DAP ‘amputating’ PAS gone wrong!
KTemoc Konsiders
I’m rather disappointed with what we see as the DAP recent tactic vis-a-vis PAS and its hudud. I feel DAP has mangled (f**kup) its handling of the sorry situation. But before I come to that, let’s quickly recap what I remember of DAP, the political party that I have shown my support for, though not as a card carrying member. Please advise where I am incorrect in my history of DAP’s political aspirations.
Years ago the DAP standing by its lonesome self and performing bloody well to public expectations and satisfaction had modest and reasonable aim, eg. of winning majority rule in Penang. Timing was the problem. Thus bad timing then for the DAP saw their Project Tanjung went kaput.
That’s because in those earlier days, Penangites by their conservative nature (disparagingly described as the kedukut mentality) was and presumably still is very cautious about changes, as (the late) Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP were to discover in those early days of Malaysia.
LKY on seeing the massive Penang crowd attending his election rallies on the island would have been encouraged into fantasizing that the then Chinese-dominated state would run straight into the open arms of papa, but alas for him, Chinese Penangites saw LKY as what they had previously viewed Anwar Ibrahim, a political curiosity to listen to for the night’s entertainment at the City Hall padang, to be followed by a late night repast at the Esplanade’s hawkers corner, probably of jiu-hoo-eng-chai (blanched cuttlefish and kangkung laden with chillie & hoisin sauce and grilled sesame seeds), satay (wakakaka), lor-bah (haram stuff, wakakaka), koay-teow-t’ng (koay teow noodle soup with fishballs and meat) and rojak, …..
….. but not someone to vote for ….. after all he was a Sing in Penang, wakakaka.
Yes sir, timing was everything because the “original” Gerakan Party hit the right spot at the right time in May 1969, winning by a landslide. Penangites by then had had enough of Wong Pow Nee and his Perikatan. Yes, beautiful timing for Lim Chong Eu and gang.
Gerakan ruled for 40 years. Despite their incrementally changing character from the great Gerakan of 1969 into an UMNO underling, made worse by the UMNO ‘divide & rule’ (inherited from the Brit master) of Chinese-based parties by pressuring Gerakan to give up several of their seats to their mortal enemy MCA, so that the two Chinese* mortal foes in their divided political existence could never combine to confront Penang UMNO.
* Gerakan has been mainly Chinese, and for simplicity sake, will be described here as a Chinese-based political party. It’s also useful to remind ourselves that when Lim Keng Yaik joined Gerakan in the early 70’s he and his so-called young turk reformers were all hardcore MCA people who didn’t get along with Tan Siew Sin, thus Gerakan became even more Chinese.
Despite all above, BN-UMNO, wakakaka, continued to rule Penang for four decades. That was because, as mentioned, Chinese Penangites had been very very conservative especially in politics and didn’t want to change their political preference …
… until 2008!
DAP then had a reasonable aim, namely, to deny BN-UMNO their 2/3 majority. The GE-12 results exceeded the DAP’s expectation for they in collaboration with their Pakatan allies, not only denied BN-UMNO its 2/3 majority but majority rule in Penang as well ….. indeed to their own enormous surprise as they admitted they weren’t quite prepared to rule. Jeff Ooi with just a MBA became top honcho (Chief of Staff) to Lim GE.
Personally I was rapt because Lim KS had finally realized both his political objectives. I had feared he might not have seen what he wanted achieved prior to his political retirement. He deserved realizing his dreams.
I was informed that in more than one way, Pakatan achieved their dazzling results because of Dr M, yes, none other, wakakaka.
One was his serial undermining of AAB, while another was as said, that in his hey days as PM he wanted federal constituencies to have the Malay:Chinese/Indian ratio of around (rough round figures) 60:40, as he assessed the nons in general would be his strongest supporters. He was proven right in 1999 and his successor AAB also benefited from his legacy in 2004.
