Can the Pakatan govern?
My view is that in any coalition of parties, whether for business or politics, there is bound to emerge a component which, for reason of its mass, will likely become the senior or Big Brother of the group.
And by this reason, it is also bound to have a major say over most, if not all, the main issues. Therefore when it comes to the crunch, it is the senior that wins.
Win-Win situation, I have learnt from my years in corporate arena, are deceptions cleverly expounded by guys who need to strike a deal with you. A Win-Win situation is one that lets you take the least home, but somehow, perhaps through unfavourable tradeoffs or some hidden threats, makes you feel that you have not lost a lot.
This is, in part, what agreeing to disagree is about. Trouble is, we can agree to disagree but work must still be carried out or else problems will be swept under the carpet.
This is what is happening in the case of BN. In the end, its problems exploded in its face as was shown in the March general elections last year.
Putting this in Pakatan Rakyat's perspective, should it come to power, I cannot see how the PR's coalitional structure can be much different from that of the Barisan Nasional's.
Somehow there must be a leader
There must be a head to lead. And this is where I see the difficulty lies.
For the past 18 months, I can't see a clear viable structure in the PR that gives me the confidence to believe it can work.
One huge piece of evidence supporting my fear is the inability of the PR to even solidify cooperation through the establishing of a legally registered political party.
Or to even name a shadow cabinet to prepare for its future rule. The reason for this, I have the nasty feeling, is that this is something that is not readily possible to achieve.
Other than for the common hatred of BN, there is no other strong binding factor that allows this to happen. In reality, the basic differences are wide. I also have the strong feeling that it is a situation where everybody wants to be the head.
I would really love to see the PR leaders projecting some plan to alleviate our concerns that over time, if it does come to power, we will get to see a structure not dis-similar to that of the BN.
Otherwise change for pleasure of change can prove to be dangerous. It is not unfair to say that the Iraq of today is not perceived as Iraq that is better than when Saddam Hussein was around!
MM
My view is that in any coalition of parties, whether for business or politics, there is bound to emerge a component which, for reason of its mass, will likely become the senior or Big Brother of the group.
And by this reason, it is also bound to have a major say over most, if not all, the main issues. Therefore when it comes to the crunch, it is the senior that wins.
Win-Win situation, I have learnt from my years in corporate arena, are deceptions cleverly expounded by guys who need to strike a deal with you. A Win-Win situation is one that lets you take the least home, but somehow, perhaps through unfavourable tradeoffs or some hidden threats, makes you feel that you have not lost a lot.
This is, in part, what agreeing to disagree is about. Trouble is, we can agree to disagree but work must still be carried out or else problems will be swept under the carpet.
This is what is happening in the case of BN. In the end, its problems exploded in its face as was shown in the March general elections last year.
Putting this in Pakatan Rakyat's perspective, should it come to power, I cannot see how the PR's coalitional structure can be much different from that of the Barisan Nasional's.
Somehow there must be a leader
There must be a head to lead. And this is where I see the difficulty lies.
For the past 18 months, I can't see a clear viable structure in the PR that gives me the confidence to believe it can work.
One huge piece of evidence supporting my fear is the inability of the PR to even solidify cooperation through the establishing of a legally registered political party.
Or to even name a shadow cabinet to prepare for its future rule. The reason for this, I have the nasty feeling, is that this is something that is not readily possible to achieve.
Other than for the common hatred of BN, there is no other strong binding factor that allows this to happen. In reality, the basic differences are wide. I also have the strong feeling that it is a situation where everybody wants to be the head.
I would really love to see the PR leaders projecting some plan to alleviate our concerns that over time, if it does come to power, we will get to see a structure not dis-similar to that of the BN.
Otherwise change for pleasure of change can prove to be dangerous. It is not unfair to say that the Iraq of today is not perceived as Iraq that is better than when Saddam Hussein was around!
MM
09/10/09
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