Dua kali lima = political apathy
By Free Malaysia Today
Before dawn pried open the night skies on March 8, 2008, Malaysians had a choice – stick with Barisan Nasional or throw their lot behind an opposition coalition which promised a bed of roses. Equality, transparency, justice, fairness, good governance were just some of the many slogans trumpeted by these strange bedfellows, cast in theological and secular moulds.
Two years on, disenfranchised Malaysians are slowly discovering that hidden amongst the roses, is a litany of thorns and pricks.
And the thorny pricks on the other side of the fence are dancing with glee to the tune of their rival’s cacophony of internal wrangling and power tussles.
From a spiritual viewpoint, which is often pessimistic, the current situation hardly comes as a surprise since humans, by design, are flawed, and therefore susceptible to the trappings of fame and power.
In the absence of temptations, many can be righteous and cloak themselves in holier-than-thou garbs, but when seated in front of the cash till, or strolling along the corridors of power, it’s a different ball game altogether.
As cracks began to appear on the walls of the poorly cemented Pakatan Rakyat fortress, the enemies baying for blood are quick to point out that these so-called “cleaner” politicians are just as tainted.
With Zaid Ibrahim washing tonnes of dirty linen in public, PKR appears to be inching closer to the edge, and is threatening to bring DAP and PAS crashing with it as well.
Even the magic surrounding Anwar Ibrahim appears to be fading and one wonders if the Reformasi spirit could be kindled with the same kind of fervour if he is to be thrown behind bars again.
