By Li Fook Gao
From The Malaysian Insider
NOV 15 – The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) managed to stay afloat for the past 20 months because we gave them enough business to survive.
So, at least they know, we – the people – are the one that give businesses to them. Barisan Nasional (BN), on the other hand, treats us as though we owe it to them to keep them in business.
They think PR was purposely started by a certain few to rob their business away, forgetting the fact that PR was born out of their greed and arrogance towards us.
Yes, we gave birth to PR – but unfortunately we expected too much in return and to make things worse, we expected PR to deliver instant results. We expected those 100 apples in PR’s bag to be 100 per cent perfect.
When we find two or three rotten apples, we are very quick to punish PR and ask for a refund immediately.
As typical Malaysians, we so conveniently forgotten that we used to allow BN to get away with their bad apples without complaint 20 years back.
Some of us even go to the extent of threatening PR that we will buy our apples from BN again if they don’t buck up. Some of us already written them off and some have even come to the conclusion that PR is just the same as BN.
PR kept quiet in the face of our criticism and threats because PR respects our views and values our importance.
But, to be fair to them, we must also recognise that it takes time to adapt from being a small stall apple seller to a apple wholesaler because it is a different business altogether.
We forget that PR is still new in this wholesaler business. Their directors all have different opinions of running this wholesale company because their knowledge were limited to operating their three different apple stalls – which they were targeting different groups of consumers to keep their business alive.
But now, it is a totally new scenario for these directors as they have to juggle between keeping their old customers coming back while satisfying the request of new customers who have turned their back on BN.
They are still searching for a balanced business approach so that they will not offend any of their customers, new and old alike.
Yes, as we expected, there will be some quarrels in PR every now and then. We saw some directors resigning along the way because they couldn’t agree to what PR was doing or they did not manage to secure any positions.
Some of them jumped over to BN because of better offers from BN. Some voiced their problems and dissatisfaction in the media because they couldn’t get their voices heard in the board room.
But this is not a good reason why we should lose confidence in PR. We have to keep in mind, all new companies face the same problems like PR and it takes time for them to stabilise, and it takes time for those directors to familiarise with this wholesale business.
Besides that, they have to deal with the constant sabotages from BN – which actually gives them less time to concentrate on improving this wholesale business.
We can’t expect them to be as masterful as BN in such short period of time in running this wholesale business when they are having a hard time running their business in a BN-friendly environment.
Problems will keep cropping out every now and then, but the important thing is those PR’s directors know how to solve those problems efficiently.
Yes, I agree that sometimes PR’s directors argue too much, and it makes them look rather instable. But are we too quick to punish them because of that? Why the impatience from our side? Why can’t we be more supportive of them?
I think the only reason why we feel so agitated when PR fails to be what we want them to be is that we want to kick BN out of business so badly and we cannot stand our hopes being dashed because of PR’s incompetence. PR is our last hope to ensure we get a fair price for our apples.
Just because we gave birth to PR, it doesn’t mean that they can’t do wrong. We should treat PR like our children, they must given the chance to rise again after they hit a snag. We must educate them to be the wonder child we hope for. But we mustn’t discourage them when they make mistakes.
Instead, we must ensure that they are able to rise up stronger again and again after each setback they endured. We can criticise, but we must also guide them to the right path. We can’t be too quick to write them off since we know that going back to BN is not going to help us to improve the situation anyhow.
BN is still the bigger player in this apple industry. PR is still very much the underdog, and in the business world, everyone is biased towards the underdog.
PR is going to have a hard time finding suitable low-cost transportation, suitable suppliers and loyal workers without being sabotaged by BN. They have to keep their business afloat despite the rising costs of goods imposed by BN’s cronies to destabilise PR.
The only way they can survive is by increasing their apples sales, which means they requires more support from us. Once they become the big brother in the apple business, they can start dictating to those suppliers and the transportation providers aligned to BN to lower their price or else they will lose the business contracts from PR.
To counter these fraud and high prices in the apple industry, we need PR to rise up in this BN-friendly environment to compete with BN, head-to-head.
We must ensure there are at least two apple wholesalers at all times in the future.
If we punish PR too hard, BN will take advantage of the situation to break PR into three small stall apple sellers so that they can monopolise the market again. And we must not let that happen because, in the end, we are the ones who will suffer.
