Fight Them We Must and Fight Them We Will

SAPP claims to have the support of the people to form the next State Government, so does Pakatan Rakyat Sabah. Many Sabahans feel that it is only fair that the Sabah State Government be given full control of the State without interference from the Peninsular. I support this, but I feel that it is equally important that Pakatan gets a fair representation in State affairs.

By GM

There was a time in history when I told myself that I would never step foot into politics. Members of my rather huge family are active in politics and there will always be excitement when the Dewan Negara is dissolved. To me back then, politics was just not my cup of tea. However, everything changed during the start of the Reformasi era.

At that time, I did not even know who Anwar Ibrahim was. His trial proved a turning point in my life. Following closely the trial of the former Deputy Prime Minister, I could sense foul play in every aspect as the charges as well as the evidence and witnesses were not convincing enough. I was 15 at the time and I will never forget how the mattress was used as a major blow towards Anwar’s Defense team.

Anyway, when Anwar was jailed, Parti KeADILan Nasional was born, and since then I have been following the developments of the party. Some people rubbish my claim that the symbol of the party was actually Datuk Seri Anwar’s blue eye. However, I am super sure that I read it somewhere that states this. I have been KeADILan at heart since then and I am not about to change even if Pakatan Rakyat does not capture Putrajaya in the next General Election.

I have always been pro-opposition, and the thing that frustrated me before was, Why can’t PAS, DAP and KeADILan form an opposition alliance and fight the mighty Barisan Nasional on a one-on-one basis. Eventually it materialized and went by the name Barisan Alternative, which was a loose coalition based on trust and the understanding that the BN was to be challenged on a straight fight. Going by this understanding, the only party that really benefitted was PAS as they managed to capture Terengganu and at the same time retain Kelantan, and I was super glad to know that they managed to achieve this.

Not long after, the Opposition Coalition collapsed and again went their separate ways. I was devastated by this. I must admit that I too was afraid that an Islamic State proposed by PAS was not ideal in any way as I am a Christian and I love my religion very much. My religion is the one thing that I will never trade for whatever sum of money or power. At that time I was naïve; but now I have come to realize that PAS is acceptable to all Malaysians.

My frustration continued down the years and I was still waiting in hope for a formidable Opposition Alliance to be launched. Every time I read Malaysia Today, I get sick of the exposes of corruption, abuse of power and so on. I was thinking to myself that corruption is happening everywhere and all that the opposition can do is argue among themselves. Then it happened. I was shocked to read that Anwar was released from prison. He became the glue that everyone was waiting for, the glue that the opposition needed, and the glue that has kept Pakatan together until today.

People say that Anwar did this and Anwar did that, but despite the allegations, I believe in him. Why? Simply because he is consistent in what he believes in. Critics call him a traitor when he questions as well as criticizes the NEP. The fact is, Datuk Seri Anwar had never agreed with the NEP (I hope I’m correct on this as I have read it in a book). During his days in ABIM he had already started to criticize the NEP. He was advised by his supporters to join UMNO so that he could roar from inside and do the necessary adjustments as it was pointless to roar from outside. He did well in UMNO, climbed the political ladder in such a short time, became Deputy Prime Minister, and he had a huge percentage of support from UMNO divisions. That is until it all went tumbling down.

I did research on Datuk Seri Anwar, and if my facts are true, he graduated in Islamic Studies. The historical debate between Datuk Seri Anwar and the then Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery clearly shows that Datuk Seri Anwar knows what he is talking about with regards to Economics. Datuk Ahmad Shabery graduated in Economics. In that debate, my support is behind Datuk Seri Anwar, not because I am pro-opposition, but because whatever he explained that fine night makes a lot of sense. Special thanks to Datuk Ahmad Shabery for trying. You might say, of course, Datuk Seri Anwar knows what he is talking about, he was the Finance Minister for eight years. In reality, how many Ministers actually know what they are talking about with regards to issues involving their respective ministries? I need not elaborate on this.

Talk is rife that the General Election will be held very soon. I have started a “silent campaign” in my hometown of Sabah to gather support for Pakatan and SAPP. I have not joined any party yet but I have surely registered as a voter. I’m sure that many of you are wanting change but have not registered yet as voters. So please do register as a voter now and together we will make that change.

I will be voting in DUN Kepayan, and the Parliament seat Penampang. Raja Petra has said this many times that there are still tens of thousands that have yet to register as voters and the majority are us, the youths. During the elections, “they” will come with sacks of Ringgit. As Datuk Seri Anwar said, take the Ringgit but vote opposition! Fight them we must and fight them we will! Too long have we allowed the interior folks to suffer in poor living conditions. Basic necessities have been long denied! One of the problems I always encounter during this “silent campaign” is, whenever we ask for support, they ask for Ringgit first. Ada duit kah kalau sokong? I find this very irritating. This is not the way it is supposed to be. Money is a motivator, but another 5 years is a long time to wait for the next chance to change our future and the future of our children.

I know this might sound crazy and will draw criticism but who cares. SAPP claims to have the support of the people to form the next State Government, so does Pakatan Rakyat Sabah. Many Sabahans feel that it is only fair that the Sabah State Government be given full control of the State without interference from the Peninsular. I support this, but I feel that it is equally important that Pakatan gets a fair representation in State affairs. The formula I would like to propose to both parties is: SAPP contests 70% of the States seats (42 DUN), the balance of 30% goes to Pakatan (18 DUN). As for the Parliament seats, Pakatan contests 80% and the balance of 20% to SAPP. I am not trying to say that I am a genius on this but it seems like a win-win situation for both. I am open as well as ready to be criticized.

If Pakatan Rakyat should come to power, I will fully support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the candidate for Prime Minister and hope that he does bring along the change that we need towards a Dawn of a New Malaysia. Raja Petra, we will always need you as you are the source of needed ininformation. The information that you give us is in good hands and is spreading towards the interior pepeople who need to know and have the right to know.

HIDUP PAKATAN RAKYAT, HIDUP SAPP!!! REFORMASI!!!!

GM
Penampang, Sabah