Wednesday, January 7, 2009

By-election for Kuala Terengganu (1)

The announcement of a three-way tussle for the Kuala Terengganu by-election by the Election Commissioner (EC) was no surprise. It is more likely to be a battle between the Barisan Nasional candidate, Datuk Wan Ahamd Farid Wan Salleh from Umno and the Pakatan Rakyat candidate, Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut from Pas. Nevertheless the independent candidate, Azharuddin Mamat@Adam could still be the deciding factor, where he could garner a few redefining votes from the local community. The big win in the previous by-election at Permatang Pauh by Opposition leader cum de factor leader or PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim does not signify a win-win situation in Kuala Terengganu.

I foreshadow the 14-day campaign will be paramount in terms of answering the critics posed by either sides. Barisan Nasional will most probably be using the recent hot issues on the implementation of huhud laws by Pas to fish votes from the Chinese community and the breakdown in communication of several MPs from the Pakatan Rakyat to wipe out the relevance of the coalition in continue serving the people. Meanwhile, the Pakatan Rakyat is very likely to continue their bid in voicing the unaddressed voices of the lower income group such as the insufficient subsidy of the petrol and diesel for the fishermen, lack of development under the new economic corridor, the practice of corruption and cronyism, and lastly the question of transparency and also the credibility of the judicial in particular the murder of the Mongolian girl. And also obtaining the deserved rights of the people which include the abolishing of Internal Security Act (ISA) and the ban imposed on Hindraf.

In today's New Straits Times and The Sun newspapers, dated 7th January 2009, our Deputy Prime Minister cum incoming President of Umno, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh would be the right man for the right job in bringing about changes since he was a former deputy Home Minister and a senator. Furthermore, he asked that which candidate would you want - a candidate that is assured to be a deputy Home Minister once again after victory or a candidate without any political post to be the representative of you people? On behalf of the voices of the oppositions, let me answer your question. It makes no difference whether the MP is a member of the cabinet or not. I shall let you compare - would you want a MP that is a minister but practises corruption or a MP that is without any positions but would willingly spend time to address the difficulty faced by the people.

In my previous by-election post for the Permatang Pauh, I did mention that casting your vote for the BN will not reap any advantages since it will only favour the top hierarchy of BN. Will they distribute the economic pie fairly to all the races? Malaysia has achieved independence for more than 50 years and we have seen enough of all the undone promises made. It is time to give in a new breath of air to the Pakatan Rakyat for a chance to change. You can witness there are not many changes after the famous political tsunami way back in March 2008. It tells you that the domineering nature of the Umno still prevails and predominant in the Barisan Nasional coalition.

Few days ago, it was reported in Bernama news that the floods that hit the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia with more than 10,000 students could not make it to the first day of school. Have the government taken any initiative to curb this problem from happening yearly? And in today's newspaper, there is a report on the effect of climatic change on the floods. Again, have the government especially the Ministry of Environment done their part to conserve the forests and also ensured that the going green campaigns are effectively carried out? The number of students affected could have been reduced if the government has taken the measures to solve the problem by may be relocating the schools, building deeper drains and making sure the rivers are not filled up with rubbish.

The by-election is not only a yardstick to know whether the people's mindsets are still on the verge of hoping for a 'sky change' as mentioned by MP for Ipoh Timur cum DAP National Advisor, YB Lim Kit Siang, but it serves as a platform to reflect the silent struggles of the 10-month old Pakatan Rakyat in creating a new dawn for the people of Malaysia. When the Barisan Nasional coalition was first formed, I believe they too had to endure through the same hurdles as seen by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition now. Why do Barisan Nasional have the right to enjoy a political hegemony for approximately 50 years and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition is not given a chance to solve their internal problems? Think about it!

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