Now let us get back to our real BN and PR in politics. Malaysians tend to very forgetful but they also can be very unforgiving. Malaysians can be very forgiving towards your mistakes for the past 50 years, but they can not forgive you for today’s mistake.
One wrong statement can change their whole perception about PR, regardless of how many good things PR had said or done in the past.
Sad to say, many Malaysian are still very emotional and very ignorant about the country’s well-being. As long as they get their typical three meals a day, they couldn’t care less about what the BN politicians are doing to our country. They forgot about the possibility that their children and grandchildren may not be that lucky as them!
PR’s death benefits only BN and its cronies and no one else. We are the biggest losers if PR goes down. Therefore, we must help to ensure PR survives at all cost. We must continue to lend our support to PR, even more so when they hit a rocky path, like they are going through now.
We must not lose sight of why we gave birth to PR. We wanted an alternative for us to choose from.
PR’s survival and success is about us and our country more than it is about PR or BN’s political prosperity.
We must ensure that PR survives and becomes the big brother in Malaysia’s politics to kick-start healthy competition between BN and PR. There can be no real two-party system until the other side wins at least once.
For a better Malaysia, we need PR. Punishing them now will lead us to back to BN’s dictatorship, and that’s exactly what BN wants us to do. – harakahdaily
i like the apple comparison…
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DSAI, Good morning to you.
I agree that the above is a very well written script by Li Fook Gao. While every vile strategies were deployed and used to sabotage the Pakatan held states for the past 20 months, we must agree that they had done reasonably well. But, do not take our comments to lull you or your ADUNs or Parliamentarians into complacency, because for every good comments, there is another waiting to discredit all the good work of the PR held Government.
Generally, the public in Penang is still very much in favour of LGE despite the hard time he is undergoing through currently, mainly due to the “pusing” doctors from the BN and the MSM. Ask around, while there are those who are certainly impatient as they want to see results fast, but the general consensus is that they will park their votes for two more terms with PR. One thing is the Chinese vote will stay with PR but you need to be careful of the Indian and Malay votes. On the strength of Chinese voters, DAP cannot form a solid state Government, they need PKR and PAS as well. At best they can win 19 to 20 seats, meaning sweeping every seat they contest in, the rest will have to come from PKR and PAS. It is good that LGE had chosen the correct way of keeping his silence, as, as a CM, he has better duties to perform than to respond to any comments by any Tom, Dick and Harry particularly to those from parties without representations in the State Government as the Rakyat has showed them loud and clear in 308, ” Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish”.
Several issues that LGE and DSAI must tackle and with political will, please, is that hill slopes development MUST stop. The PR must have the politcal strength and will to do it! Those hill slope developments approved by the previous Gerakan Government is absolutely dangerous and please do not let a disaster happen. It is only a matter of time. If one building collapses, the domino effect on the rest is sure to follow. Please drive along the hillside road along Tanjong Bungah to Batu Feringghi, and you know what I mean. Even if it means compensating developers, DSAI and LGE must work out a solution to end this problem once and for all. It takes politcal will and enormous efforts, can the PR withstand this test?
Kampung Buah Pala, is one episode which is painful for LGE to swallow. As a Penangnite, and staying near KBP, we envy the compensation brokered by LGE, but, we do not understand why outsiders still want to harp on this issue. The villagers are happy with the compensation, KBP is no more standing and the issue is dead and buried yet the hoo hah that continues to be brought up by certain parties for their own political gains is puzzling. The real loss is to Penangnites like us, who had infact lost such a valuable piece of history, a valuable place where the ambience of peace is felt far from the maddening jams and noises of the city. Very soon, this place will be another concrete jungles deprived of the goats and cows that can be seen grazing at KBP. In its place will be traffice jams and all associated with developments, ala Gerakan.
From an outsider point of view, why are the outsiders who hardly stay in Penang and hardly know how to move to KBP on their own stirring up problems for the KBP folks and the Indian community? To be absolutely frank, if Uthayakumar is the CM of Penang, he would also be unable to detect the transfer of title to the developer, as 20 days into the Government, how can you detect such fraud and the working of the officers of the Land Office and their previous BN master? Come on, it is outrageous sometimes to see the comments on KBP by certain interested parties. Anyway, it is good that they continue to harp on the issue as the people are tired like what the current fiasco in MCA is having a adverse effect on the perpetrators who want to continue dragging the matter.
