Pakatan Rakyat – Good for the country?

Yes.

I am cautiously optimistic.

But let me put a few of my thoughts on ‘paper’ and see how they stand up.

I am in full agreement that we need to move away from race based politics AND the identification of ethnicity as a criteria for assistance/advancement/handicap. People are different because and ONLY because we define that difference between us. The idea that we are different makes us different.

If we accepted that all of us deserve the same amount of space required to grow as a people, we would be! Sounds so simple but yet it is so contentious.

And it will remain so.

We need to vote. To vote to continue to CHANGE MINDS with regard to being a Bangsa Malaysia. I don’t want another conversation like I had yesterday with a market research firm who said to me at the end “you not Malaysian ah?” after I gave them my name. When I said yes I was the next question was “what race are you?” It irritates me when I hear that.

However, having said that, we had a NEGATIVE vote against a ruling party NOT a POSITIVE vote for the opposition/government now in 5 states.

This means that we will have serious resistance to change by forces STILL in play.

Ku Li throwing his hat in the ring?

The man has a vocation. And one must admire his tenacity and his life of service. How else can you explain the fact that he is throwing his hat into the ring one more time. Much has been made in our traditional media about his failed bid in 2004 but they’ve conveniently forgotten what that bid was about.

At that time, he almost knew he would lose. He staged the challenge to show UMNO that the call by the top leadership NOT to challenge the top two positions was not right. It was and is his belief that democracy within UMNO was something to be preserved and that the top two positions were never treated as ‘sacred cows’ in the past.

Democracy within UMNO was something that was prized during it’s formation and into it’s recent history. Until the advent of Tun Mahathir.

Right now, UMNO is held in great distrust not just by the non-malays but also the malays. Ku Li feels that he can unite the party. Why else at 71 would he offer himself to “heal the party?” The man is independently wealthy and has no particular desire for personal monuments. And does not owe allegiance to anyone except his own conscience. You can’t say that of anyone else in the 2nd ranks of UMNO at present.

The man who set up Petronas and returned much of our wealth to the nation is back in the fray. And having a strong voice speak up at this time of confusion can only be good.

I hope people recognise his sincerity and his desire to rebuild. But he is certainly facing an uphill struggle against vested interests and major money politics.

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