I dream of good politics, but I see nightmares ahead

Hasn't it been thrilling to read Malaysiakini's Anwar hints at more 'good news' from Sabah which reported:

In what seems like a flashback to the Sept 16 episode, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim today hinted at more “good news” to come from Sabah soon. 

This follows the defection of Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing and and Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin from BN last weekend. 

“I will be back in Sabah on Aug 12, with some more possible good news... We will have to be prepared,” he told reporters with a grin.

Hope you guys have been grinning together with Anwar and are prepared for his 'possible good news', which incidentally reeks of 916 odour. As usual, his 'good news' is about political defections - of course, what else did or do you expect, 'good' policies, 'good' candidates, 'good' governance?

And if indeed his standard shortcut stab at gaining majority rule in GE-13 via such wheeling and dealing proves to be successful, I wonder whether Anwar Ibrahim as the next PM will be a dream or another déjà vu nightmare, or perhaps both?


Both a dream and a nightmare? Can ah?

Yes, it'll a dream for the manmanlai gang (PKR's inner leadership core) and blind supporters who will no doubt exalt, acclaim and revel at Anwar's ascendancy to majority rule via such dealing and wheeling, rather than through 1st class democratic process, policies and governance.


And I am suddenly reminded of journalist Terence Netto's erudite political advice that: '... politics is also about providing opportunities, rewarding loyalties and managing expectations of the party faithful [...] … sections of the party - mainly ex-Umno members - whose 10 years (1998-2008) in the political wilderness … has had them ravening for whatever rewards were to be had.' Hallelujah!


Thus, it's little wonder PKR had rejected the Haris-RPK's MCLM's offer of 30 candidates of exceptional credentials with quality provenance to PKR.

How in the world did Brother Haris and RPK ever imagine highly and thoroughly vetted good quality candidates would be welcomed by PKR?


And it'll prove to be a terrible nightmare for not only true democracy but the rakyat as well because with such low class politics, consisting of cross-party wheeling and dealings, and 'those people' involved in cross-party wheeling and dealings, our future lies not in the hands of our elected representatives who will develop and implement good policies and programs for the rakyat's interests, but rather from the accidental crumbs that may fall from the grubby grabbing greedy hands of those merchants of self interests, sales to highest bidder and snake-oil cure-all.

snake oil salesman

Sure, no politician or political party is perfect, but it seems Anwar cannot stop himself in his love for manipulation of political affiliations specifically political defections as if there is no other aspects of politics to focus his principal attention, time and efforts on.


Anwar as de facto leader of PKR doesn't interest me and I couldn't care too hoots about what he does, but alas, he is also the selected leader for Pakatan. It annoys, nay, offends me greatly that he continues to indulge in, in my humble opinion, shallow, sleazy and short term allegiances with odds of commitments to good governance not dissimilar to speculations on margin trading.


That's a standard of politics which slumbers shamefully and sleazily at the extreme low rating end on the Good Politics scale, a mere menial miserable 1 where 10 would be perfect and 5 just tolerable in a democracy.

And it seems now that his pitiful political proclivity has come full circle, coincidentally in the very state he did his (black) 'magic' in 1994. Then, he had, with sleigh of hands and support from frogs turned into (bumi) princes, shape-changed Pairin Kitingan from CM-elect into Opposition Leader, or from prince into a frog.


Thus, we learn from the Anwar 1994 magic-show that Sabah is not only the 'Land below the winds' but the land where the Malaysian political word katak came into prominence.


Should we not expect better from this self proclaimed political reformer? So do excuse me when (not if) I repetitively exclaim 'Reformasi my bloody foot!'

As a DAP supporter, naturally I want a Pakatan victory, but do we need Anwar and his Dökkálfar trolls to achieve that?

Dökkálfar - Dwarfs in Norse mythology wakakaka

I personally do not believe we do, for if we leave aside the separate tragic issue following the general and state elections of 1969, the success of the rakyat's voice manifested in that election outcome convincingly demonstrated we then didn't require any false idol, nor will we for GE-13.


But lamentably, I realize I'm banging my head against a wall, one built of invincible hatred for BN, a humongous hatred so blinding that its advocates cannot see the woods (of the need for an incorruptible true democracy) for the trees (to blindly ABU).

