Slapping Oneself

By admin-s On Sep 4, 2015

Hakim Joe

When Tuan Ibrahim stated that there was a lack of Malay participation because PAS had chosen to not attend BERSIH 4, he was absolutely correct.

Behaving as if he is the Creator himself, the PAS deputy president went on to emphasize that his party had made the correct decision of boycotting the rally after the incident in which demonstrators allegedly stepped on pictures of the PAS president alleged occurred. Does this mean that PAS would have made the wrong decision if the picture stomping incident did not happen or would Tuan Ibrahim had looked for other excuses in his crystal ball to justify his part’s decision?

Yes, BERSIH 4 lacked Malay participation and yes, the participation of PAS members would have made the rally ideal.

On another level, could one logically assume that PAS shunned the rally because they were afraid to displease their masters? Look at it from another angle: One supported the rally because they believe in the cause. Attendance is never compulsory but duly appreciated. However, one that does not support the cause will never attend the rally. Case in point: PAS.

Henceforth, has the leopard eventually shown his spots?

BERSIH 4 was never solely Pakatan’s enclave. For PAS to reject it, it meant that they do not desire having fair elections and for a non-BN political party to disbelieve and not support the cause, one could logically assume that having free and fair elections would be detrimental to their party’s ambitions.

PAS under Tok Guru attended all the BERSIH rallies despite all disagreements with its political coalition partners. The cause was of utmost importance and nothing can prevent PAS from not attending these BERSIH rallies. Hardly six months after his demise and now under new leadership, PAS has veered from the path Tok Guru selected for his beloved party. The moderates within the party have been completely wiped out and PAS is no longer a coalition partner in the Opposition. The basis behind such a drastic change can only be narrowed down to two logical reasons.

One, PAS assumes that they can operate alone and that the foundation for their last successful election results were primarily due to their own efforts alone and not because the voters supported Pakatan Rakyat and additionally that they can achieve the same, if not better, results in the next elections.

Two, other plans have been made to leave the Opposition Party stance and henceforth, the non-attendance was mandatory as a “gift” to their new political partners as one cannot go against the wishes of their potential partners.

I do not possess a crystal ball like Tuan Ibrahim and henceforth do not have the capacity to justify what I do now, in the future. All I do know is that PAS has moved out from the camouflage of being an opposition party to one that will either operate alone, perhaps still in opposition against BN, or a political party that is sympathetic to BN.

Tuan Ibrahim also questioned why the government, specifically the Home Minister, did not take stern action against protesters after banning the iconic yellow t-shirts. [Quote] “It is just strange that deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi behaved softly after he gave a strong warning to take action against the Bersih 4 T-shirt” [Unquote].

Are these the words spoken from the deputy president of a political party that staunchly professes to be in opposition to the government? I think not.

BERSIH 4 is now over and done with, with or without the support from PAS. All I ask is for all voters that have decided to vote opposition in the next election to not confuse Pakatan, or whatever name they will adopt in the future, from PAS.

Vote wisely in the next federal elections because not only your future depends on it but the future of your children as well. If you want change, vote Opposition and if you are thinking of voting for the Opposition, vote for any political party except BN or PAS.