I thought the crowd of thousands for this Semboyan Halilintar ke Putrajaya ceramah perdana in Seremban to commemorate the second anniversary of March 8, 2008 political tsunami would dissolve away when the full blasts of the rain came, but the indomitable spirit of several thousands who stood their ground despite heavy rain is a potent sign that the Pakatan Rakyat goal of Putrajaya in the next general election is within reach.
In recent weeks, Umno/Barisan especially through their owned and controlled mainstream media (msm) had tried to paint a picture of Pakatan Rakyat in disarray if not in disintegration, focusing particularly on Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) which has been reduced to 26 from 30 MPs two years ago.
Firstly, Umno/BN tried to foment trouble in Pakatan Rakyat saying that I should be Parliamentary Opposition Leader as the DAP with 28 MPs has now more MPs than PKR. Thanks but no, as DAP has decided that Anwar Ibrahim is the Parliamentary Opposition Leader heading the Pakatan Rakyat in Parliament until he becomes the new Prime Minister when Pakatan Rakyat captures Putrajaya in the next general elections.
Secondly, the Umno/BN launched a psychological warfare against PKR and Pakatan Rakyat because of the PKR cleansing process resulting in the reduction, whether by defection or expulsion, of its parliamentary strength. In the first general elections contested by the DAP in 1969, DAP won 13 Parliamentary and 31 State Assembly seats. However, we suffered a high rate of attrition through inconstancy of political purpose and integrity, when our first-batch MPs and State Assemblymen could not withstand the two-pincer BN attack of intimidation, pressure and even blackmail on the one hand and a campaign of seduction with monetary and other material temptations and offers on the other.
In 1972, the then Prime Minister announced that the DAP “telah masuk kubur” while the Deputy Prime Minister predicted that the DAP was “moving towards the final phase of its existence”.
But for over four decades, the DAP had stood the test of time and today, it is the Umno/BN who are afraid of the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat and not the other way round.
PKR and Pakatan Rakyat can only come out stronger with greater credibility and mustering greater public confidence from a self-cleansing process resulting in a more united, cohesive and disciplined political movement to spearhead political change in Malaysia.
[Note: The massive crowd of several thousands stood their ground despite on-off downpour and Anwar Ibrahim, who spoke after me, mesmerized the people from all races, religion and ages in a speech lasting for over an hour.
These were my tweets during Anwar’s speech:
[Speech at the Negri Sembilan Pakatan Rakyat “March 8 political tsunami” second anniversary ceramah perdana at Oakland Commerce Square, Seremban on Tuesday, 9th March 2010 at 10 pm]