Party presidents

PAS Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has rejected the nomination by PAS Kota Baru for him to contest Pak Haji Hadi Awang for the party presidential post. He has been reported by the Malay Mail Online as saying:

"My nomination to contest Hadi as president is a shock that does not help the party’s integrity. In PAS’ history, the post of president has never been contested, especially in the era of ‘ulama leadership’.”

“I worry we are giving a bad signal to the public outside. Although it was to fulfil the requirement under democracy, the position of syura is more noble than democracy.”

“If syura is the best way, then it is appropriate that the leadership of the party is solved through syura.”

The Malay Mail Online added: Literally meaning “consultation”, “syura” refers to the Islamic political concept of administration by consultation of a council of leaders, which PAS also practises through its advisory Syura Council.

South-East Asians in the Nusantara, especially among those untouched or uninfluenced by that newfangled idea called Westminster or even general Western-styled democracy, don't like open debates or policy challenges because of two factors, namely, 'face' (the horror and fear of losing same) and seeming insolence (biadap) from a 'younger' person.

Thus the Indons, an even far more class conscious people than Malaysians, with still a vivid recollection of their proud Srivijaya & Majapahit heritage, emphasize on permusyawaratan or deliberation, presumably and especially among community elders.

The Indons even include this social-cultural imperative in their national ideology, Pancasila (title borrowed from the Buddhist 5-Precepts, and which in turn our Rukunnegara was based on, that is, on the Indon and not Buddhist Pancasila, wakakaka) where in its 4th Sila (Rukun), they wrote:

Kerakyatan Yang Dipimpin oleh Hikmat Kebijaksanaan, Dalam Permusyawaratan dan Perwakilan

[Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst representatives]

Note in particular the word 'unanimity' which implies they (the Indons) don't like open face-losing biadap-ish debate with robust exchanges like the ones in the barbaric West wakakaka. And I presume their 'deliberations amongst representatives' would (in the minds of the pioneering conceptualizers) be behind closed doors, wakakaka.

Aisehman, been chooi mah (face, wakakaka)!

But then Tuan Ibrahim spoiled all of his ('more noble than democracy') syura by concluding his declaration with a “I say thank you for the trust given. But I reject the nomination and urge all other divisions to continue supporting Hadi’s leadership as party president.”

So much for syura, when he has unreservedly deferred to Pak Haji, wakakaka.

But far far more importantly for us, the subtext you should be looking at in Tuan Ibrahim's rejection of his nomination for PAS party presidential election is that PAS ulama don't like nor will countenance democratic process as we know it. Mind you, not that we aren't aware of such thoughts, having already witnessed what's happening in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Taliban-Afghanistan (the real or de facto mindset of Afghanistan).

Thus if you vote PAS, that's what you'll be voting for.

UMNO
Let's take a peep (wakakaka) into UMNO party elections, from which had once led to near irreconcilable splits going the way King Solomon's United Monarchy of Israel finally went, splitting into two separate and mutually hostile nations, namely, the more robust and people's oriented northern kingdom of Israel (of 10 tribes) led by Jeroboam, and the ketuanan southern kingdom of Judah (of 2 tribes*) led by the draconian son of Solomon, Rehoboam.

* according to the bible, written of course by the descendants of the House of Judah, wakakaka, the tribe of Benjamin was with the tribe of Judah in the southern kingdom, a lop-sided union but which sounds so bloody implausible because no Israeli tribe hated the tribe of Judah more than the Benjaminites.

The latter were almost decimated by the Judeans (like Semangat 46 was, politically that was, wakakaka) in a vicious venomous vindictive genocide after David murdered the entire family of Saul following his seizure of the throne.

The near genocidal massacre of the tribe of Benjamin was a la the Chinese 斩草不除根，春风吹又生 (pinyin: zhǎn cǎo bù chú gēn, chūn fēng chuī yòu shēng) to ensure David won't be haunted by subsequent Benjaminite claim to the Israeli throne.

With such a poisonous and bitter relationship between the two tribes, it was more likely those Benjaminites were captives, slaves of or hostages to the tribe of Judah when Solomon's Kingdom split.

Well, there was that infamous coup d'état by Razak against his senior, mentor, partner, supposedly friend and party president Tunku, with all the attendant stories of May 13 being a contrived plot to bring about the forced changeover of power, but alas, that won't fall within our topic of open challenges in party elections in a non-nusantara-ish musyawarat manner wakakaka.

I heard from elders that during Hussein Onn's party president days he was regularly challenged for the party presidential post by an UMNO bloke by the name of Palestine (my uncle isn't too sure about the moniker), though all was done with much humour. It was reported that Palestine said he only did so because he didn't like uncontested elections - if true, kudos to him.

On UMNO party presidential contest, of course there was that humongous one in 1987 which brought about the split of the United Israel UMNO Kingdom where Semangat 46 was then formed by Ku Li, a political entity that was short-lived (and reneged on kau kau by PAS, wakakaka), and which tutup kedai eight years later.

Since then there has been no open challenge for the presidential post though there have been mucho guerrilla activities which even brought down a party president (effectively the PM of Malaysia), wakakaka.

But will we be seeing another 1987 soon? Probably, if the guerrilla boss has his ways wakakaka. Hah, that famed Malay loyalty.

