Wee Choo Keong - wakeup call for PKR

What do we make of Wee Choo Keong quitting PKR?

In answering this, there is a danger of a syiok sendiri mentality taking hold and conveniently but dishonestly putting the blame solely on Wee.

When one PKR MP or ADUN leaves the party or worse, defects to the BN, he or she is either not a true believer or a bloody frog; but when several MPs and ADUNs leave PKR, frogs or no frog, the party needs to look at itself in the mirror, painful as this may be.

Why is there this difference between the PKR and DAP (or PAS)?

Of course we need to remember DAP had that most infamous Hee while PAS was duped by Ibrahim Ali into allowing him to stand under the PAS banner in Pasir Mas, but these two are isolated incidents (where if we look carefully, the former was to promote a disadvantaged person into mainstream politics), unlike the embarrassing pack of MPs and ADUNs deserting the PKR ship.

One should recall PKR's former deputy (or was it vice) president Chandra Muzzafar who warned against PKR picking up former DAP members, for the obvious reason if a person can leave party A, he may too party B. Wee would not have been able to join PKR had Chandra been still around. But then, Chandra Muzzafar himself had quitted earlier - no, don't tell me that he was a frog wakakaka because this would be precisely what I meant by PKR refusing to look at itself in the mirror.

Once there were severe criticisms against the DAP for being so tight ass (kedekut) and overly cautious about promoting new members as potential election candidates – the Rocket leaders would vet, screen and scrutinize an applicant a la Shaolin's 36 chambers of ordeal before accepting the person as a likely candidate for election or by-elections.

It’s not unlike but far more demanding than the Chandra Muzzafar doctrine, and in retrospect we have to say the DAP's stringent approach has been justified.

PKR’s problems may be attributed to many weaknesses, namely:

(1) they take on anyone as DUN or Parliamentary candidates, indeed all and sundry,

(2) Anwar Ibrahim plays favourites – otherwise how do you explain a political nobody like Low Gwo Burne being nominated as the PKR candidate for the federal constituency of Kelana Jaya immediately on his joining the party, just a mere 2 weeks before the 05 March 08 general election (why not a faithful and more senior member like sweetie Eli Wong?) or erstwhile best friend Nallakarrupan being prevented from contesting a PKR VP position in an earlier party election to ensure (it was alleged) Azmin Ali gets the last VP slot, and

(3) worse of all, there exists in the party a prevalent UMNO-like avaricious mentality among some of its leaders - these are the more likely people to defect.

If we recall, Wee left DAP because, it was rumoured, he felt Lim KS didn’t fight hard enough for him when our remarkable judiciary dipped its grubby toes into political waters and awarded the BB seat Wee won to the losing MCA candidate, a man already rejected by the BB voters.

It was said that Wee has never forgiven Lim KS for that when he saw by contrast how Lim KS had fought so hard for another person.

So this time, why has Wee left PKR? It’s too easy enough to accuse him of being a frog (he isn't ... yet) but that would just be avoiding the truth. Let's see what he has to say.

Wee claimed that Selangor PKR and the state government, meaning Khalid Ibrahim, had attempted to cover up the scandal involving a state-owned mining company, presumably the same issue raised angrily by another PKR MP, S Manikavasagam of Kapar.

If what has been alleged is true, then what was it I say about 'a prevalent UMNO-like avaricious mentality among some of its leaders'?

Yes, the PKR faithful have condemned Manikavasagam as if he has been a traitor for exposing alleged dodgy dealings (on top of which PKR was allegedly attempting to cover that up). No doubt they would Wee as well – but that’s precisely what I meant by 'avoiding the truth'. That’s something for PKR Selangor to work out.

That Anwar Ibrahim is now far too well preoccupied to intervene or mediate should not be the issue as Anwar has never been a firm leader or a good manager for PKR – au contraire he has been accused, correctly so, of playing favourites. So the remaining PKR leadership better get on top of this issue, real fast before UMNO exploits it further - that is, if they have the guts, sincerity and will.

As for Wee, I am not sure where he will now go as the life span of an independent in Malaysian politics is equal to that of a tadpole during a drought, unless he is unconscionable enough to reinvent himself as a Chinese version of a grubby 'bullsh*t bullsh*t bullsh*t' ethnic warrior wakakaka.

Quo vadis Wee? Quo vadis PKR?