A very belated congratulations to Barisan Nasional for winning the Batang Pinang state seat with an increased majority.
I was dead wrong when I predicted that PAS has a chance to win the by-election. After realising that there are around 4,600 postal voters in Batang Pinang, I know that I have to eat my own words. But after looking at the margin, it was clear that the 'reconditioned' candidate, Tan Sri Isa Samad is still a popular choice among the people in Batang Pinang and maybe in Negeri Sembilan in general.
There are so many 'lessons' to be learned from the result. It shows that in UMNO, any leaders who have been tainted with corruption or any malpractices can still have a chance to make a comeback. We have seen leaders who tried to make the political comeback, such as Dato' Mokhtar Hashim who was found guilty in Dato' Taha's murder in 1980s, and even Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik whose case was very famous in 1990s. And surely Dato' Ali Rustam will again try for the deputy president's post next year and will say that he was found guilty for corruption on 'technical' ground.
As for PAS, it shows that a lot has to be done to win hearts and minds of people, Muslims or non-Muslims. The result was a total rejection of Pakatan Rakyat, and I think it was attributable to the ongoing squabble in the PR, and the tendency of their leaders to bash each other openly in public, and at the same time giving free bullets to the media to manipulate the issue and potray a very bad image of PR. The honeymoon period for Pakatan Rakyat is over, and the time now is to gain people's confidence that they have the capability and capacity to deliver. If not, the political tsunami in the next general election will be in the other direction, and PR will only be left with Kelantan again in their hands. Janganlah menjadi seperti ayam jantan yang merasakan bahawa matahari terbit kerana kokoknya.
For those who feel that their constituencies are very much left behind in term of development, pray that there will be by-elections in your constituencies. The money will surely be dumped like crazy and the government will surely deliver in 2 weeks what they have failed to deliver in more than one year (from March 2008). See what had happened in Batang Pinang where all roads were resurfaced immediately and all beaches were cleaned up. Better still if you are a contractor and linked to a certain political party. You will be awarded contracts at a jacked-up price and still you can compromise on the quality delivered, provided that you can complete the project before the election day.
Malaysia Boleh? Too sad.
I was dead wrong when I predicted that PAS has a chance to win the by-election. After realising that there are around 4,600 postal voters in Batang Pinang, I know that I have to eat my own words. But after looking at the margin, it was clear that the 'reconditioned' candidate, Tan Sri Isa Samad is still a popular choice among the people in Batang Pinang and maybe in Negeri Sembilan in general.
There are so many 'lessons' to be learned from the result. It shows that in UMNO, any leaders who have been tainted with corruption or any malpractices can still have a chance to make a comeback. We have seen leaders who tried to make the political comeback, such as Dato' Mokhtar Hashim who was found guilty in Dato' Taha's murder in 1980s, and even Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik whose case was very famous in 1990s. And surely Dato' Ali Rustam will again try for the deputy president's post next year and will say that he was found guilty for corruption on 'technical' ground.
As for PAS, it shows that a lot has to be done to win hearts and minds of people, Muslims or non-Muslims. The result was a total rejection of Pakatan Rakyat, and I think it was attributable to the ongoing squabble in the PR, and the tendency of their leaders to bash each other openly in public, and at the same time giving free bullets to the media to manipulate the issue and potray a very bad image of PR. The honeymoon period for Pakatan Rakyat is over, and the time now is to gain people's confidence that they have the capability and capacity to deliver. If not, the political tsunami in the next general election will be in the other direction, and PR will only be left with Kelantan again in their hands. Janganlah menjadi seperti ayam jantan yang merasakan bahawa matahari terbit kerana kokoknya.
For those who feel that their constituencies are very much left behind in term of development, pray that there will be by-elections in your constituencies. The money will surely be dumped like crazy and the government will surely deliver in 2 weeks what they have failed to deliver in more than one year (from March 2008). See what had happened in Batang Pinang where all roads were resurfaced immediately and all beaches were cleaned up. Better still if you are a contractor and linked to a certain political party. You will be awarded contracts at a jacked-up price and still you can compromise on the quality delivered, provided that you can complete the project before the election day.
Malaysia Boleh? Too sad.
