Pakatan as good as dead
It now exists in name only, not in spirit, vision and ideals
T K Chua, Free Malaysia Today
I find some of the recent developments within Pakatan Rakyat (PR) very odd and weird. First, there was a request from the DAP Central Committee that PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang attend the PR leadership council meetings. The rationale is that if Hadi is absent, the decisions made at the council may not be accepted or endorsed by PAS. The response from the PAS leader was equally perplexing. He said it was up to him to decide whether to attend PR leadership council meetings or not. “I don’t need to be asked,” he said. “If I want to attend, I will attend.”
Since when was there a need for one political party in a coalition to “mandate” the leader of another political party to attend the leadership meeting? Since when was there a need for the leader of a political party to be reminded of his responsibility to attend meetings deemed important to the coalition? Since when was attending an important meeting dependent on the personal whim of the leader concerned?
If we look at all these, I think we can say that PR is as good as dead. It now exists in name only, not in spirit, vision and ideals. If they have a common zeal, I believe the leaders would be very eager to meet to sort things out. If they have a common vision, I am sure the leaders would be ever willing to meet to chart the next course of action. If they have ideals bigger and higher than individuals and parties, I am sure they are ever willing to negotiate and compromise.
As I see it, the coalition partners now have irreconcilable differences. The leaders are too obstinate and parochial in their outlook and dispositions. They can’t move to the middle ground. Even though they have serious disagreements, they can’t even meet to thrash out their differences. But due to their own selfish and strategic reasons, they probably can’t go their separate ways either.
I believe PAS and DAP are now waiting for the other to make the first move – who will have the guts to leave the coalition or who will take the first step to kick the other out.
