PR down with Kajang Flu and MB Dysentery
The current dysfunction within PR is all too obvious as seen in the Pengkalan Kubor wash-out.
Ishmael Lim, Free Malaysia Today
All about the news portals and cyber-space we read that GE14 is for Pakatan to take. This the prevalent view from the comments made by Pakatan supporters.
No one can tell what will happen in the next three years in the run-up to GE14. They can only observe the signs and the portents that inform if the health of the coalition will be up to the task or not.
Coming out of the influenza which was the Kajang Move and followed soon after by a bout of the Selangor MB dysentery, the signs of the current dysfunction was all too obvious to see in the Pengkalan Kubor (PK) wash-out.
The cooperation that pushed PR through the GE12 and GE13 seemed to be missing in PK.
DAP still has a long way to go
DAP is intact probably because they only took a minor blow from not being in the forefront.
The reality is that they never had any Malay politicians of a sufficient stature to vie for the post in Selangor. It is still behind in transforming itself into a truly Malaysian party from the inside out.
There are outward appearances that this change is beginning to happen by their increased number of young and attractive non-Chinese recruits. But one cannot consider that radical when their ideological thrust is for a Malaysian-centric society. It comes across more as a marketing pull to interest the youth who are not into the dry politics of a social welfare state.
Until it speeds up its transformation with solid and serious minded Malaysian-centric politicians, the accusations hurled at them for being chauvinistic will continue to ring true for many. It is not merely the faces that convince the electorate but the perceived bent towards a chauvinistic framing of issues. On that front, DAP has yet to convince it can be a solution for all until it proves to Malaysians otherwise.
PKR’s troubles far from over
If PKR believes that the appointment of Azmin to replace Khalid as the MB of Selangor will solve all its problems then it had better think again. The Khalid supporters who are still within PKR will probably be working quietly from the inside to undermine the party that removed him, and particularly Azmin who replaced him.
It is an open secret among PKR insiders that Anwar preferred Saifuddin Nasution over Azmin for the post of deputy president. That in itself ought to suggest that Saifuddin is no real fan of Azmin and that multiple camps in PKR exist with their divvied up loyalties. Perhaps Anwar needed to do that to shore up support for Wan Azizah because he couldn’t count on Azmin’s pledge, as events have shown.
After the official appointment of Azmin to the MB’s job, one cannot but notice how muted the congratulatory wishes were, although PAS was quick to make their stand that he was fated to take the job and wish him well. Members from his own party were relatively tardy and restrained with their well wishes for the new MB.
Is his future really rosy when PKR itself can’t be sure if he can be trusted after he took the side door to his new office?
If the de facto leader of PKR feels that he no longer holds the reins, it may be because Azmin’s new found fame may be denying him the media focus and attention that used to be reserved for himself. The media hounds have found a new darling in the new MB and have been giving him the royal treatment. With Azmin in the big house, will the PKR court now move from Istana Segambut to Istana Bukit Antarabangsa?
