Does Passion Make a Difference?

By batsman 

It sounds to me like the MCLM and RPK are under siege. This does not look good to me. This can only mean that Malaysians of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd types are jealously guarding their turf and not able to become good sports or even learn from life itself.

Those 2nd class types of all races who attack the MCLM are fearful that the unstable gains made during the 12th GE may be lost while the 1st class types of all races are fearful of losing their Ketuanan Melayu status at the same time both seem to be equally fearful of being exposed for chicanery and fraud. 

This is typical of politicians who are in it for the money. Politics is a lucrative career in Malaysia even if the beginnings may be fraught with danger. Politicians are always in danger of being stabbed in the back by friends and foes alike. This is also why new entrants are viewed with suspicion and antagonism by both 1st class and 2nd class types alike. 

The 3rd class types present a more immediate danger to the 2nd class types since these 2 will be in direct competition and the polemics between the 2 can be pretty fierce. The 1st class types may even promote some 3rd class types just to distract the 2nd class types. 

I wish to submit some arguments for consideration. 

The 2nd class types claim that the 3rd class types will split the votes in a 3 cornered elections. This is the scenario they shout very loudly. But at the same time the 2nd class types also claim they can win the 13th GE hands down and even challenge the 1st class types to call for early elections. These are 2 contradictory claims. 

A new scenario presents itself if the 1st and 2nd class types are equally matched. The 3rd class types become kingmakers. So the 2nd class types are actually in reality not so confident after all and they see themselves as the underdog. Thus all 3rd class types become a danger to them. 

Actually there is no harm in 3rd class types becoming kingmakers as long as they have integrity and fighting for a just cause. Both 1st class and 2nd class types will have to pander to the kingmaker. This makes justice more powerful. 

So not all 3rd class types are the same. Some are also in it for the money as can be seen by the behaviour of the independents and frogs during the last elections bash. 

The question is can RPK be classified as one of them? Those who classify RPK as a vote splitter or someone in it for the money obviously have lost their marbles and cannot make good judgments anymore. They are too fearful of losing the gains they have made during the 12th GE. Chinese friends call it “kiasu”. So obviously it is not only the Singaporeans who suffer this malady. Malaysians too have it in big dollops only they hide it more and point the finger at the Singaporeans to turn attention away from themselves.. 

Secondly, once in a long while, some people come along who have great passion and will not compromise. These are rare individuals. Most of the time, they occupy a top rung called geniuses or history makers in society. They are good in what they do because they have the passion for it. These are the true 1st class people, not the Ketuanan Melayu types. 

Unfortunately there are also the true 2nd class types – those whose passions dried up a long time ago and they have turned into mediocre careerists and bureaucrats. These true 2nd class types are the kiasu personalities I talked about above. They do not wish to rock the boat anymore and will protect their security with a fierceness that rivals the fiercest attack dogs. Anything new or unfamiliar will be treated with suspicion and they will use whatever is left of their cunning and brains to cook up excuses to destroy risky new breakthrough initiatives. RPK calls these cooked up excuses “spin”. I prefer the old description of no balls excuses. 

The problem with these truly 2nd class mediocre careerists is that their lack of imagination and aversion to risk taking is a great threat to 1st class passionate persons. At the beginning of any great social movement, if the 2nd class mediocrities win, they will destroy the movement even before it gains strength while if they win after the movement is successful, they will also destroy the passion and ideals of the movement through bureaucratic red tape and risk averse interpretations of the ideals so that the movement just dies of old age. Life and history has shown these trends repeatedly. 

Of course there is a place in the world for 2nd class careerists and risk averse individuals. They are the ones that pilot jumbo jets while the passionate guys become top guns and pilot the best fighter planes of the world. 

To be the best, one has to walk the line between being the best in the world and total destruction and failure. This is the price that the top guns have to pay. All top athletes in the world know this to be true. 

People like Newton walked the fine line between madness and genius. Apparently Einstein also walked this line, but since he had something to do with the atomic bomb, his mad side was covered up by good public relations. 

I am not at all saying that RPK is half mad or that he is a genius, but he is one of the best of Malaysia’s sons. For this alone, he should be given the chance to develop the MCLM to the farthest it can reach without any sabotaging “spin” by 2nd class mediocre but cunning careerist  types and bureaucratic personalities. 

Of course in any other phase of Malaysia’s history, there will be no RPK nor any need for a person like RPK. The bureaucratic types can have their day. However at this crucial point in Malaysia’s history, Malaysia has thrown up an RPK. RPK has proven himself to be anathema to corrupt bureaucratic types in the Malaysian government. It is no accident that bureaucratic types in the 2nd class force also find him threatening. RPK has mercilessly exposed the shenanigans of the careerist politicians of the BN who are just in it for the money and to enrich themselves. It is no accident that those in the 2nd class force who harbour hopes of replacing these corrupt careerist politicians after the 13th GE will also find RPK to be a dangerous loose cannon. 

Lastly, any political struggle is both a lesson and a sacrifice. Those 2nd class types who wish to take short cuts by demanding blind loyalty to the aim of building a 2 party political system in Malaysia subvert the chances of the people learning lessons from the activities of the MCLM. They are undermining the political maturity of the people of Malaysia by taking short cuts without learning lessons, growing up and gaining political maturity. These 2nd class types are just the same as UMNO in encouraging patronage and blind loyalty. What they are saying is that all initiatives must be on their shoulders and the MCLM is acting as a strike breaker by taking independent initiatives. This is rubbish. There can never be a healthy 2 party system without adequate political maturity among the majority of Malaysians. 

If 2nd class types say that the people are sovereign and truly believe this and not just moving the mouth parts so that similar noises emerge from their mouths, then the political maturity of the people cannot be compromised by taking short cuts. 

Do you find some of these arguments worth thinking about? Or are they also coming from deep space? Heeheehee.