Together, let’s develop a Good Strategy!

From Proactive Malaysian

I am worried, for ever so often I cannot see beyond today, being so entrenched in daily living, ensuring bills are paid on time, compounded with trying to make sense of the current situation.

I’ve been given so much of contradictory information on TV and mainstream papers, what with an overkill of spin, con and manipulations, it leaves me tired and confused, for I am of a simple mind.

So I took some time to consider the events over the past few months and here is what I’ve come up with.  Stay with me for a while, it is all I ask of you!!

When the lawyers walked, we did not join, it was not our walk, we said.

When Bersih walked, what did we say?  Free and Fair elections?  Heck man, many of us are not even registered voters, (too much trouble to go to the post office, when it actually takes but 3 minutes to get registered).

People came from Kelantan and Perak, what did we do?  KLites switched on our TV’s to foreign news channels and online webzines for the latest.  Not our fight we said, but we talked about it, a little bit.

But Bersih was formed way back in 2005, with the objectives for free and fair elections, so that citizens can be the masters while public officers be more accountable and efficient. Then in 2006, a memo was submitted and we are thankful that two items such as  transparent ballot boxes and the indelible ink were conceded, bearing in mind that even third world countries practise this.

Then again, what about the rest of the items on Bersih’s memo that remains unanswered, however plenty was said about street protests & demos by ministers and such.  We were distracted, with the statements of politicians and the arrests and got sufficiently diverted from the real issue.

To heap salt to our already festering wounds, they even amended the constitution, to extend the Election Commissioner’s tenure for another year?  Why? By Gosh, no other person competent enough to fill up this post?

Hey, you with me? You get the plot?

Then when Hindraf assembled, we shook our heads, racists we dubbed them, street violence, not our culture we vehemently said.  Give it a thought, what did the 5 now under ISA do?  They highlighted the plight of the marginalised Indians, and by golly, they came in huge numbers that shocked even the organisers.

To the 5 now under ISA, I can only salute you, for the sacrifice and huge personal cost of this, none but you can comprehend.  I may not be in agreement in totality to the movement, however before this, how many of us, to put it crudely, cared a **** or spared a thought to those whose schools did not get enough funding, to those whose temples were trampled, to those who did not even earn a decent salary.  Then again, how many of us, will care and do something about it now?

Way back in July/Aug the Hindraf guys went to Putrajaya and submitted a memorandum to the PMs office, guess they did not get any answer, that’s why the British Queen’s counsel was sought.  Who cared to even answer them or the hundreds of memos they sent to various ministers? Are we to assume that Big Ears, did not hear about it, until now?

The regime further stunned us when they arrested the 31 from the Hindraf rally, under  murder charge.  Hey dude, I am no lawyer but I ask, did 31 rallyers throw that one stone that caused the injury to the one policeman? (I do hope he’s recovered by now.)

Then it is all conveniently linked to murder, frightening?  Well the effect is there already, now a days, very few venture out with their comments on the threads of MT. Even I am suitably scared.  Heck, I feel positively shitty that I have to take cover in the shadow of RPK, lest I miss out 2 years of the childhood of my kids!!!  Call it a cowardly act, but don’t know what else to do.

Not to digress, the Hindraf leaders go under ISA and the MIC man gets the credit for getting the 31 arrested released!!  What a scam, how many of us will get taken by that?  How many reading the mainstream papers will now give credit to the devil in disguise?

Other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA, don’t they have peaceful protests and demonstrations. I heard they even have the police to ensure that the rallyers get protection and that traffic flows smoothly, can’t understand why that can’t be done out here. How come it does not hurt their tourism or their investors?

But what I see is this, all the spin, the diversions and distortions are but for one reason, to keep us occupied, to take our minds away from the real issues. Its an eyewash, so that we don’t see those billion dollar bailouts too clearly!  So that we have a blurred vision so as not to see the asset sell outs by GLC companies who declare profits. Or that our tax money is getting frittered by the bureaucracy and mega projects!

With prices skyrocketing like crazy, my bills are increasing and my income is not sufficient. I may even have to take up another part-time job to cover expenses, and that makes me very mad, that I will not have time to do my 2 cents bit, in waking up the sleeping dragons (you)!

Lets get it straight.  It has to start with us. It is we the people – and that is each of us, need to be mobilised to make that difference.  It has been done before, it can be done again, but first we have to get off our sleeping arses to kick some butt.

Exactly that’s what the people in power don’t want us to do.  They would prefer we remain busy and get our simple minds cluttered with petty stuff, so that we are too paralysed to stir. By chance we move our lazy butts, they’ll arrest a few here and there, have ISA in place so that we are all sufficiently scared and immobilised.  So are we going to be running scared?

They have an excellent strategy, they want to continue to be in power, so the Election Commissioner gets an extension – convenient I say? Cronies sit in the judiciary, AG jumps and performs at their beck and call. Police is for the people in power, otherwise how come big time criminals get released and victims get jail terms.

They control the mainstream media, but for the blogs, we would still be in oblivion. They control the profits of the GLC’s, money will ensure they stay in power, we sure are living in tough times.

Hey Guys, wake up, now? Too long we have been scammed, let us not remain in slumber, but awaken and get more proactive for this is our country.  So then, what’s our strategy?

How are we going to respond?  Sit back on our cushioned butts and say its not our fight?  Then we deserve what we have now, wasteful resource drain, corruption, nepotism, cronyism, the spin and the con!

Or are each of us going to do our part – we know it’ll be hard to vote these guys out, but at least, we must ensure that our money gets spent wisely, that our elected representatives know that they work for us, that we put them in power and they are stewards of our resources and most important that they are accountable.

Hey, You are the smart ones, for I am but the mistress of my kitchen, I will ask you all to contribute and give your ideas as to the way ahead.  Can we visualise a future where there is more accountability, honesty, integrity, by the elected representatives?  That the financially marginalised, the minorities get a fair hearing and representation, that their views get taken into consideration and acted upon?

I don’t have many answers, however my first suggestion, let not apathy and complacency overtake us, every person should do their part, and every drop of effort is going to make that big difference. I have started out by telling every Malaysian I meet to register as a voter and make the right decision in the next election.

Over to you now, what’s your take on this? what’s your recommendations? We’d like to hear it!!  We’ve got to have a good strategy to ensure a great future for ourselves and the generations to follow.

We deserve a Government that hears and acts in the best interest of its citizens!! Lets all put our smart brains together and think what’s the best strategy and how best to move ahead as one nation, in unity and togetherness.

I take objection to being called goblok, beruk, penyangak, now let it be known that the highest office in this country is “The Office of the Citizen.”

Seeking Solutions… Suggestions…. Strategy… Implementation!