MIC & MCA

In the meanwhile, the MIC and MCA have had their regular aerodynamically-inclined party contests which at times allowed us to witness a unique Malaysian exhibition of flying furniture, wakakaka. Hmmm, I wonder if that explains why the MCA boss has always been appointed to be minister of transport? wakakaka.

Dare I say no one cares a fig for MIC in its current death throes. Whatever one may have to say about Samy Vellu, at least in his time he was completely in charge of the party. But if MIC obeys the instructions of RoS, it might just have a chance of being resuscitated if Dr Subramaniam is elected, notwithstanding the party's silly values about caste and whatnot - ain't it just moronic to believe anyone, a human being, could be born as a member of a higher or lower caste? Pordah!

Once the MCA's aerodynamic version wakakaka was so acrimonious and feral that saw the PM (Dr M), worried about the king-making (wakakaka) Chinese votes, proposed an UMNO man to temporarily head (not helm please, wakakaka) the Malaysian CHINESE Association, wakakaka, so as to stabilize the party wrecked by warring factions a la the 3 Kingdoms.

my reward for you, wakakaka

Memang Malaysia Boleh lor, wakakaka, which incidentally with thanks to Gaafar Baba, for one brief instant made the MCA multiracial, wakakaka. But today it's in a worse state than MIC, virtually a political zombie where one day its ministers may possibly be all from the Senate.

Gerakan

By the by, the Gerakan Party, born out of former MCA president Lim Chong Eu's collaboration with Prof Syed Hussein Alatas (head of Gerakan in its inception), Dr Tan Chee Khoon, Dr JBA Peter, V Veerappan and Prof Wang Gungwu was subsequently fortified by MCA's young Turks led by Dr Lim Keng Yaik who were all expelled by Tan Siew Sin in 1973 after Lim and his then-Erdogens (wakakaka) failed in their Reform Movement.

So, we can even argue that the political terms of Erdogens and refomasi wakakaka were respectively not PAS nor PKR originals, wakakaka. The MCA young Turks' versions were drastic (to Tan Siew Sin) and thus probably more genuine, resulting in them being expelled from their Mothership.

As a side note, the Gerakan Party in its inception just prior to the 1969 general elections was a party headed by intellectuals and socialists (workers), and was immensely popular with the rakyat.

I was informed that many middle and upper class Malays had then viewed the party very very favourably. It could have been the first non-UMNO party to form government but alas, Razak kow-tim-rized it effectively by luring the party into BN, where sadly the once-proud and powerful party degenerated into virtual bondage, like what the Benjaminites probably suffered under the Judeans, and the Judeans likewise in turn under the Babylonians.

I suppose an unflattering term for Gerakan in BN would be 'politically castrated kau kau', wakakaka, though to be fair to Lim KY, in his prime he was politically quite feisty.

Back to Gerakan, within a space of 7 years, the former MCA bloke, Lim KY, became the president of Gerakan. Many alleged that was when Gerakan, like the offspring of one of those long-fin swordtail fish wakakaka, reverted back to its original MCA characters.

Gerakan had quite a robust party election in 2005 when Kerk Choo Ting challenged Lim Keng Yaik for the party presidential post, losing by 963 to his 628 votes, a rough ration of a respectable 3:2.

Sadly, as with most Malaysian political parties, losers like Ku Li and Kerk didn't last long. In fact, on losing the party election, he was removed from his post as Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister. The loss for Gerakan was in a man who had very strong grassroot support.

DAP
DAP lost one of its most highly qualified and capable members in Richard Ho Ung Hun who had heroically won the Sitiawan seat in 1969 from Kam Woon Kah of MCA.

But when Razak's BN was formed in 1972 he hopped across to join MCA and became one of its rising stars. Not unlike Lim Keng Yaik, in 1982 a mere ten years after he joined MCA, he was elected as MCA's deputy president. Richard Ho had then teamed up with Michael Chen to contest the two top posts in MCA, but Michael lost to Lee San Choon.

It was said that Lee San Choon, the victorious party president, was suspicious and perhaps fearful of his new deputy, and probably on the instigation of his inner circle, dropped him from the MCA list of cabinet ministers. We witnessed this happening again in MCA in more recent times, didn't we?

In that following year, in 1983, Richard Ho, having seen the writing on the MCA wall, resigned from the party. His departure was said to have led to a long series of internecine warring in MCA which continues until today, wakakaka.

Now you may ask me why I have talked about Richard Ho under the DAP section of this post when he became a MCA stalwart?

We need to note Richard Ho was personally a highly qualified and very capable man and demonstrated these personal qualities and also his political ability by rising up like a meteor in MCA, I wonder what might have been if he didn't leave DAP?

Many have accused the DAP especially the DAP of today of its seeming dictatorship, but at the same time we are also witnessing the rise of a younger generational leadership, blokes like M Kulasegeran, Gobind Deo, Anthony Loke, Liew Chin Tong, Zairil Khir, and sweeties like Teo Nie Ching, and newcomers like Mohd Ariff Sabri (Sakmongkol AK47). Yes, there is of course Lim GE.

Karpal has left us suddenly and Lim KS isn't exactly a spring chook, so I wonder what or rather who's next?

You are welcome to add in more information about DAP leadership elections but please avoid bullshit propaganda or silly rants (or I won't publish those).