Resignation letter
Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew
The CNY holidays were over and people started to get back to work. So did the by-election war in Kajang. With the dates announced, the flame of war was officially ignited.
But, the by-election is still one that many have to scratch their heads for a reason. What, and whom, is the election for? And how did it come about in the first place?
The incumbent assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh threw in his resignation letter on the eve of the Chinese New Year and signed off just that.
The voters, whom democracy advocates have called the “rakyat bosses,” were dumbfounded what on earth happened to this young man having been paid salary for more than half a year after GE13 without showing his face until very lately when his resignation letter made newspaper headlines.
Not because he was down with a grave illness (touch wood!). Not because he was unhappy with his work environment (definitely not when he ran for the election) or the remunerations (with the salary of state reps soon to be raised by a very wide margin).
As one of his many, many “bosses,” I went over his resignation letter carefully for more than half a day and all that I could see as the rationale for his resignation was: “I decided to resign for the common interest of Pakatan Rakyat parties, not just for PKR, and this decision will help Pakatan in its quest for Putrajaya.”
A rather convincing argument it was. But for the “bosses” who read the letter, there appeared to be nothing much they could fathom out as if they were to see through the city of Beijing on some of its smoggiest days.
Or perhaps there were some hidden agendas he found it too hard to explain, thus cutting back a five-page resignation letter to merely five lines?!
The resignation letter that kept many in suspense has made me wanna compose a resignation letter that should look a little more persuasive, on his behalf:
Dear Rakyat Bosses,
When I applied for this job as an elected rep last May, i made a lot of pledges during the various stages of interviews, including making sure that all the drains in my constituency are unclogged, and all the street lights brightly lit. The drains entail the health of you, my Bosses, and the street lights your personal safety. You can count on me that these things are impeccably taken care of.
If your wife is delivering a child in the middle of the night and no vehicle is available, ring me up and I’ll be there before any ambulance van will. Even if you can’t reach the hospital on time, my car can double up as the makeshift maternity ward because the baby is the hope of you, my Bosses, and my future as well.
I don’t just make promises to serve you, I will also fight for every bit of your right and interest in the state legislative assembly. As such I have joined a speech training class and a fitness club so that I can put myself to better use just in case I need to rough it out on your behalf in a state assembly sitting.
Because of all these pledges, you have so generously approved my application, allowing me to defeat all other applicants to serve as your rep.
After serving you for eight months, I’ve come to realize that this job is a lot more fun than I previously thought. I am called “YB” with respect and sometimes a deep bow everywhere I go. Drains and street lights? The municipality council will take care of them and if your wife is going to deliver your firstborn, sorry there’s nothing much I can do to help. Traffic, flood and nuisance ah long? Talk to MCA instead!
Although I don’t see you that often, this will not stop me from loving you more. But now it has come to a time when I must say goodbye to you, my most beloved Bosses. This is because behind me there is one real Big Boss. When he passes down the order: You can go now, I just have to wave my hand and bid you farewell without asking why.
Last but not least, may my loyalty meet the needs of the Big Boss (not the Rakyat Bosses). I did all this for the common interest of Pakatan Rakyat to fulfil the Putrajaya dream (although I have little idea what the common interest is and how we can fulfil the dream).
