General Election 2008. Malaysia.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi

I have chosen to be apolitical for a long time abstaining myself despite knowing a little to what is melting in the Malaysian political scene until the historic General Election on the 8th of March 2008 which turned the table against almost everbody's expectations, the ruling Barisan Nasional and the Oppositions alike.

But what followed has been bigger than the GE itself.

Pak Lah's team lost miserably, the worst outing in 50 years history of general elections.

PENANG.

Penang, Abdullah Badawi, the Prime Minister's home state, fell to DAP with Lim Guan Eng who squeezed the final political breath out of Koh Tsu Koon the Chief Minister of Penang and Gerakan's Acting Chairman.


LIm Guan Eng, Penang's New Chief Minister




For Guan Eng, being the new Chief Minister without any past experience in what so ever public office is without doubt totally unprepared for such a mammoth task. The next 4 years or so is definitely not going to be easy. He is definitely going to fumble. A lot.

Koh Tsu Koon, ex Chief Minister of Penang and Gerakan Acting President

KEDAH
Kedah also created history with PAS ( a Muslim based party) beating the Barisan Team broke, taking over the state installing themselves as the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister. But in terms of qualification, I must say he is the best qualified so far, academically. What he can deliver is of course another matter.

Shahidan Kassim

ex Mentri Besar of Perlis


PERLIS
Just North of Kedah, Perlis spun a very diffrent story. Despite the former Menteri Besar leading the Barisan yet to another victory, he was ousted and replaced by another guy endorsed by the palace despite Pak Lah's proposal of having Shahidan reappointed another term as Menteri Besar.

Quite obviously, it was the work of fellow politicians who were then Ministers in the Malaysian cabinet like Radzi Sheikh Fadzil, Azmi Khalid and gang that conspired against Shahidan who stepped onto too many people's toes in Perlis UMNO politics. But that went at a price as well. Both lost their Cabinet posts bleaving them as normal Members of Parliament.

PERAK
In Perak, again it was another nightmare when PAS, Keadilan and DAP took over the state from BN. Despite DAP winning most seats among the Oppositions, it was the state law that the Menteri Besar has to be a Malay.

Again the new MB is the best qualified so far to head the state, a succefssful engineer that speaks Malays, English, Mandarin and Tamil has already started to win people's heart at functions with his eloquence.


Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Selangor New Mentri Besar. From Corporate supremo to political heights.




SELANGOR
But the best grab for the Opposition must have been Selangor, wrenching it over from the ruling Barisan government, the richest state in Malaysia. Keadilan beat the BN flat out! Imagine the Khir Toyo ( a dentist in a small town of Sg Besar) ex Menteri Besar, waking up the following morning after the GE having to grasp with reality that he was no longer the Menteri Besar.


Khir Toyo, ex Mentri Besar of Selangor






Hopefully, the new MB from Keadilan, Tan Sri Khalid who was Guthrie's Chairman and PNB's as well being the most qualified so far, will bring some positive changes of good governance voters deserve.



SAMY VELLU
Samy Vellu, MIC chairman was beaten handsdown in Sungai Siput Perak bearing the wrath of the Indians and other voters alike. I wonder how Lord Samy Vellu must have felt following the defeat. It must be difficult waking one the following mornings after the defeat with no more body guard, driver and all the perks of a Minister. You are an ex Minister now, Samy.

TRENGGANU
In Trengganu, yet another story. Idris Jusoh the then Menteri Besar, led his team to victory beating the Oppositions but failed to get re-appointed as the Menteri Besar. The palace is plainly not happy with him and after more than 10 days stan-off, the palace apointed Mat Said from Kijal as the new Menteri Besar amidst the boycott of all others who won the recent GE, standing behind Idris as they were all nominated by him to stand in the election.

Idris Jusoh. Currently Ex Menteri Besar of Trengganu.
What is going to ensue, is any one's guess. But politicians being politicians will just eventually toe the line of power when their own interests matter.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG?
1. Abdullah Badawi has failed miserably as a Prime Minister and leader to the Malays and the rest alike. No doubt about it. How Khairy Jamaluddin his son-in-law manipulates in his politics and government is open secret known even to everybody, politics or business. Just ask around and you'll get more than you can chew.

2. Those in power abused their positions big time, depriving others more deserving or entitled to.

3. The business community were short changed as well unless well connected to the power cronies.


Campaigns like this by the internet savy has certainly done a lot of damage to the BN. Simple yet so far reaching..

4. Indians were disillusioned with Samy Vellu who has been ruling MIC as his own dynasty for more than 2 decades.


Ong Kah Ting, MCA President

5. The Chinese were also disillusioned with MCA and the politics of MCA preceding the GE has not been healthy at all. And so is Gerakan.

6. The Malays? They have been the biggest losers being second class citizens in their own land unless they are members of the cronies of UMNO.

Feel sorry for Pak Lah. Not only he gave away his daughter to this guy, but also his political life.


KJ,enemies abound from within UMNO and of course, the Oppositions.
Pictured copied from http://www.kickdefella.wordpress.com/

UMNO
7. UMNO. The day has come when the King with no clothes on is the best dressed king in the whole kingdom. Surrounded by people in positions or otherwise, the President is made to believe that everything is fine even though things are rotting at the grass root levels.

Unless quickly the truth is quickly acknowleged, what has happened is just the beginning of the end. It has happened in Japan before. The Phillipines. Thailand. We are never short of history lessons to learn from.

8. STRONG OPPOSITIONS?
Do Malaysians really endorse the politics of bigotry or extremism of PAS, DAP & Keadilan? I don't think so.

It's just that when voters were fed up of the ruling coalition, who would they vote for? Opposition.

Q:How long can this brand of politics last?
A: For as long as the King believes he is still the best dressed in the Kingdom despite being naked in everybody's eyes.

Yes, Anwar Ibrahim has been extremely instrumental in getting the Opposition parties to come around together, but I was around then when he orchestrated Tun Ghaffar Baba's exit from being the then Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Oresident the then almighty UMNO in 1993.


Marriage of convenience?

I was there to witness how well he 'managed' Malaysia as Finance Minister and wanting to bring in IMF into Malaysia during the economic crisis of 1997-98.

As an UMNO Division Youth Head, I was involved at National Level politics as well and I witnessed a thing or two right before me. Saw it all how Anwar Ibrahim distributed wealth to his cronies through newly listed companies' shares by the hundred of thousands, projects and what nots under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.



Rafidah Aziz

THE LESSON from POLITICS.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. "

Good bye Khir Toyo, Sammy Vellu, Koh Tsu Koon, Tajol Rosli, Rafidah Aziz, Ong Kah Tin, Jamaludin Jarjis, Azmi Khalid, Shahidan Kassim, Radzi Sheikh Fadir, Idris Jusoh(?) and the rest. After all your hard work to the nation and the people, you guys deserve to retire. Don't you?

And Pak Lah? Are you the best dressed King in the Kingdom now?

Yours truly,

m.a.