Anyway, be that as it may, will the Great Man repeat the dubious success of his 1994 ambitious amphibious attempt at power grab? Free Malaysia Today hinted at that in its Sabah defections: All eyes on Ghapur saying that:

Even as Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has promised to deliver “more positive news” from Sabah, escalating rumours from Kota Kinabalu have named former Sabah deputy chief minister Ghapur Salleh as the next Umno MP likely to defect. 

Speculations are rife that Ghapur will be among others whom Anwar will meet when he travels to Sabah on Aug 12.

If we recall that the Beaufort MP (also an ADUN), Lajim Ukin, together with Kemabong ADUN, Rubin Balang were the super-frogs in 1994, seduced by the UMNO DPM Anwar Ibrahim into jumping from PBS over to UMNO-BN, I suppose we could say it's a Machiavellian reunion of sorts between Anwar and Lajim, on two counts, firstly of the 1994 conspirators, and secondly, wakakaka, that of former UMNO-ites.

A few days back, Anwar had generously and most imperiously ‘granted’ Lajim and the other BN defector, Bumburing, a carte blanche imprimatur to nominate their own party candidates (respectively from Pakatan Perubahan Sabah and Sabah Reform Movement) for the Sabah state elections, promising unilaterally and preemptively, as per PKR SOP (standard operating procedure), that Pakatan (not just PKR) will withdraw from any seats that PPS and SRM candidates stand in (which will likely be all in Sabah, wakakaka). For more, read The Malaysian Insider's Anwar: Pakatan willing to cede Sabah seats to local parties.

Imperiously? Unilaterally? Preemptively? 'Twas a Malaysian Caesar who came, saw and granted!

I’m sure the other 'supposed' members of Pakatan, DAP and PAS, must be rapt and ecstatic on hearing Anwar grandiloquent offer to local parties (which seemingly in the eyes of the Great One don't include the local DAP with Sabahan leadership and Sabahan membership, or PAS), ...

... and which if accepted by DAP and PAS, will initiate the withdrawal of all DAP Sabahan candidates and PAS's ones from the coming Sabah state elections and virtually the consequential disappearance of DAP and PAS from Sabah. But then, that's Anwar, that's PKR, that's manmanlai unilateral policy.

WTF, after all, this man and his party leaders can and have promised 20% oil royalties (an increase from 5%), continuing if not increase in fuel subsidies, removal of this and that tax/excise duties, no requirement to pay back study loans (new meaning of 'loans'?) and god-knows-what-else.

To get into Putrajaya, he sure as hell can promise any damn thing, including I suppose, Chinese needn't balik Tiongsun, Christmas carols can be sung at shopping mall, Hudud as Malaysia's legal system, discrimination against LGBT (reformasi discriminatory? wakakaka), school year-end holidays will stay as they are, non-Muslim school children needn't pray again at school to Islamic doa, and the bells of the Hindu Temple in Kampung Rawa may ring, assuming there is still a temple there, wakakaka.

But let’s examine Anwar’s generosity to Lajim and Bumburing a bit more. Perhaps we might have unfairly faulted the Great Leader who may yet prove to be indeed generous to a fault wakakaka, and also sensitive to Sabahan needs, INDEED INDEED INDEED, which succinctly explains why he appointed his beloved Azmin Ali, a Selangorean, as head of Sabah PKR wakakaka.

Or, on the other hand, perhaps he doesn’t give a sh*t about winning rule in a mere state like Sabah, thus demystifying his seeming generosity to Lajim and Bumburing, but is only interested in federal seats (of course including Lajim's and Bumburing's), for it will be the latter which in adequate numbers will see him into Putrajaya as the next PM. So in the final analysis, it's still wheeling and dealing.

Indeed, Anwar Ibrahim has been, is and will be always about Anwar Ibrahim.

…. Hmmm, perhaps with possibly only one exception, Azmin Ali wakakaka!

But ultimately we must ask ourselves the question, will Anwar and his PKR (former UMNO) colleagues  provide for us a truly democratic Malaysia with all the attendant transparency, accountability, competency and good public governance, expected in a true democracy?

