The Poison Within PKR - Part II

[… continuing from The Poison Within PKR]

Gobala might have hailed from MIC, supposedly a stigma that anwaristas have been hurling at him since he spoke out against Anwar Ibrahim. That’s the infantile stupidity of anwaristas. They seem to have forgotten that their very own icon and his blue-eye boy hailed from UMNO, and as another example, Chua Jui Meng was from MCA, etc.

Dismissing Anwar’s critics by pointing to their original political affiliations (Gobala from MIC, Zaid Ibrahim from UMNO, etc) while ignoring those of Anwar and Azmin (and Chua JM) is childish, double-standard, not objective, self deceiving, and can even eventually lead/escalate to accusing-stereotyping people like Gobala of being a “typical Indian”. Bet you that label has already been voiced within some groups in PKR.

Then, there is also a tendency to conflate or confuse Gobala’s frustration or anger at being left out of the top echelon by Anwar in favour of Surendran, a new comer (member or otherwise), with the current BN black campaign against Pakatan. Thus, Gobala is being unjustly blamed as a BN mole/frog/tool whatever, out to discredit PKR.

This moronic approach is no different to the PKR self deceiving syiok sendiri (masturbatory) accusation that Zaid Ibrahim was an UMNO plant* to destroy PKR from within when he raised issues on the lack of integrity of the party polling process. While Zaid was no doubt ambitious (anything wrong with that?) and had behaved erratically, the issues he raised were legitimate, but till today has yet to be addressed and will probably never be addressed. It’s such (continuous) sweeping of the dodgy-ness under the carpet that Jonson Chong has warned “the party’s days may be numbered with or without a new line-up.”

* note I disagree with my hero Karpal Singh on Zaid Ibrahim; I was disappointed with Karpal for saying that Zaid doesn't have a trustworthy face; that's a stupid and unworthy statement to have come from Karpal - also see my post Zaid Ibrahim - suffers no fool gladly

The truth of why Zaid or Gobala has shown such anger at PKR leadership is far more closer to home, within PKR itself, rather than from UMNO or MIC. The dodgy PKR party polling has not only frustrated Zaid and Gobala, but also several other members like Jonson Chong, Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Chegubard) and perhaps Christine Liew, and outsiders like Haris Ibrahim and RPK. Yes, even Haris had sneered at the conduct of the polls and questioned the integrity of its process.

There is a coterie headed by the trio of Anwar-Azmin-Saifuddin (both Dr's Wan Azizah and Syed Husin are just puppets) who treat other PKR leaders not within their camp or control as dangerous rivals, to suppress or keep in check. Azmin fears Zaid as a far more charismatic and capable leader, therefore the party polling took on a “life of its own” wakakaka.

Alas for Gobala, he and Loh Gwo Burne wakakaka had not only voiced their preference for Zaid but also their disdain for Azmin Ali during the recent party polls – see my previous post Loh Gwo Burne & Gobala - one-term MPs?

While Gobala and Loh voiced their lack of support for Azmin, they were very careful to show their continuing loyalty to Anwar Ibrahim, but those two should have known better, especially Gobala who has been in PKR for 12 years. He should have realized by now that Azmin is so intimately close to Anwar that they’re virtually inseparable twins – in simpler terms, Azmin is Anwar and Anwar is Azmin. So Gobala and Loh’s hair splitting on their loyalty had been in vain, because the moment they showed their non-support for Azmin, in Anwar’s eyes they are as useless (and dangerous) as Zaid Ibrahim.

Thus it was hardly surprising that Gobala was sidelined in the party selection of the 3 appointed (not elected) VPs. Surendran was a choice in place of Gobala to appease the PKR Indian members.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this is not about Surendran nor indeed had Surendran played any active, direct or conscious role in the churning of the poison within PKR – he’s just an innocent newcomer, a convenient Nallakarupan-ish tool for the Anwar-Azmin-Saifuddin coterie.

But we would be deceitful to ourselves to ignore the fact that among PKR members, Gobala is by far more senior than Surendran, has been far more active in party events thus made far more sacrifices, and probably has more internal party support.

And haven’t party seniority and living the party's ‘trials & tribulations’ been the Azmin Ali camp’s arguments on why Azmin was far more deserving than Zaid Ibrahim of the post of party deputy president?

The blind double-standard hypocrites they are, their argument of ‘no to parachutist’ in the Azmin versus Zaid Ibrahim election tussle obviously doesn’t apply to the Gobala or Surendran case.

Such double standard hypocrisy and Machiavellian manipulation to marginalize those members posing a threat to Azmin Ali have been the deadly ingredients which brew the poison with PKR. Recall, Nallakarupan* left the party totally pissed because he was told by Anwar Ibrahim not to contest the VP position so as to make way for Azmin Ali. Such was the poison fomented in the party then, such is the poison now!

* Nalla has aligned himself to BN because as a political animal, where could he go, after his traumatic severance of ties with Anwar Ibrahim? The DAP has a rule of not accepting anyone from its ally PKR. Thus I blame Anwar for driving him into the arms of BN.

It’s ironical that Gobala, once Anwar's chief-bodek-er, who personally turun padang with his two sons and some supporters during the Permatang Pauh by-election to do the hard yards for Anwar Ibrahim, even unto embarrassing themselves with the PKR core group’s habit of stopping buses, allegedly full of phantom voters wakakaka - see my post Buses of phantom voters with water bottles - is now so full of hatred for his erstwhile hero.

I recall reading about a PKR assembly prior to the 2008 general election, where Gobala was the only member who called for three cheers for Anwar Ibrahim wakakaka, such was his fervour for his once-respected leader. I guess now it’s three jeers.

Paraphrasing, hell hath no fury like an acolyte scorned, and Gobala has been venting his hellish fury at his once-adored leader Anwar Ibrahim.

What Gobala has been doing lately is certainly out of spite, anger and from a frustration he knows is unlikely to be ever acquitted by the PKR leadership. After all, it's the very top leadership which has brought about the monumental grievances and deep-rooted sense of frustration for Gobala and many others, thus those leaders are hardly the people to address the great wrong felt by those outraged by the questionable party election process - see also my post PKR party election - the horror stories continue and what Chegubard said about Anwar and Azmin.



Now, what Gobala has been doing is not right of course. But as I have advised, anwaristas (there's no hope for the anwaristas so I'm addressing my advice to reasonable thinking people in PKR) PKR members should pause and consider why this once die-hard supporter of Anwar Ibrahim, almost of kamikaze-like dedication for the so-called Great Reformer, is now attacking him, rather than continue to deceive themselves by stupidly dismissing Gobala as an ex-MIC mole planted to destroy PKR from within.

What Gobala is doing is not right, but what Anwar-Azmin-Saifuddin have done is far worse than just not right.

[to be continued …]