Battle for power — Lim Sue Goan
APRIL 6 — There is nothing absolutely fair in the world. Even parents would prefer a child over others, let alone politics.
MCA President Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek accused voters of bias as they are harsh on the MCA, but comparatively more tolerant to the alternative coalition.
It is in fact easy to understand. The MCA is a member of the Federal Government with the power to rule and manage national affairs. As for the Pakatan Rakyat, it rules only four states and when something happens, of course the BN would be questioned. It is reasonable to be strict to the BN.
Moreover, the BN has been ruling for over 50 years, but the Pakatan Rakyat has been founded for only four years. The BN’s administrative records left a deep impression on many voters but comparatively, the Pakatan Rakyat seems like a blank sheet of paper.
However, we can roughly know their strengths from one after another political struggle over the past four years.
To stay in power, the BN, particularly Umno, is forced to take the middle line, including introducing the “1 Malaysia” concept and trying to play down racial politics. However, it dares not to give up “Malay sovereignty” as it involves over a million of votes.
Umno has been fighting for swing votes on the basis of trying to be open in implementation while retaining the policies.
However, liberalisation measures have been obstructed by the rigid thinking in the party and the administrative team. Therefore, we can always see sharp turns to many decisions. The discipline of civil services is supposed to be rectified but it has eventually been left unsettled.
If there are more talented young people or insightful scholars in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s team, they might be able to lead the transformation plans towards a broader road. It is a pity that there is no time to rectify the situation now.
Because it lacks confidence, the BN uses money distribution strategy to create good feelings.
As for the Pakatan Rakyat, it is playing two roles as the alternative coalition and state governments. It has indeed played its role to the fullest in terms of supervising the Federal Government with its ability to dig out all kinds of administrative loopholes and frauds.
For example, the Pakatan Rakyat was able to obtain information about the purchase of apartments in Singapore and Kazakhstan by the National Feedlot Centre (NFC). It was also able to find out that some goods from the Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia were sold at higher prices compared to certain hypermarkets.
There are many talents in the Pakatan Rakyat. Therefore, they are able to point out many unreasonable moves of the BN government. For example, the cost overrun of the KLIA2 and the RM1.7 billion sale of the Maju Expressway (MEX) brought a great return of RM668 million to Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd. If the talents are used to strengthen the Pakatan Rakyat’s state governance, I believe that the states can actually achieve better performance.
Unfortunately, not many new plans have been introduced by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments. Instead, the states have been facing many livelihood issues.
The Pakatan Rakyat is holding an ambiguous stand in some issues in consideration of votes. It dares not to make a commitment to reduce the number of civil servants and it does not include the recognition of Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in its Orange Book.
Everyone, after all, is having the same attitude: everything will be find after winning the election.
The green and yellow rally scheduled on April 28 would exert pressure on the BN with the combined power of the civil society. I believe that once the fight is heated up, it will force interest groups to move closer to counteract the grassroots forces. It will make the 13th general election to become the most intense election in Malaysia history. — My Sinchew
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