Another important point is the picking of your ADUNs, please conduct a thorough search and kindly bring in more qualified people to represent PKR, which admittedly is the weak link in PR. The fact that the former head of PKR Penang is openly opposing Sivarasa, does not speak well of his intentions, unless DSAI have better plans for him. Kulim-Bandar Baru must be sacrificed and so is Wangsa Maju. Why bring political deadwood like Wangsa Maju into PKR? Let him contest as an independent as we are sure he will, and let his lessons and nightmares of Bukit Bintang haunt him again and again. If not for PKR, where would he be today? Would he have won on any other tickets or as an independent?
Finally, the latest development with Hindraf, will cooperation with Hindraf and in this respect, we feel it is HRP of which Uthayakumar is the head workable? Can you meet their demands which is absolutely difficult to swallow as it is too full of rascism? Do you want a party as hardline as this in your coalition? On their own, they will find it difficult to survive, at best, holding demos and shouting their throats hoarse, but will not be able to achieve anything on their own politically. Look at the postings in their website, it is so full of rascists remarks and it is difficult to swallow. I am sure many right thinking Malaysians will steer clear of such parties. Look at the misleading post by them yesterday by their Information Chief, Jayathas, where the headline in Malaysiakini’s “Of Interests” section screamed, “Klang Police shot dead husband of suicide bid woman,” who tried to take the lives of her children as well. How can a politcal party with professionals like Uthayakumar allow the Information Chief to misuse the site to spew untruths and spiteful lies like this? Will the public ever trust this website again, and for that matter Human Rights Party? If indeed they are fighting for human rights, why are they not fighting for the marginalized Chinese, Malays, Kadazans, Ibans, orang asli? I will never again visit this website as whatever good faith I have in Uthayakumar is lost due to the way his website is so badly abused. There is just no control at all it seems in this party. If it is not the information chief who wrote on the website, then someone who is very very weak intellectually must have sabotaged the site.
The whole issue mentioned above was written in broken and faltering English. Where is the controls in HRP? These are serious matter that deserves considerations, as, if elected next time, if they continue the way they are, you will spend most of your time trying to broker peace instead of spending your time governing. Almost every post by them in this blog is against the Governments of PR held states. Why do they not fight against the BN? All the criticisms against the PR led Government, is not acceptable as the Indian community had never done so well in the history of Malaysian politics, as they are today under the PR. Why do they not fight when the legitimate speaker of the Perak State Assembly, YB Sivakumar was roughed up and disrobed by the BN? Why do they choose to run down PR and not BN? Please conduct a check on your own as you are a far superior politician, while we are just laymen. There are just too many puzzling questions that need to be answered by the actions of HRP.
HRP need to understand that the good results of GE 12 is not solely the efforts of the Indians alone, without the support of our Chinese and Malay brothers, the Indian votes on their own would not caused much difference. Say if you win the Indian votes and lose the Chinese and Malay votes, where would you be? So, the Indian Community as a whole need to understand that we are only stepping out on our first step to a journey of a thousand miles. Every effort and sacrifice need to be done before we can reap the fruit of our hard labour. I am sure those in the HRP are of the minority, as level headed Indians are everywhere now, and subscribed to the notion of “Anak Bangsa Malaysia”. Really, with Makkhal Sakthi, PPP, MIC, IPF etc. etc. what is the real strength of HRP today? Will Waytha and Uthayakumar able to swing the Indian votes? So much had happened and those in Hindraf who had left are now openly criticizing them. Are you going to land up with a diluted Hindraf who in the long run will be a burden to PR if the present trends amongst its leaders continue?
Good wishes to you and we will be solidly be behind you in your endeavour to march on to Putrajaya and let RPK resurface with pride.
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I.Hanafi Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I wholely AGREE with you and Saudara Li. Wishing for more fairminded people in this country.
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But i think it is reasonable to see PR takes discipline action on those bad apples, isn’t? Isn’t worst when you know there are bad apples in your basket and you do nothing about it?
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You are absolutely right. If people can give BN so many years why can’t they give PR just a couple of years to become a viable coalition party. People are too quick to point out other people’s weakness and complaining instead of showing and doing something to help on their part. Human are always human.
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A good message, hope everybody read it.If PR is receptive of ideas from the rakyat, there is no reason we do not support PR.
