Get cracking, Pakatan Rakyat!
Last night, I attended the Forum Perdana Kemenangan Sibu that was organized by Pakatan Rakyat. It was held at the Penang Chinese Town Hall and about 80% full. I was quite surprised to see that it was attended by mainly those above 40 years of age. What happened to the youth?
I should have been happy after listening to the speeches and presentations of the various speakers but I left the hall with a heavy heart. Whilst I am very happy that DAP won the Sibu election, I am a tad worried that they are a bit carried away in their euphoria and jumping to conclusions that they can march to Putrajaya so easily. I hope more concrete plans can be put into action instead of just relishing the Sibu victory. There is a lot of work that must be done!
The evening began with the opening speech by Chow Kon Yeow (MP for Tanjung) @ 8p.m. Following that, MP Chong Eng shared her experiences at the Sibu by-election campaign trail. She opined that the Sibu by-election is akin to a mid-term review for Pakatan Rakyat. She also shared about how if PR can win Sibu, they can win PR and that PR wants to show that they are different from other leadership because PR is for everyone. She said that BN is like the setting sun whilst PR is the rising sun and that the rakyat should choose PR for a good future.
The next speaker was Tunku Aziz, Senator for Penang and also VP in DAP. He began his speech by telling the audience that Sibu made history for DAP and DAP made history for DAP by breaking the stronghold of BN there. Even though the win was with a small majority of 398 votes, he argued that it was a very important victory because DAP went into battle without much $$$ but with hopes and dreams for the people of Sibu. He said Sibuans believed in our message despite the fact that the PM went to Sibu like Santa Claus with all kinds of gifts and promises.
Tunku Aziz said that the victory was very significant because it has given PR a lot of encouragement that in spite of all the difficulties, PR can take on the government of BN and head towards victory because the people there want fair play and justice and to govern the country together.
Tunk Aziz reiterated that the government that PR wants to establish is one that has never been seen in the last 53 years of the nation’s existence. It will be the beginning of a new Malaysia. After that, he spoke about the offers to help the Sibuans in terms of the millions offered. Tunku Aziz said that it would have been a different scenario if it had been PR which had made those offers. He emphasized that we cannot have two sets of laws but only one law for EVERYONE and that this same low must apply to the highest and the lowest with no special concessions for anyone and that was a promise. He also said that PR will not tolerate any form of discrimination whatsoever.
Tunku Aziz said that the next government of Malaysia will be a PR government and that this is no longer a dream. He said that it might have been a dream some years ago but the Sibu win shows that nothing is impossible if we try our level best. He ended his speech by saying, “Give us a few more wins like Sibu and we will be governing the country together.”
