to lose and at the same time, ‘save face’ because the voters in his hor siew (tiger’s lair) in Permatang Pauh were to reject his candidature?

Then, Malaysiakini reported in 5 'phantom' buses stopped, MP and sons arrested that PKR leader Gobalakrishnan, MP for Padang Serai, and his two sons plus a supporter, adopted the PKR ‘core’ group’s habit of stopping buses, allegedly full of phantom voters.

OK, where was the evidence that the passengers were phantom voters?

Assuming for one second that they were, could those 5 busloads counter the 15,000 plus majority?

Recall the Ijok by-election where PKR supporters blocked the car of Najib by placing flower pots on the road, with one sitting on the bonnet of that car? And in Lunas?

There has been a propensity by some PKR fanatical followers to take the law into their hands like the ruthless lawless vigilante corp of the American Wild West, stringing up people they suspected (only suspected, no proof whatsoever) of crimes whilst forgetting that in their vigilante action, they would be committing crimes themselves.

I am aghast that a member of parliament would stoop to such disgraceful grandstanding antics.

They were rightfully arrested for taking the law into their own hands, though the reported police manhandling of them, if true, were unacceptable.

Well … with all these accusations against the authority, Anwar Ibrahim won with an increased majority (to that enjoyed by his wife, Dr Wan Azizah, on 08 March).

One important question - has anyone other than the Anwar Ibrahim family held the Permatang Pauh's seat since he was first voted in as the constituency's parliamentary representative? Even when he was in prison?

NOOOoo? What, really? Well, the EC has been hopeless then, hasn't it?

I recall that on the night of March 08, after the political tsunamic consequences were known to our delighted surprise, Susan Loone and I, with a gasp, gawd and omigosh ;-), agreed grudgingly that the EC and the election it conducted were fair afterall.

But if you ask the anwaristas, they will undoubtedly tell you that if not for the dodgy-ness of the EC, PKR would have won every seat (for MPs and ADUNs) contested in the general election, with Anwar Ibrahim crowned as the nation’s political supremo on 09 March 2008 - never mind that he then couldn’t stand for election, or PKR didn’t contest every seat – why let mere facts stand in the way of a damn useful prejudice.

Even if PKR were to have won every seat in the WP as well as those in 12 other States, they would have still grumbled about the missed State – such is their blind fanaticism, hatred for, and lack of reason against any opposition to their leader.

No doubt there are areas that the EC can improve on ...

... but ... ‘massive’ vote-rigging? ...

... I believe the 'great' Anwar Ibrahim owes the EC an apology.

;-) but do you believe he could ever be so gracious and humble? wakakaka!