A matter of maneuvering

OTK was not on the list of MCA candidates. There were earlier rumours that he would be fielded directly by BN.

OTK is one of those in MCA who still command some respect by the people. He is perceived to be a person of integrity. Many of his constituents view him as a sort of hero that dares to stand up; a  durian with  seeds, so to speak.

When announcing the list of candidates, CSL urged MCA members to put the party interest before self, and urged those who are not selected to be candidates to continue work hard for the party.

This is urging members to do something   that he does not practice. If he has taken party interest into consideration, he would have retained OTK, despite the latter been his arch rival, as Ong is one of the few remaining winnable candidates left in the party; someone who can beat back PR’s challenges based on his own merits, and not based on Big Brother’s help to get votes.

But apparently, CSL either thinks that he is above the party so his interest should come first or he has some other plan in mind. Other memebrs  must put the party interest above self, but not in his case.

The perception among the people is now this: by dropping OTK, and one of Ong’s perceived ‘former’ supporters, Vice president Gan, he hopes to consolidate his hold on the party. Never mind that the party will lose  more political clout by  surrendering  lending some seats to Big Brother; as long as his list  consolidates his power and beats off potential challengers in the next party election, who cares whether the party gets less seats? Only by holding on to the party’s helm , can a personal dynasty be created, and buys time for the junior to come up.

One cannot help to wonder whether the surrendering lending of a few seats has something to do with the  elimination of Ong from the candidate list.  If there is really such a trade off, or even a perception that there is such a trade off, MCA is going to lose even more votes. Already everywhere I go since yesterday, people are shaking their heads in disbelief that a head of a party can go to such an extent to finish off his arch rivals.

I hope OTK will not stand as an independent. I hope he put the big picture before himself. Otherwise, a three corner fight would only benefit you-know-who.

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One piece of good news coming from the BN list is that Ibrahim Ali has been dropped despite the open endorsement by the OLD MAN. Both have done more than any other person to fan racial sentiments.

PM has done 2 things to ‘piss’ off the OLd Man. Dropping Ibrahim Ali is one, naming Khairy again as a candidate is another.

It is clear that he is putting many of his own men up this time. By dropping many of the old timers , some aligned to the Old Man, he is actually putting his head on the chopping block for a last gamble.

If UMNo wins more than 2008 ( I refer to UMNO alone , and disregard  the component ‘mosquito” parties, since these would have no influence on UMNO politics), PM would have a more independent say and the OLd Man’s influence would become smaller. If the BIg Brother wins less than 2008, then expect a fierce internal fight to oust PM. This is of course on condition that BN wins the election; and there is a good chance that BN may lose.

I have told a foreign diplomat who is amazed by the politics of Malaysia that Malaysia is the classic textbook for learning dirty political maneuvering and tricks. What CSL and PM have done is really a matter of maneuvering for the respective consolidation of their own power.