///…. Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has publicly expressed his bewilderment and incomprehension of Najib’s 1Malaysia. Lesser mortals should be forgiven if they are even more confused as to what Najib really means with this slogan…what does Najib really mean by 1Malaysia?…/// – YB LKS.

Although he has not defined it precisely, it appears, judging from the way and context he uses and extrapolates it from “1 Malaysia” to “1Region and ultimately 1World” to be a reference to something akin to ‘unity within and in spite of diversity”!

The part on the importance of “unity” is in the following remarks of his at the 35th Unesco general conference’s opening plenary session – “No obstacle is too high or too deep or too wide for us to overcome if we join hands, think and act together as 1World”.

“Diversity” is the diversity of races, religion, culture etc of which Malaysia, as a society exemplifies in microcosm that of the macro and wider region and the world – where differences will be resolved in part by an active “acceptance” in contrast to mere “tolerance” of the differences of others, and in the other part by engagement in inter-cultural dialogue (ie quoting his words – “there could be peace only if various groups were willing to engage each other constructively through inter-cultural dialogue”) as opposed to confrontation or coercion.

With 4 days to the Bagan Pinang Poll you (Opposition) have to make up your mind of where you wish to hit harder – BN’s weakness or BN’s strength.

In your framing the issue a “vote for Isa is a vote to tell Malaysians and the world that Najib and his administration is not capable of reforms/renewal” in relation to stamping out of money politics/corruption, the DAP is talking of and focussing on “national issues” and attacking ‘BN’s weakness’ by virtue of Isa’s being implicated in money politics.

This (to attack BN’s weakness on national issues based on integrity of its candidate) is good strategy but there seem to appear 2 caveats to PR’s campaign:

First, according to The MalaysiaInsider’s report by By Adib Zalkapli on 07/10/09, “instead of bringing national issues to this coastal town, PAS has been spending a lot of resources in this campaign responding to development offers made by (BN) through Isa; that PAS’s election strategists speak of abandoned construction projects near the PD beach, inefficient sewerage system and traffic congestion etc (“Local Development Issues”) — ie basically attacking more on BN’s strength rather than BN’s weakness by national issues.

How can you make a dent in BN strength by such attacks when Isa could rebut that every project abandoned as developer’s fault and that when he was MB, he had provided land and funding for this and that school, bridges, temples etc??? What’s wrong with the Pas’s fellas?

Second, with 60% of Malay votes split (and majority of 4000 out of 13,000 votes in the Bn’s bag from postal voters), the remaining 10% Chinese votes and 20+% Indian votes may be crucial decider.

It stands to reason that the thrust of PR’s hit should be on BN’s weakness (national issues) than BN’s strength (Local Development Issues) but here’s another snag , coming to national issues – especially the hype about 1 Malaysia’s inclusiveness, engagement by inter-cultural, religious/racial dialogue instead of violence or coercion, what is our PAS’s candidate Zulkefly going to say about the cow head demonstration in Shah Alam last August of which PAS did not condemn?

Leaving aside the charge lead by MIC’s resurgent Samy Vellu (thanks to TDM’s attack) and the other BN’s Indian Progressive Front (IPF) campaigning for Isa, the HINDRAF’s guys are not exactly giving support (due to Penang’s Kampung Buah Pala “High Chaparral” issue) to DAP nor its splinter, the New party Makkal Sakthi Party headed by former Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran which is supporting the BN’s candidate.

No wonder you don’t sound confident describing PAS’s candidate winning as a “miracle”!