In For the Long Haul

It is no use cursing and swearing. Better to turn your indignation into a steely determination to labour for and if necessary make sacrifices towards the return of decency in society and life in Malaysia. Obviously there is a large gap between words and deeds among all levels of society in Malaysia.

There is no need to make this gap larger by cursing and swearing. Find more constructive ways. Cursing and swearing and then getting demoralized is not a constructive way. It doesn’t close the gap between words and deeds.

There is a silver lining in every cloud. In this case, the struggle is simplified by the self-removal of a few opportunists. Hopefully as the struggle gets more intense, more opportunists will be exposed and removed such that in the end, only the best and the most honourable will take their place as our true leaders. So it is not a good idea to relax on the struggle. On the contrary it is better to make it even more intense so that more hidden opportunists will be exposed.

PR is young and lacks manpower as well as resources. The suddenness of its victory means that opportunists find it easy to creep into its ranks. The struggle over the long haul will expose these get-rich-quick opportunists. It also makes the PR stronger by far and more trustworthy.

This episode also begs a few questions. It obvious that some pro-BN assemblymen have been richly rewarded while others still wait have to for their turn. How long will their patience last? Some loyal elected representatives of BN must wonder why they have not been richly rewarded while others who managed to grab the limelight get theirs. Isn’t it about time to grab some limelight for themselves as well?

There must be hundreds of loyal UMNO assemblymen and even MPs who wait eagerly to be rewarded for their loyalty. Will they accept the good fortune of the few “independents” who have benefited or will they find creative ways of rewarding themselves? Similarly, lots of BN assemblymen and even MPs must be asking themselves this same question. Should they reward themselves or should they wait for BN to reward them? Since money politics is the order of the day and since even UMNO has trouble controlling it within its own ranks, such questions will be unavoidable.

Anyway, why should only the elected representatives of BN in Perak get RM300,000 each and not the elected BN representatives for the rest of the country? Don’t they need to service their constituents as well? Who knows how much the “independents” are getting? Does being independent command more currency than loyal BN representatives?

The stage has been set, the example made, the model created. And it is not a good one. Dirty money politics is the order of the day. Will the rakyat meekly accept this or will they find logical as well as creative ways of punishing those who play this dirty game? Will the creativity and determination of the rakyat be more bountiful than the creativity and cunning of opportunistic elected politicians?

Don’t wait for heroes. Be the hero you wait for. This is the only way to ensure your hero meets your own specifications of integrity and honesty. Organise yourselves. Join NGOs or opposition parties. Encourage your friends, relatives and children to do likewise and support them through thick and thin. Do something concrete, disciplined and systematic to express your indignation. Don’t just curse and swear.

 

By batsman