Too Young, Too Inexperienced and Too Brazen
I am actually very pissed off with my gallivanting State DAP representative. So pissed off with her inability to respond immediately to the exhortations of the common people within her constituency that I will definitely not be voting for her in the next state elections.
By Hakim Joe
Are a few of the elected Pakatan State Assemblyperson too young, too inexperienced and too brazen? Will these unpredictable but yet audacious actions of these young politicians become detrimental to the just cause whereby they are actually discouraging the older generation from voting Opposition?
By stating “older” generation, I meant those registered voters that were born before May the 13th 1969; the minorities who experienced the severe actions by a racist central government bent on manipulating events on that fateful day to be used as a triggering element to morally initiate a prejudiced program. Unfortunately, I fall into that bracket and yes, I am actually very pissed off with my gallivanting State DAP representative. So pissed off with her inability to respond immediately to the exhortations of the common people within her constituency that I will definitely not be voting for her in the next state elections. Doesn’t mean I will vote BN either as I intend to draw a potted plant next to the legally listed candidates and mark the corresponding box I am going to draw alongside it, as the plant couldn’t possibly do any worse.
Now, why would I want to do such a thing when I have been voting Opposition, without fail, all my entire life? Well, people change and so do their perception of what is expected and what is not. When we vote Pakatan and this candidate goes on to win the contest, we would not be anticipating much as going onwards to winning the State Government might have proven too high a mountain to climb. (Then came the Political Tsunami.)
However, when we did win the State Government as well, then our expectations from this victorious Pakatan candidate escalates proportionally. Yes, I do concur that even with the State Governorship in the pocket, not everything can be easily achieved, as there is still the BN Federal Government running havoc. However stating this, somehow there must be something that is within the exclusive control of the State Government that can be achieved, right? Now it befits a case of whether these elected young Pakatan representatives are able to find the time and effort between their other overlapping commitments to care about their constituency. I am alluding to State Representatives, not Parliamentarians.
A State Representative or Assemblyperson is elected on a ticket that emphasizes state (local) issues. A Parliamentarian is elected on a ticket that stress on national (federal) issues, that’s the clinical difference and no, it does not suggest that each specifically cannot intercede onto the others’ affairs. Yet neither does it maintain that all elected representatives must carry the torch. However, it must be mentioned that each possesses its own core responsibilities and these should not be obscured by other responsibilities. For example, a Parliamentarian should concentrate more on national issues whilst a State Assemblyperson should do the same for local issues. A delicate balancing act but nobody forced them into public service.
What we are actually witnessing and experiencing here now is a group of adrenalin-filled opposition party “youngsters” that may have failed to make a distinction between those two primary responsibilities. It is very commendable to be able to take on both tasks but realistically not very effective. One can very well assume that it is a case of “the more the merrier” but who takes care of the shop when everyone’s away?
Like what I have said many times before, a State Assemblyperson is adjudicated more on what he or she does in the constituency that she represents, not what he or she does on national tv, and that is a fact most of us do not seem able to accept. The whole world (and universe) might be supporting this person but if he or she fails to impress the local voters, it is out the door. Would you like your State MP to neglect his or her constituency in favour of national issues when your Parliamentarian is doing the same job? Losing the state seat is of course not something that is judged shameful but if losing means that BN wins, it is unforgivable. All for want of national coverage?
Now look here, if one does something that is deemed illegal by law (no matter how wrong that legislation may be), one must be quite certain of being apprehended and possibly receiving national coverage on the local print and broadcast media. Nobody goes into it blindly. All very good and laudable as it increases the profile of that particular person but achieving it at the expense of the basic responsibilities is not so good and downright deplorable. It shows a deficiency in time management, a waste of human resources, a misguided interpretation of basic responsibilities and a poor sense of fundamental priorities.
Let me stress that this is not a negative attribute that is common amongst all Pakatan State Representatives. There are quite a few that are able to balance between local and national issues, so much so that being everywhere at the right time is but a breeze. These are the traits and characteristics that must be fomented by the seniors upon these youngsters as they garner sufficient experience to be let loose on their own. Up and until that time, these young State Assemblypersons should be learning the ropes at the state level and should not be tackling those main national issues. Politics is a learning process that can only be taught through experience.
