A fellow blogger, iamyuanwu, commented on my article ” This is how politics should be played” which was posted on Malaysiakini ’s Blogger’s corner as well as Malaysiakini ’s letter column.
I qoute his comment:
Now I know… now I know.
I’ve always harboured the hope that one day, Malaysia will have a totally transparent, non-race based party that will rule us. And another few opposition parties of the same with shadow committees to match.
I guess not going to happen soon.
Those of us who have not seen through the intricacy and the maneuvering of these seasoned politicians who recently had their party election will think that these are people with high ideals, people who advocate a modern and liberal Malaysia, full of reform agenda and ideals such as equality for all races.
If you care to study their past, look at their actions and the policies that they administered when they were part of the governing power, you will find that these same people did not carry out any of the so-called reform when they were in a position to do so. As a person who has repeatedly asked that the NEP be reviewed, I want to ask these politicians
Why only talk about abolition of NEP now when they were no more in government? Why couldn’t they propose these changes when they were inside? If they dare not talk about these changes when they were inside, is it because they are opportunists waiting only to go up the ladder?
Those who follow the news in Malaysiakini (which has the most neutral reporting of our media) will be surprised that these people who constantly talk about democracy as if democracy is their inborn doctrine suddenly acted to shun democracy during their own Tong’s (party) election, by pre-arranging “who hold what posts” and deciding who should withdrew from election even when the person may have got the second highest nomination. In the end, the pre determined line-up shows that it is also not as multiracial as it claims to be.
If these people can’t practice democracy and multiracialism in their own little turf, I wonder how they are going to fight for democracy and equality outside their party.
I agree with my fellow blogger iamyuanwu that once I also harboured high hope that a true multiracial party was taking shape. But look at what these people practice in their own party election, it is just another of the one-race-dominant-over-others party.
It is really a case of “Old wine in new Bottle”…. albeit a much smaller bottle.
These are outcasts trying to project a new image in order to regain some of their bargaining power with the Old Big Wine Bottle, in order to open a channel for these Outcast Old Wine to move back to join the mainstream Old wine in the Old Bottle.
The whole multiracial concept has, unfortunately, in the process , been hijacked .
Related posts:
This is how politics should be played
About leaders of different sizes
A succinct and erudite analysis, but may I make a recommendation – perhaps the old wine in a new bottle should be retitled ‘old rotten vinegar in a new wine bottle’ and labelled it ‘Hypocrisy’, 101% proof, and bottled in 1998.
By: KTemoc on June 1, 2007
at 6:26 pm
I think, for example, PKR has given up the pretense and starting to cling to the largest piece of racist flotsam from their little Titanic.
By: wits0 on June 1, 2007
at 10:30 pm
one of the problem with PKR is ‘they know and aware enough that BN would never lost in election, they knowledgeable on it because most of them actually was in the Big Bottle of that wine, but they still dreaming to win the election’.
BTW, gud luck to them on their dream…..
By: arifabdull on June 1, 2007
at 11:03 pm
It was only late last year that I read this book by Kim Quek titled Where To, Malaysia?
It is a collection of articles that somewhat hails Anwar as the only feasible choice to rule Malaysia without prejudice. And that was what I thought too. But looking at the current situation, I realise there is just too much fanboyism in the book (pardon the tech forum speak).
There are fears that PKR is slowly turning itself into a small UMNO of sort, except that it’s in the opposition. The only good thing that can come out of this, according to a friend, is that the Chinese Malaysian voters get to be the king maker (that is if PKR ever becomes strong enough to challenge UMNO). I guess ideals like true multiracial-ness will have to be put aside for individual survival.
I also have this niggling suspicion that PKR might one day be absorbed/invited into BN to quell it’s rivalry/challenge (e.g. PPP and Gerakan). Something like how big companies buy smaller rival companies and let them die.
By: iamyuanwu on June 3, 2007
at 2:16 am
Over the years, I have been disappointed again and again by so-called leaders who claimed to be the saviour of this and that.
I guess we reallyneed to change our culture of money politics for true leaders with integrity to surface. A lot of good people shun politics because the whole culture is so dirty. And these are the good people who can make a difference.
How to change the culture, that is the million dollar question.
By: hsudarren on June 3, 2007
at 8:02 am
[...] is not so rosy, too. I thought Anwar was an Old wine in a new bottle. But I have to give credit to him for realising many people’s dream of a two-party system, [...]
By: A square peg in a round hole « Dr Hsu’s Forum on July 10, 2008
at 3:07 pm
[...] is not so rosy, too. I thought Anwar was an Old wine in a new bottle. But I have to give credit to him for realising many people’s dream of a two-party system, albeit [...]
By: A square peg in a round hole « A Matter of Choice on July 11, 2008
at 3:05 pm