From Sakmongkol AK47
Free Malaysia Today
April 12, 2013

The return of Lim Kit Siang to Johor should not matter to Umno and BN. Why should it cause worry? Isn’t it mathematically impossible for PR to go from 1 seat to 15 parliamentary seats? The Johor Chinese are different. They have an unshakeable allegiance to the state. So the Johor Chinese are by definition, naturally indifferent to what is happening around in the country.

The Chinese are a very practical people, says Chua Soi Lek. He must of course be referring to their apparent indifference to his sexual escapades. By that reasoning, the Chinese must also be indifferent to whatever stories are said of Anwar Ibrahim and they should be indifferent to Najib’s overextended and boring self-praising assessment of his Alphabet Soup vision. Ah Jib Gor does what Ah Jib Gor does best – tell tall stories mostly about himself.

Being practical they want to know, whether we can establish a good government. One that will practise good governance, consists of good, selfless and dedicated people. They want to go about making wealth under a government that upholds the rule of law. Which in turn require that the institutions that safeguard the rule and implementation of law be strong and independent and are established on principles of integrity. The Chinese want to live peacefully with the other major races in Malaysia. These are hallmarks of practical people.

I don’t think being practical means, they accept corruption, wheeling and dealing with the powers that be, accepting hegemony from others. If they are like that – that’s not being practical but being sly and acting like hustlers. The things that made the Chinese practical is economic independence. So being practical as in economically independent, the Chinese can exercise wider choices. They will chose to side with Pakatan Rakyat. That’s practical and acknowledging reality.

I hope the PR people are not learning from the same further maths book that BN uses to say that if DAP wins all the parliamentary seats it contests, DAP can form the next government. Now, where is that damn maths book?

If the DAP is given 50 parliamentary seats and wins them all, DAP will form the next government, and this country will be a Republic with Kit Siang as President, Christianity as the official religion, Malays will not be able to pray in suraus and mosques. Yes, DAP must be learning from the same maths book to even imagine PR can win up to 15 parliament seats and anything more than 16 state seats.

The truth is, we don’t use the same antiquated maths book. We are reading a book scripted and written by the people that says, we the people, have had enough with corrupt Umno-led government.

BN has a bottomless war chest. It has the loyalty of the Elections Commission which is the 15th BN component party. It owns the legitimate coercive forces in the country. It owns the media and is campaigning all year long for each day since 2008. It must have built up an insurmountable lead. It has the loyalty and fealty of the million new Malaysians. Najib has a string of media hyped achievements. His achievements through his Alphabet Soup are spectacular. Things are so good that no one can defeat BN.

With all these pluses, people are bewildered as to why does the PM delay elections? Why, why? It’s a shoo-in for Umno and BN.

Yet, the news that Lim Kit Siang is contesting in Gelang Patah has sent shock waves throughout the country. MCA leaders behave as MCA people do – taking pains to denounce that strategic move. But they do so from the deadly embrace of paranoia. It begins by self deluding itself and members by retreating into its comfort zone insisting that Johor Chinese are different. And so we ask, being poor and marginalised in Johor isn’t the same of being in the same situation elsewhere? Are Johor Chinese so thick to not appreciate that the country is going to the dogs?

The fact is – Kit Siang’s return to Johor IS bad news to MCA. If not why is the need to even lament that DAP is contesting against MCA candidates? Why should anyone not do so? We have the chance to wipe MCA out entirely. DAP does so to replace MCA as the party of choice for the Chinese. It’s not out to prove right the MCA version of a multiracial party. DAP is out to replace MCA and that is worrisome for MCA.

It signals the end of MCA in the south and elsewhere in Malaysia. For MCA to get even two parliamentary seats will now be difficult. Why should Kit Siang’s entry to Johor politics cause so much consternation when he is after all a touch and go and hit and run politician? Seventy-two year old Kit Siang is just a political guerrilla.

MCA’s fear is understandable – it stands to lose all the seats it now currently holds in Johor. The annihilation of MCA in Johor will confirm what the people feel about the party – that MCA is no longer relevant to Malaysian Chinese. To the Umno Malays, MCA is just its errand and water boy.

The move by Kit Siang has the immediate effect of galvanising Chinese support and picking up of the undecided voters. Kit Siang’s return to Johor is giving meaning and purpose to the Malaysian Chinese.

The Chinese now have a choice – to be an MCA Chinese, lackey and errand boy for Umno living under Umno hegemony and domination or to become a better Chinese and be part of the political process to kick out the corrupt government. I am sure, being practical people the Chinese understand that we do not inherit this world from our forbears, but borrow it from our children. we owe it to our Children and progeny to make this world a better world. There is a better world without Umno!

It will have a positive impact on the Johor Malays too. For too long they have been under the yoke of Umno hegemony and allowed themselves be indoctrinated to think in terms of ethnic calculations. Malay votes for Pakatan will even scale up to 50% because they would not want to be left behind in determining the future of this country.

I pity those commentators who keep insisting that MCA and Umno people will make sure the Chinese will not support DAP/PR. These people don’t have any inkling on what’s happening in the south. My friend Nurjazlan is in for a surprise. When I was there recently, his detractors are coming not from the opposition parties but from within the ranks of Umno. But he is all right as he has his business to direct his mind and body.

As to the rest who inhabit the dream world, allow me to enlighten them.

Even Kit Siang was pleasantly surprised to see at least 3,000 people attend his lunchtime ceramah in Batu Pahat. That’s lunchtime under the sweltering heat at the Essential Café or Lau Ti Fang at Jalan Mustafa, Batu Pahat. Tony Pua had to go out of the restaurant a few times to seek relief from the heat.

What does the gathering and open support mean? It means that the Chinese are solidly behind Kit Siang in his efforts to spearhead PR’s challenge in Johor. The attendees to the luncheon ceramah would now feel gratified to learn that Kit Siang a former student of Batu Pahat High School is coming home to Johor. It’s the return of the fortunate son.

Kit Siang was doing four ceramahs already when he arrived at another gathering in Kluang Johor at around 10pm. The entire Chinese population in Kluang must have been there. PAS supporters were also on hand to show support for DAP. It appears that Kluang will likely go back to the days when the legendary Lee Kaw was MP for Kluang.

The candidate for Bandar Penggaram was almost brought to tears when attending a ceramah at Kg Linau in Batu Pahat. She is a Batu Pahat native and has contested the DUN seat for the last four elections. She was at a loss for words seeing the reception she got from the largely Malay audience. She has never been to this part of Batu Pahat and the support she received that night was so positively given. Malays no longer fear the DAP – that fear being a product of paranoia and bigotry from Umno.

The Chinese are indeed practical people. Like other people, they want to free themselves from the xenophobia that Umno conditions the country with. They too, want to live as One people under a good Malaysian government. Surely the Umno and BN people, including MCA do not object to that, do they?