S Thayaparan
Published: Jul 15, 2024 11:51 AM
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
Published: Jul 15, 2024 11:51 AM
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
- Winston S Churchill, former UK prime minister
COMMENT | In an interview with Utusan Malaysia, DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok, who has a reputation for being combative (for mostly the right reasons), played the victim card when it came to the recent by-election debacle, which was Sungai Bakap.
She made some claims that need to be scrutinised because what Kok is doing without naming names is pointing to a familiar bogeyperson, Umno, when the reality may be much worse.
Kok claimed that “some members of the political coalition asked us not to organise rallies and not be too bold because when we organise rallies, many people will come”, which is strange because this was a straight fight between PKR and PAS. One would assume that PKR would want to have a long-time comrade galvanise the non-Malay vote.
So, who were these coalition members who told the DAP to keep a low profile?
She made some claims that need to be scrutinised because what Kok is doing without naming names is pointing to a familiar bogeyperson, Umno, when the reality may be much worse.
Kok claimed that “some members of the political coalition asked us not to organise rallies and not be too bold because when we organise rallies, many people will come”, which is strange because this was a straight fight between PKR and PAS. One would assume that PKR would want to have a long-time comrade galvanise the non-Malay vote.
So, who were these coalition members who told the DAP to keep a low profile?
Is Kok implying that Umno told the DAP to keep a low profile and if so, what was PKR’s response to this? PKR, as the best hand in the game, political analyst Bridget Welsh noted has a problem with ratcheting up expectations instead of downplaying them - “Rather than ratchet down expectations, they are building them up - a common practice of PKR”, which explains why someone like Rafizi Ramli was running riot instead of running silent.
Absurd statement
Kok implied that it was Umno who gave the stand-down orders whingeing - “What could we do? We could not enter the villages; we were chased out. They didn’t want our presence to be too obvious and we adhered (to the request). This was a sign of respect to our partners,” in the context of the criticism by an Umno veteran.
DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok
Does anyone else see the absurdity in this statement? Firstly, you are a coalition partner in a federal government. If you are chased out of villages, what are the federal police and election apparatus doing about such electoral intimidation?
Secondly, how much influence does Umno have when it comes to a PKR by-election, which enables them to give orders to the DAP, with PKR saying nothing?
Kok went on with the same talking points about how the DAP is a multicultural party and the propaganda that is used against them has hampered their forays into the rural Malay heartland.
Look, the DAP has had decades to cultivate a rural base but the reality is that they concentrated on getting the urban and semi-urban non-Malay, specifically Chinese votes.
DAP was more than happy to leave the Malay vote to various Malay-centric parties, which is why they now have to deal with Madani’s “don’t spook the Malay mantra”, and who can forget that the justification for hooking up with Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang reminded us, the basis for hooking up with Mahathir was the rural Malay vote and of course, Bersatu was different from the Malay-based Umno.
And then there is the dilemma with Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, which is meant as a distraction. Kok said - “However when we get into loggerheads with Umno and Umno Youth like before, the Malays see us as being rude and racist.”
Familiar malarkey
First of all, the Malays have moved on from Umno and the only people who seem interested in what they have to say are the denizens of Madaniville.
DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng has no problem talking about the scurrilous attacks by MCA on the police and the home minister but as usual, DAP likes taking on soft targets.
Does anyone else see the absurdity in this statement? Firstly, you are a coalition partner in a federal government. If you are chased out of villages, what are the federal police and election apparatus doing about such electoral intimidation?
Secondly, how much influence does Umno have when it comes to a PKR by-election, which enables them to give orders to the DAP, with PKR saying nothing?
Kok went on with the same talking points about how the DAP is a multicultural party and the propaganda that is used against them has hampered their forays into the rural Malay heartland.
Look, the DAP has had decades to cultivate a rural base but the reality is that they concentrated on getting the urban and semi-urban non-Malay, specifically Chinese votes.
DAP was more than happy to leave the Malay vote to various Malay-centric parties, which is why they now have to deal with Madani’s “don’t spook the Malay mantra”, and who can forget that the justification for hooking up with Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang reminded us, the basis for hooking up with Mahathir was the rural Malay vote and of course, Bersatu was different from the Malay-based Umno.
