There is no smoke without fire. Rumours have been abound since MArch 8 that Sabahan parties may quit BN and join the opposition. As with most rumours in Malaysia, this has turned out to be not just speculation with the announcement of SAPP that it would move a vote of no confidence against Prime MInister AAB.
In the light of this announcement, BN would have no choice but to kick SAPP out of BN. Out of the 14 component parties, there would be 13 left.
There are also rumours that more than 10 others MPs would quit BN, either with their parties or individually. Will these turn out to be true also? After SAPP, I would not discount anything.
But politically, this group of more than 10 MPs (10 to 18 as rpeorted in Chinese Malaysiakini) would be more effective to help the people of Sabah, if they can remain as independents , without joining Pakatan.
Unless of course, they think for their own self interest, and that by joining Pakatan and bringing down BN governemnt, they would be rewarded with Ministerial positions and so on… And that would mean the politics of patronage, which we voters have been trying so hard to get rid of, may still be with us even with a change of government.
If this group can remain as independents, then they will hold the trump card, and can in fact force BN in general and UMNO in particular to change. They could demand for better govenrnace; they could ask the government to accelerate the setting up of judicial commission, the formation of which is facing some resistance as some in UMNO would not want this to happen; they could also ask for an completely independent Anti Corruption COmmission.
In a nutshell, these people could play leverage to get BN to return to the people.
By staying out of Pakatan, they could still help form a new government if UMNO does not change and if Pakatan can get enough MPs to leave BN. Once Pakatan forms a minority government, the leverage to get Pakatan deliver what it has promised will be much greater if this group stays out of Pakatan. If Pakatan does not deliver, this group can again exert its independence and vote Pakatan out , too.
When there is a 2 party system with almost equal strength, a small third independent force will be much more effective if it remains outside both the big brothers. That is what I hope will happen and this is what I have advocating.
Dr Hsu’s Forum
PEOPLE'S POWER
There is a difference between UMNO and Barisan Nasional. I want to make it clear that it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, but the UMNO government. It is not the government, but UMNO. Barisan Nasional is a coalition of unequals, not equals. UMNO is the big brother in BN. Therefore UMNO must be held responsible; and more importantly, UMNO must not be allowed to hide behind the BN banner. UMNO is the enemy, not BN.
ReplyDeleteI have come to the conclusion that the easy solution is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections.
In the 2004 elections (11th General Election), the voters gave good support to Mr.Abdullah Badawi. But reforms did not come. Why? Probably because UMNO had done well in the elections. If UMNO had done well in the elections, then the election results tell UMNO that the voters are satisfied with the status quo. If the voters are satisfied with UMNO, then no reforms are necessary. In the 2008 elections (12th General Elections), UMNO did not do well, but she managed to win. UMNO did lose the 2/3 majority in the Parliament, but she did win, nevertheless. Will UMNO undertake reforms now? I would not be surprised if she did not. Why should she? UMNO is still the winner in the elections; and she can plan to rise and may even succeed to rise again. So, as long as she wins, she will never undertake the reforms. So, how do the voters get the reforms that they need? The voters will get the reforms when UMNO is completely defeated in the 13th General Elections. If UMNO wins zero seats in the next elections (13th General Elections), then some other party would have to rule Malaysia. Let us call it Party B. If UMNO is completely defeated in the next elections (13th General Elections), then Party B would rule Malaysia. Would Party B undertake reforms? If Party B does not undertake reforms, then voters would know what to do.
There is no doubt that UMNO has used gerrymandering to strengthen herself. If we removed gerrymandering from UMNO, then there would be a reduced UMNO. So the non-UMNO voters of Malaysia have good reasons to vote against UMNO.
It is possible that UMNO has used the Police Force to strengthen herself. The Police Force is required to be neutral. But is the Police Force neutral? I appeal to the Police Force to be neutral.
UMNO is a race based political party and also the big brother of BN. So, the complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get reforms. The complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get a new beginning.
UMNO is inclined to believe that Malaysians cannot do anything if they are in any way dissatisfied. The voters, however, have to send a strong message to UMNO that the voters can do something: the voters can vote.
So, the next step for Malaysians is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections.