If you say that the Electoral Roll is tainted with phantom dead voters; if postal votes are manipulated to dislodge Opposition leaders; if electoral bountaries are gerrymandered to ensure incumbent ruling coalition wins – if the Election Commission is not impartial and if amendment laws have been passed with regards to the Election Act 1954 to make sure that the electoral roll once certified by EC is “deemed to be final and binding”, then all these, if true, will only show that the party in power has no heed for democratic principles and merely using the so called ‘will of the people’ evinced from a “manipulated” ballot box to legitimise their remaining in power and that no matter what and under whatever circumstances, whether by hook or by crook, they will ensure that they are enscounced in power….

If this be so why do Opposition parties participate in the General Election to give the Coalition in power the legitimacy of a General Election vindication of its so called “popularity” that it obviously does not deserve?

Why not boycott? Why not agree to participate only if certain conditions ensuring a fraud free election are prior met? Why Do you participate in the game when the rules of engagement are fraudulent, unfair and stacked against you, where the playing field is tilted against you? What do you to gain by engaging in such a game? Do you serve the Cause of Democracy or the People? I don’t think so. You’re just lending legitimacy and credibility to fraud!

To fight the BN with maximum ammunition, everyone must walk the talk including the DAP!

Now the DAP has an ‘underdog’ role in Malaysian politics. It fights for the underdogs. It can do this effectively if it at all times proceeds on high principles – not political expedience.

The moment it deviates from these founding principles to which the Rocket is identified with, it gets punished by massive withdrawal of traditional support as in 1999 as when it collaborated with PAS under the Alternative Front.

This (the issues of principles) is not confined to national level but party level as well.

Fong Po Kuan had served Batu Gajah parliamentary constituency for 2 terms. I have not as yet heard any imputation that she had not served well her constituency service needs and articulating their voices inside and outside Parliament.. In parliament she had to suffer the “slings and arrows” of outrageous ‘bochor’ insults. She, like others, would have certain attachment to that constituency. She would have received representations one form or another from party leadership to be allowed to carry on there. She would have made certain sacrifices as price for her to remain there. Expectations therefore are built and structured along these lines that she would be fielded there.

So I could imagine Fong’s disappointment when the DAP’s state leadership pressured her to relinquish the Batu Gajah seat and contest elsewhere (perhaps in Johor as she was married to a Johorean), and to let Pantai Remis state representative Nga Kor Ming to contest in Batu Gajah instead – if Malaysiakini report on Feb 15 is true.

It is no consolation to justify such pressure on her based on the usual reasons of “ Macro Electoral Strategy” ….

“ Macro Electoral Strategy” may be important to a political party but the trouble with DAP is that simple promises earlier made by party leadership to people like Po Kuan should be held upheld as bond – because these are what supporters as well own party members and officials expect of the Party to stand for. It is when a certain promise was made, relied upon by the promisee as a basis to do certain things, and then perceived not honoured, that a leading member of DAP of national profile like Po Kuan would feel so keenly the disappointment as to want to resign.

According to Malaysiakini Po Guan “also revealed that party secretary general Lim Guan Eng had contacted her by telephone last night to inform her that she would be nominated to stand as a candidate in the Batu Gajah parliamentary constituency”.

But it is too late. She said she would not be contesting in her Batu Gajah seat – or in any other seat as well – in the coming general election.

By way of general observation it will be fair comment to say that people who are strict about their principles on certain things will correspondingly expect others to accord them the same treatment based on principles/promises rather than political expedience based on some “Macro Electoral Strategy”.

Especially as earlier said, when the DAP and its leaders are held to higher standards as regards principles.

So I repeat where I first started : for this coming general election, the DAP has to get its house in order. The dissension in Perak leading to Poh Guan’s resignation is disconcerting. I hope it is not because of DAP’s leadership not walking their talk!

Just because someone like FPK resigned, it does not imply that she is going to be like LLT. They are not same people. Neither do they share similar circumstances. Unless she really crosses over to BN later – and prove us wrong – we should not impute motives like this in the absence of supporting facts.

True, as what Lim Kam Put said, “in the final analysis, it is about getting elected to become MPs or ADUN. So everyone is struggling for a slot” – and whether UMNO or DAP, it is no different…..but here what is in issue is the quality of judgment and decision of DAP’s top leadership: what macro national politics are at play to want to parachute from out of the blue Pantai Remis state representative Nga Kor Ming to contest in Batu Gajah when Fong Poh Guan was the incumbent MP there and popular with the locals?????? The DAP wants to win Batu Gajah, don’t you so why not go for the sure than the unsure? Be careful of those amongst you (DAP) who lobby for their own safe seat – even against a popular DAP incumbent – for their self interest. For it may be asked are such parachuted characters thinking of your party’s interest or their own? If they’re thinking of the party’s interest why do they want to compete for another DAP’s stalwart’s safe and secure seat and worse entertained by your top leadership?

Let us see what happened before in the past. Wee Choo Keong (lawyer for Lingam’s brother in RC proceedings) was (then as DAP candidate) parachuted into the Bukit Bintang constitutency over somebody else, an old timer, DAP legal advisor, promised that constitutency (KC Cheah) but who was asked to go to Klang instead!

Now Wee Choo Keong had a fall out with YB LKS and left to form his own party the Malaysian Democratic Party (MDP).

Today when as Kit said, “traditional DAP stronghold for over three decades has become a “danger” seat through dirty electoral tricks with the influx of over 6,000 postal votes” your ex DAP “parachuted” Wee Cho Keong and his MDP had just released a statement that he was hopeful the DAP would not field a candidate and allow him to contest instead. “I believe they will give way for the sake of opposition unity. After all, we have a common ‘enemy’, the Barisan Nasional,” he said. “The MDP would like to see a one-on-one fight this year. We are, after all, contesting very few seats,” he said. Wee further said the MDP would also be contesting two other seats. “Of all the three, two will be in the Klang Valley while the third will be somewhere else”, he said. See following link to NST 16th Feb :
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/National/2159419/Article/index_html
I am not surprised that MDP might join the fray in Bukit Bintang and force a 3 cornered fight in which with 6000 postal votes against the DAP, it would lose the stronghold.

Back to the point I was saying : you should be beware of those amongst you who for ambition would want to upset the applecart and lobby for safe seat even though already held and promised to another popular DAP incumbent. Why entertain their request to be parachuted when their lobbying smelled of a whiff of personal ambition than party’s or opposition’s interest?

In a parallel case of Bukit Bintang constitutency, the man parachuted had not only broken off ties with the DAP and formed his own parties but today is asking you to give your Bukit Bintang stronghold to him with an implicit message that he might even contest in 3 cornered fight if otherwise.

As I said when it comes down to these intra-party lobbying for seats, it all boils down to the issue of the quality of judgment and decision of DAP’s top leadership, whether it is wise and discerning not to alienate truly loyal people for your cause from those to whom personal ambitions are first priority.

And now because of this failure to intercede and arbiter intra-party lobbying of seats in a wise and discerning maner, the BN is having a field day – propaganda wise – to capitalise on Fong Po Kuan’s departure. See The Star today front page – “Fong drops a bomb” with prominent byline – “I’ve had enough. The development of internal party events in Perak DAP over the last few years and currently has made it impossible for me to continue serving effectively….” On page N3, another oppoosition member MDP’s head Wee Choo Keong gave his take under “Beware the daggers in DAP”. Expressing no surprise, he said “This has been happening in the DAP for a long time where potential leaders are marginalised, if not killed off politically”. He identified those killed off as Dr Kua Kia Soong, Lee Ban Chen, and in Penang Gooi Hock Seng, Teoh Teik Huat and Goh Kheng Huat. “If Karpal Singh is not careful, he will be a victim too. He has to leave his stronghold of Bukit Glucor for Lim Guan Eng in the elections…” He further said, “it was known within the DAP that anyone regarded as a threat to Lim Kit Siang and his son Guan Eng would be removed”. He warned young leaders to be careful if they wished to survive in the DAP where “selfish and personal ambitions” were placed above principoles and ideals for the people….[Ref Pg N3 of The Star Monday 18th ]

On the very eve of general election, the DAP is now attacked not just by BN but by a fellow Oppositionist – MDP’s Wee – the very man that was parachuted in 1990s to contest the Bukit Bintang Constitutency over the head of loyalist, KC Cheah.

It is sad that BN is having field day in propaganda from Po Kuan’s resignation.

The DAP had a good run up to meet the challenges of the General Election – but now it looks as if it has screwed up, big time. Real sad about this.