Do be informed that the Political Tsunami last year is an overt act of showing BN that the people has had enough of them and not primarily because the Opposition ideologies are far superior. Last year, a dying potted plant could have performed admirably against any BN candidate in any election at any constituency. In fact, most of them would have come out eventual winners or the least increased the votes in their favour. Come 2013 and it might be a different scenario altogether.
With four state governments under opposition governorship, Pakatan now has to demonstrate that they can perform well at the State level. Perak will definitely go to the Opposition in the next elections whenever it is, whomever BN fields and whatever BN does. Penang will remain in Pakatan hands as the younger Lim is performing remarkably well considering the fact that it is his first ever stint as a CM. Kelantan is pure PAS territory and nobody can encroach upon it. That leaves Kedah and Selangor.
I do not know much about the situation in Kedah (except that the price of rice has shot up) as I reside in Selangor but I know very well about the conditions here, especially in my constituency and let me tell you, it could be a lot better. DAP controlled constituency in a PKR governed state should be a lead-pipe cinch affair but it isn’t, not by a long, long shot. Admittedly, the Federal Government’s covert intervention is a hurdle but this must have been expected anyway.
Are Pakatan so devoid of brains that countermeasures cannot be logically implemented to offset these interferences? Do they have to dance to the tune played by BN? Of course it doesn’t help one bit at all when the State Representative keeps getting themselves involved in national issues that got them sent behind bars. A missing State Representative is no good to the constituency and no good to the State Assembly. An always-missing State Representative is even worse. Do we care? Of course we do, why else highlight it thenceforth?
DSAI is absolutely correct by pushing off these elected “suspect” PKR candidates, as he requires a solid base to mount a real challenge in the next federal elections, hence the (expected) multiple by-elections from now till 2013. (“Are you listening, Mr Lim Kit Siang?”) DAP has a lot more experience but their inability to control their youngsters might be their eventual downfall and Pakatan’s as well. Don’t believe me? Well, one vote isn’t much as compared to a registered voter base of thirty thousand nine hundred and seventy two circa 2008, but it ultimately is one vote “against” that could have so easily been one vote “for”.
Yap Soo Sun of BN might have been “wayward” before but at the very least he did manage to project a false perception of care as compared to the current haughty DAP rep that practically ignores everybody within her constituency. With Yap’s office, they acknowledge all complaints and suggestions made by the people. Whether anything is being accomplished or not is not the issue here as “They Are Seen To Be Helping Their Constituency”. The perception of “sensitivity” and “attention” are perpetually being established and nurtured.
Nowadays, it is far easier to select a long list of winning 4D numbers than getting a simple acknowledgement from this particular DAP office. Cutie pie or not, that is neither the manner nor the way to behave as an elected representative of the people. If that were the case, both DSAI and Najib would have lost the federal elections by default as both are err…“not handsome” (to put it mildly).
Nobody likes being ignored by their local representative, especially someone that you actually voted for and subsequently won in the elections. Regardless of what the local issues are, a simple (human) courtesy of acknowledgement is all that is required. Is that too much too ask for? Are we supporting candidates that fail to impart common civility? If RPK can be summarily ignored when he suggested to the Perak Government to seek a dissolution (before those three frogs jumped), what of us commoners? Are the elected politicians so high and mighty that they forgot that there are those of us capable of logical reasoning that is not involved in politics?
For those who have been spending time at MT, you will know that I am no BN sympathiser. As with those who had posted letters and written articles that were ultimately published here, we try our hardest to instil an understanding of what civil liberties and human rights are. We do not dare presume to be correct all the time but neither are our observations incorrect all the time. We attempt to convey why we think that a strong central government that possesses a two-thirds majority is undesirable and what we can accomplish to support the Opposition.
As an educated and coherent person, we should know the difference between what is morally right and what is morally wrong. We try our utmost to influence people to vote for reforms, as this country cannot continue to be as corrupt (or more corrupt) as it is now. The changes have to come sometime. We underscore matters that can prove to be detrimental to the cause and hope that the readers could possibly pressure those in power to make the necessary changes before this problem can be used against them by BN in future elections. Not being involved directly in politics does not mean that we are incapable of reasonable and logical assumptions and deductions.
Having said so, is Pakatan fielding candidates that are too young, too inexperienced and too brazen?