BN is rotten to the core ! God may not be able to save them !
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Pakatan sholud work more harder to get the support from sabah ppl, pull HIM down and build new goverment in malaysia. This is the time, No way to turn back, if we wan save our country from being destroy by BN….
May god bless you, for every efforts to change our Great Malaysia!!!
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TO ALL MSIANS VOTERS
THERE IS NOT A SINGLE PERSON WHO IS FREE OF PROBLEMS OR WORRIES.NOR ARE THERE ANY TROUBLE FREE FAMILIES OR COMMUNITIES.WHAT MATTERS MOST IS MUST HAVE SOLIDARITY AND UNITY LIKE THE INSEPARABILITY OF THE FISH AND WATER IN WHICH THEY SWIM >FIGHT TO ELIMINATE UMNO/MCA/MIC BN >>>>>>>>>>>>>FOR 52YEARS THEY ARE PRO-INJUSTICE/PRO-ABUSE OF POWER/PRO-CORRUPTION/PRO-OPPRESSION/PRO-UNJUST GOVERNANCE/PRO-MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST> ANTI-RULE OF LAW/ANTI-HUMAN RIGHTS.
UMNO BN WHO SUPPRESS THE PEOPLE THEREFORE IS GUILTY OF TREASON AGAINST THAT SOVEREIGN(THE PEOPLE ARE THE TRUE SOVEREIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!)
UMNO BN =ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY.
THEY USE THE OSA> ISA>SEDITION ACT>POLICE ACT>UNIVERSITY AND UNIVERSITY COLLEGES ACT>PRINTING AND PUBLISHING ACT
AND TOGETHER WITH THE POLICE>ATTORNEY GENERAL>MACC>ELECTION COMMISSION> CORRUPT JUDICIARY TO INTIMIDATE,OPPRESS AND PERSECUTE PEACE AND JUSTICE LOVING MSIANS
AND TO ALL TRUE ISLAM/TRUE BUDDHIST/TRUE CHRISTIAN/TRUE HINDU>DONT FORGET UMNO BN REALLY PRO-POSTAL AND PHANTOM VOTES POLICY.ITS INJUSTICE AND MISGOVERNMENT.
FOR A BETTER MSIA WE REALLY NEED PAKATAN RAKYAT.THEY MUST BE GIVEN A CHANCE TO RISE AGAIN AFTER THEY HIT A SNAG/HIT A ROCKY PATH.WE MUST NOT NOT DISCOURAGE THEM WHEN THEY MAKE MISTAKE.
WE HAVE TO END BN DICTATORSHIP.52 YEARS OF MISGOVERNMENT/INJUSTICE/OPPRESSION/COVER-UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IS IT ENOUGH????????????????????????????????MSIAN VOTERS REALLY VERY KIND >GIVE THEM SO………..MANY CHANCES TO RULE.YEAR AFTER YEAR WE READ AND HEAR UMNO BN FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY
PAKATAN RAKYAT FIGHTS CORRUPTION >BN EMBRACES/LEGITIMISE CORRUPTION.
PR PUNISHES CORRUPTION>BN CONDONES IT.
THIS IS THE CORRUPTION DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN PR AND BN.
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Well, if we can stand for 50 years under BN with all these corruption and mismanagement, why can’t we give a chance for PR to lead us for 2 term or more starting from PRU13? Let the BN run for their money. I would like to see a scenario where all the BN MP’s on the opposite side of the dewan. This is a way to put them as a same level as us the rakyat.
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Dear DSAI!
Please read my reply on Tun’s blog, if that is ever published, because the facts speak for it’s self! Not that I am promoting Tun’s blog but what I am flabagasted is about his recent comments about your “screwing up” of Selangor’s economy if appointed as as the Economic Adviser! This man, the Great leader, or rather ex-leader, who appointed you as Finance Minister during his tensure as PM, has literally “shot himself in the foot” with his unwarranted comments! Sometimes I wonder how the “distinguished” titles like “Datuk” and “Tun” are awarded in Malaysia for individuals! Are these awarded for “execellence” in squandering from public funds and thus financing their lavish life styles and sending their children abroad for further education at the expense of the Malaysian tax payer?! One can only wonder!
Make it a point…..change is what Malaysia needs and that too badly, DSAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Das
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