And then there is the dilemma with Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, which is meant as a distraction. Kok said - “However when we get into loggerheads with Umno and Umno Youth like before, the Malays see us as being rude and racist.”
Familiar malarkey
First of all, the Malays have moved on from Umno and the only people who seem interested in what they have to say are the denizens of Madaniville.
DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng has no problem talking about the scurrilous attacks by MCA on the police and the home minister but as usual, DAP likes taking on soft targets.
DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng
But then again we have seen all this malarkey before. Remember in that not-so-great debate between Guan Eng and then-MCA president Choi Soi Lek, where the former said - “It is discrimination when Umno tells the Malays they cannot progress without Umno. (I say) We can all progress together.”
Well, is anyone in DAP telling this to UMNO now or is DAP still beating a dead horse with MCA? Wait, don’t answer that. Apparently DAP still thinks it is better not to confront someone like Akmal because the Malays will think it is rude even though a majority of them have shifted their allegiance to Perikatan Nasional/PAS.
So it is better for these Malays to think of DAP as whipping boys rather than a political party that opposes a theocratic state because God knows, nobody wants to spook the Malays.
Years of demonising MCA as a “running dog” for the establishment should have been a lesson for DAP, but now they are slowly learning the cost of doing business with Malay power structures on a federal level.
Not rocking the boat
When some non-Malay Pakatan Harapan partisans tell people who demand reform not to rock the Harapan boat - much like how Lim told non-Malays that they do not need to “beg” - it is exactly the same position MCA was when it was balancing expectations in the BN coalition.
DAP never gave MCA the benefit of this excuse, and neither should anyone who believes in any kind of institutional reform.
These days, the people are left wondering if DAP will cave when it comes to important policy issues because, with the creation of this coalition government, all they seem interested in doing is justifying the policies of the government, even if it goes against their campaign manifesto or more damning, their so-called principles.
But then again we have seen all this malarkey before. Remember in that not-so-great debate between Guan Eng and then-MCA president Choi Soi Lek, where the former said - “It is discrimination when Umno tells the Malays they cannot progress without Umno. (I say) We can all progress together.”
Well, is anyone in DAP telling this to UMNO now or is DAP still beating a dead horse with MCA? Wait, don’t answer that. Apparently DAP still thinks it is better not to confront someone like Akmal because the Malays will think it is rude even though a majority of them have shifted their allegiance to Perikatan Nasional/PAS.
So it is better for these Malays to think of DAP as whipping boys rather than a political party that opposes a theocratic state because God knows, nobody wants to spook the Malays.
Years of demonising MCA as a “running dog” for the establishment should have been a lesson for DAP, but now they are slowly learning the cost of doing business with Malay power structures on a federal level.
Not rocking the boat
When some non-Malay Pakatan Harapan partisans tell people who demand reform not to rock the Harapan boat - much like how Lim told non-Malays that they do not need to “beg” - it is exactly the same position MCA was when it was balancing expectations in the BN coalition.
DAP never gave MCA the benefit of this excuse, and neither should anyone who believes in any kind of institutional reform.
These days, the people are left wondering if DAP will cave when it comes to important policy issues because, with the creation of this coalition government, all they seem interested in doing is justifying the policies of the government, even if it goes against their campaign manifesto or more damning, their so-called principles.
We are always told that if not this then we have to accept the “Green Wave”. I say why make the “Green Wave’s” job easier? Why lay the foundation in terms of policy and governmental procedure (or lack of it) for the “Green Wave”?
The question is, if DAP is being asked to keep a low profile in certain elections to not spook the Malays, what else are they asked to keep a low profile on? Exactly how does keeping a low profile help the DAP base?
I know it may help the political elites, their proxies and hangers-on but how exactly does it help the non-Malays who make up the DAP base?
All this should not surprise us. Remember what DAP big cheese Anthony Loke said - “So I wish to put on record, as I said just now, on November 22, before Anwar Ibrahim went to Istana Negara, I told him, as long as you can be prime minister, DAP is willing to sacrifice anything, that is my commitment to Anwar.”
DAP ably demonstrates this commitment.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
Doormat and lap dog are good descriptions of DAP
ReplyDeleteHope the Lim dynasty crumbles