Apart from the vexing question on the quality of PKR's inner core leadership, there is also the question of super-frogs like Lajim with a less than admirable political track record since 1994. Will he and other fellow cold-blood political amphibians prove to be a  déjà vu nightmare for Pakatan, like the remarkable revolting revolving-door frog, Nasarudin Hashim, ADUN for Bota, who showed his amazing chameleon-like nature, being initially an UMNO ADUN, then metamorphosing into a PKR one before regressing into an UMNO ADUN.

And recall how the Great One acclaimed the Nasaruddin’s defection “... reflected the sentiments of his voters, namely the Malays in his constituency ... as the beginning of a new wave”, but alas, do also recall how the lompat sini sana sini political acrobatics of Nasarudin Hashim initiated the defections of erstwhile PKR Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Osman Jailu, and that remarkable capsicum-spray-loving Mrs Hee.

Do we wish for this sort of politics, of voting for Party A only to find we have unknowingly voted in Party B? Are we going to accept continuous arrogant betrayals of our rights and gross insults to our choices? Are we mere tools or serfs to such pollies?

'Don't cry for me Perak' may also become 'Don't cry for me Malaysia'.

If we wish for manmanlai politics, then why even bother to have elections every five years? Why don't we have a far more economical election system, with savings to the tax payers, where we vote only once every 50 years, a system in which we accept within that 50 years political defections as a constant and legitimate process, where both states and federal governments change every now and then in our Banana Repub Kingdom in accordance to the tide and direction of defections ..... well, at least until Malaysia's secular governments become subordinate to a clerical council.

We can even reap additional gambling tax as we our political lords can then grant gambling licence to gambling tycoons like Vincent Tan, for their companies to introduce gambling bets on likely political defections. Instead of giving gaming odds like 1, 2 or half a goal, the game may involve odds of plus-minus 2 (or x) weeks or days for a punt on the likely date of the defection of a particular MP or ADUN, so on so forth. Such a political system will ensure there is an energetic ongoing free flowing movement of pollies between parties through defections, and thus keep the gambling system viable.

Am I being too naïve to demand an exceptional if not ideal state of politics, for a score of 8 on the Good Politics scale, at least on the side opposite to BN?

Okay, why don't we hear what Adelyn Yeoh, a 20-year old sweetie, an undergraduate student in Mount Holyoke College, USA, and also a contributor to the blog at CEKU (UK & Eire Council for Malaysian Students), has to say in an article titled In defence of idealism (in politics) in The Malaysian Insider (extracts): 

… the world has potential to be better than it is because humanity has a knack of coming together in times of desperation and great need. The way I see things there is great hope for great change. This is what gives me my belief that idealism is the main driver for substantial change. All this I have observed in my short 20 years of existence.

Having said that, idealism is commonly misunderstood to be synonymous with naïvety, that an idealistic person lacks a keen sense of reality when that may not even be the case. 

Idealism is not an illusion, it is a goal. It is a point of perfection that we are all aiming for. In some ways all of us have romantic idealism. The difference is that it is more pronounced in some than others. This is not to say that idealists are unaware of the harsh realities that are present, more often than not they are keenly aware of them.

Idealists are the movers and changers of society. Instead of whining about situations they realise the severity of their situation and strive to get out of it. They focus on the end point and realise that there is a possibility of actually reaching that point. And for that they keep dreaming.

The Malaysian political arena as we know is experiencing an extremely volatile period. With GE13 looming, tensions are high everywhere. Many are caught up in the PR-BN tussle. With this, ideals are extremely necessary for politics.

Ideals should take priority over political affiliation simply because ideals are constant but political parties are not. If you have ideals you know what you want and you can always choose to vote for a party based on what you want or need. As voters, this is how we can move above and beyond partisanship. We should champion values and ideas instead of political parties.

Indeed, sweetie, I’m 100% with you that ‘Ideals should take priority over political affiliation simply because ideals are constant but political parties are not’, and on which I have regularly remind readers that while I am currently a DAP supporter, my vote shouldn’t be taken for granted by DAP. In short, I’m not a mindless moronic Myrmidon wakakaka.

Myrmidons wakakaka

Read also: The 2 dreams of Lim Kit Siang