Everyone is aware of the result for the Bagan Pinang by-election. BN manage to win back the seat. This time, they won with a bigger majority. Even bigger to that of the majority that they won in the last general election that saw a political tsunami. The result came not as a surprise. In other words, BN winning the by-election is not unexpected. I still remember that one of PAS official said that it is hard for them to win the election. Bagan Pinang is an UMNO stronghold. It is as if PAS trying to take away Permatang Pauh from Anwar Ibrahim. Although, the result is expected, but what shocked me the most is the inability of PAS to narrow down the majority. UMNO won with bigger majority this time. I thought that they can actually narrow down the majority. So the question is what is happening to PAS and Pakatan Rakyat? What happen to the political tsunami? Is the Pakatan Rakyat has failed to keep the momentum running? Will this affect the outcome of the next by-election (if any) as well as the next general election? I can’t answer it by myself. Let the party leaders answer it. What I am going to stress here is that the result of the Bagan Pinang by-election should be a wakeup call for Pakatan Rakyat to perform better.
I am not going to elaborate further on the result. What I am going to discuss next is about the Bagan Pinang by-election campaign. I am a bit against one of UMNO’s campaign during the election. They said that those receiving scholars from the government should be thankful and vote for UMNO. I am really against this because does this mean that if I supported the opposition, I am not entitle to receive scholarship from the government or any form of help from the government. If the answer is yes, might as well we form 2 governments. One government is for those supporting the ruling party and the second government is for those supporting the opposition party. For me, it is fine and acceptable for anyone to support the opposition despite the fact that they receive financial assistance or any other form of assistance from the government. I can give you 2 reasons. The first reason is a country needs a strong government and a strong government exist only if there is a strong opposition. Voting for opposition is indeed doing a favor to the government because we are creating a strong government. The second reason is because people especially UMNO has to realize the fact that government and politics are 2 separate entities. Politics is part of government but not all parts government involve politics. From my point of view, politics is part of government only during election. After winning the election, politics should be put aside. Whoever wins the election, they are responsible to serve the people regardless of political background. No one should be sidelined. Receiving assistance from the government does not mean you received assistance from the political party i.e. the ruling political party. You are indeed receiving assistance from the ruling government. It is your right as a citizen.
Another thing about UMNO is that they are outdated. Seriously! I’m not joking. I’m telling here is not because I am against UMNO. UMNO can be a very good party if they actually follow the latest trend and demand. What I am trying to say here is I realize that each time if there is an election, be it general or by-election, UMNO’s manifesto is mainly about development. Are they running out of ideas or running out of things to offer to the people? Look at the opposition. I respect them because each time there is an election, they always have something new to offer. For example, in 1999 general election, their manifesto is mainly about Barisan Alternatif. They offer to become an alternative government to replace BN. In 2004 general election, PAS offered in their manifesto Negara Islam. In the last general election, PAS offered in their manifesto Negara Berkebajikan while Anwar with PKR offered in their manifesto Malaysia Baru. Each time, there is always a new thing to offer. Furthermore, I believe that development should not be included in manifesto because the task of developing the nation is the job of the ruling party regardless of which party that rules our nation. That is just my point of view. I believe that UMNO should consider it.
That is all for this posting. Till next time.
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