In the aftermath of the two by-elections which BN won handsomely, suddenly everybody seemed to know what had gone wrong with Pakatan. Literally everybody; from the dishwasher, the Ah Long, the fruits seller, the mamak selling roti canai, the office staff and his manager, the old Ah Pek gossiping in the coffee shop, the housewife…you ask them and without hesitation; they’ll tell you one thousand reasons why Pakatan lost.
Everyone had somehow become a man of wisdom. Some have basis and some don’t. So, with humility, allow me to share my “wisdom”. This is not a post mortem; just my “coffee shop” talk…
Batu Sapi has been a two-term BN stronghold and it still is. The two challengers who came to evict the lion from its den obviously thought they were dealing with a pussycat. Well, shy and gentle housewife Linda Tsen turned out to be anything but a pussycat. The person who should have been there; but was not; was Jeffery Kittingan, the numero uno of PKR Sabah. Strange that the contest was held right there on his turf and he wasn’t there to give moral support. If your own boss is not even here to support you, that’s saying a lot. Whatever his reasons, that was the first mistake; - underestimating the enemy.
From the beginning, Ansari, a lawyer from Tuaran, was not the locals’ choice. They had wanted PKR to field the Sabah PKR liaison chief, Ahmad Thamrin. Nope; that’s not going to happen, said Anwar. What can be worst than to reject the “people’s choice”? That’s the second mistake - not listening to the rakyat.
Saying the wrong things seems to be the forte of PKR nowadays. Ansari, in his own words, “I’ve never work THIS hard in my entire life!” What?!! So, it looks like he was NOT looking forward to work hard for the Batu Sapi folks if he had won! What a thing to say! It would have probably made more sense if he had said, “I’m working very hard to educate the local folks on the need for a strong opposition and I’ll work even harder to address the various needs of our Batu Sapi folks. The day I’m elected, I will stay here, and live here, and work here – and THAT is a promise I will fulfill!”
Admittedly, the late Edmund Chong, my sincere condolences, must have done a good job to hand such a resounding victory to BN and to a lady who has literally nothing to show except being a housewife. As for T L Yong, his meager harvest should tell him where his political future lies.
Galas is another turf waiting to be taken. BN played their cards well by NOT having Najib led the assault. KuLi, although with BN, is a person the Kelantanese somehow view as a “friendly foe”. The on-going fight with the federal government on the “oil royalties for Kelantan” issue has won him much respect even among PAS members. HE was the reason why PAS lost Galas.
Let’s go back a little bit…back to 08 March 2008…
That was the day when millions of Malaysians REALLY rejoiced. The impossible had happened. The atmosphere was almost like 31st August 1957. Suddenly ANYTHING was possible. No one expected it; least of all the opposition.
Indeed it was like winning the first prize lottery. Flushed with money, Pakatan didn’t know how to react. They’d never seen so much money before. In the process, they began to act stupid. Suddenly, everything they had done was RIGHT! And by extension, everything that they will henceforth do would ALSO be right. That was, and still is, their mistaken belief. Because they’ve forgotten that the money was from a lottery; they never really earned it.
The money from that lottery was the people. THE PEOPLE WERE THE DIVIDENDS.
Ever since that fateful day, many Pakatan leaders have been spending the dividends recklessly. Instead of carefully managing their unexpected windfall; which would have increased their wealth substantially, Pakatan chose to lead a life of arrogance and senseless waste. Slowly but surely, we can see Pakatan’s dwindling dividends. If they continue to spend as they did before, most of their dividends will dry up by the next GE. And they will return to a life of poverty and hopelessness.
The winds of change are blowing. Make sure it leads you to Putrajaya and not back to your kampong.
Spend your dividends wisely Pakatan.
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