Dearth of Leadership in Pakatan
Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s (TSKI) last executive action in closing the Selangor Economic Adviser’s Office should not be seen merely as a symbolic or even a spiteful move but a goad for correction by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership. The whole sorry episode in the Selangor government has precisely been marked by the dearth of leadership not only in the PR coalition but also among its component parties.
Lack of leadership in the Kajang Move
From the start, the asinine “Kajang Move” was trumpeted as the brainchild of PKR’s strategic director rather than the idea of the PKR de facto leader, DSAI. Now that it has been proven to be a fiasco, it is just as well that it was not DSAI’s idea! It will certainly go down in Malaysian history as one of the most idiotic and people annoying political circuses ever committed. If not, it has very nearly destroyed the carefully constructed Pakatan Rakyat coalition, intended as the alternative to the BN.
The attitude of the PAS leadership toward the PKR candidate for the MB post was unfortunate but they could hardly be blamed when they were not consulted about the Kajang Move in the first place and they could not bring themselves to support a candidate that was intended to solve PKR’s internal contradictions and who was not, in their view, the best choice as Selangor MB.
The lack of leadership in economic strategy
The criticism of Khalid Ibrahim by his own party and also by the DAP and the Erdogans in PAS is proof enough that the office of the Selangor State Economic Adviser had not been effective, so no one should complain now about its closure.
We have had insinuations about the former MB’s culpability in questionable conduct but the accusers failed to produce any evidence to show the people or even to make a police report against TSKI. SELCAT, the Selangor Government’s Select Committee for Accountability & Transparency, had obviously been sleeping on the job or were mere scaredy-cats if they failed to ensnare the biggest fish of all!
Now that we have a new MB, what systemic changes will be introduced to ensure that the supposed wrongdoings by the previous MB are not repeated? This should have been the most important agenda of the people of Selangor and not the excruciating soap opera we have been treated to. All the contending candidates for the MB post should have been expected to show us their reform agenda. Gender was not the issue. We presume that this was the content of the interviews the Sultan had with the candidates. The first task of the new Executive Council should therefore be to showcase the new agenda. The people of Selangor expect a radically different agenda from that of the last Exco’s since this was the raison detre for the Kajang Move.
Rottweiler culture is not conducive to coalition building
The PKR and DAP leaders unleashed (or at least did not restrain) their Rottweilers on the previous fledgling MB when he would not resign of his own accord. This was poor form especially when they could not produce any shred of evidence to pin on TSKI.
This Rottweiler culture was again seen when the four PAS Exco members stayed at their posts, since their party did not have any problems with the previous MB. When the Rottweilers even went for the PAS President after he had expressed his misgivings about the MB candidate nominated by PKR & DAP, this really showed up the absolute dearth of leadership in the component parties of the PR.
Building a coalition with PAS has been the single biggest achievement of PR. I remember the thinking within the DAP leadership during the 1990s which was so averse to any identification with the Islamic party. Thus, the leadership of PKR and DAP should not allow such rude Rottweiler culture if they truly value a harmonious working relation within the coalition. Notice that the BN, on the other hand, have cleverly outsourced their Rottweilers to the far-right groups while painstakingly trying to upkeep a harmonious National Front. It is really just a front!
Now that the dust has settled over the MB crisis – at least for the time being! – let the leaders of Pakatan Rakyat demonstrate some leadership by apologizing to the Malaysian people for their indiscretions over the Kajang Move and imposing on us months of unpalatable soap opera. More importantly, they should ensure that after years of constructing the alternative coalition, let no Rottweilers tear it asunder!
