Today,I have join the ranks of many before me,in getting closer with my maker.I have just turn 50 years of age,wiser and more vocal.But my birthday blog will not be overly"cheong hei" as before,but it is my wish that Sabahans have chosen CHANGE by standing firm for the future of this wonderful place call...SABAH.
While some still mourned the unexpected death of Batu Sapi Member of Parliament, Edmond Chong,many have way pass his untimely death.In fact his wife Linda Tsen,has spend the last 7 days campaigning in the on-going Batu Sapi by election,all in the name of ensuring UMNO/BN keeping the seat.While many feel that Linda Tsen should still be in mourning,UMNO/BN,particularly Chief Minister Musa Aman and Pairin Kitingan thinks otherwise,as this being their only weapon left available to capture the seat....sympathy votes..!!
Pairin Kitingan must still be living in the stone age of 1985,when sympathy votes became the basis of his party's victory.If fact,I still remember those days,the saying was that even a monkey would have won,and all it needed to do was to wave the Parti Bersatu Sabah(PBS) flag,and victory was his.
Ironically,after 25 years,UMNO/BN still believes the same old "song"still works.If at all Musa Aman and Pairin Kitingan still thinks that Sabahans are the same easily hoodwink people they knew 25 years ago,then they are miserably wrong as the 12th General Elections have awaken the sleeping Sabahans
.
The one thing we can all agree here is that Batu Sapi will be the benchmark for whatever will be the turning point for both sides of the divide.UMNO/BN's continued existence, Pakatan Rakyat's entry as the "government-in-waiting"will be decided on the 4th.November when Sabahans go to the polls to decide who they prefer to represent them in Parliament.Then there are also strong signals for a Snap elections,which Prime Minister,Najib Razak has boldly mention at the UMNO's Congress recently.If this is of any indication of an imminent snap elections around the corner,the new MP of Batu Sapi may not see the light of being sworn in,due to the snap election and Parliament doesn't sit that soon for him/her to be sworn in.
UMNO/BN's PROMISES MERE TALK.
Batu Sapi will still remember the false promises of UMNO/BN since the day Batu Sapi became a Parliamentary Constituency in 2004.The late Edmond Chong became the first MP,uncontested and retain the seat in the 12th General elections against an Independent,who has just only recently join PBS.
In the headlines of a local daily(Daily Express) today,Musa Aman blatantly lied through his teeth once again with his statement "Many plans in store for Batu Sapi".My question is,What happen to the previous plans and promises which has yet to be fulfilled?The people of Batu Sapi deserves the absolute right to know and demand,where is the previous promises made to them?In the words of Abraham Lincoln,"you can fool the people some of the time,but you cannot fool the people all the time".
But what interest me the most in this by-election was the challenge after challenge for a Debate hurl at each other by the contesting candidates from Parti Keadilan Rakyat(PKR) and Sabah Progressive Party(SAPP).While the challenges were mere smokescreens for some,PKR 's candidate,Ansari Abdullah was the most sincere when he invited SAPP's Yong Teck Lee and Barisan Nasional's Linda Tsen to an OPEN DEBATE for the benefit of the people to gauge who should rightfully represent them in Parliament.As expected neither excepted the challenge and chickened out.
Yong Teck Lee or better known as"taiko",a name bestowed upon him by the local media,for whatever reasons, may take a rocket scientist to scientifically figure this out,chicken out in the debate when he describe it as "Ansari is not within his league".His arrogant remark in describing Ansari as a "parachute candidate",and that he will only debate with Anwar Ibrahim,since he is the President of his party and Anwar is the Ketua Umum,we are at "par".
Ironically he felt it proper to engage this debate by also inviting Musa Aman.Shouldn't Yong be inviting the Prime Minister,Najib Razak since he is the Chairman of Barisan Nasional,and not Musa Aman?Why did Yong conveniently ignore this fact by inviting Najib,is mind-boggling?After all,it was Najib early this year that said "I will decide what is best for Sabah".For the record, Yong Teck Lee's arrogance in describing Ansari as a parachute candidate is an insult,he forgot to mentioned that even he is a parachute candidate.
UMNO/BN's candidate,Linda Tsen is of course a pawn of convenience.Her job is to keep silent as far as possible and UMNO/BN will do all the campaigning.Her command in Bahasa Malaysia,which is a prerequisite language use in Parliament,is highly questionable.It's safe to even say that a Primary 6 student speaks better Bahasa then her,which is an insult to the intelligence of Batu Sapi.
If Edmond Chong was unable to raise the standard of living and perform for Batu Sapi for 2 terms as the MP,how can Linda do better? The political landscape in Malaysia has change ever since the 12th General election and if change has really happen in Sabah,then the people of Batu Sapi is not about to send a deaf,dumb and blind person to Parliament.
Enemy Within....Where is Jeffery Kitingan,Christina Liew and their Lieutenants?
As Pakatan Rakyat leaders led by Anwar Ibrahim work their guts out in Batu Sapi to campaign for PKR's candidate Ansari Abdullah in the by-election, disgusted party members are beginning to question the motives of outgoing PKR Vice President Jeffrey Kitingan and his close aid Christina Liew.
Both are believed to be not interested in Batu Sapi. In fact, it is no secret that Jeffery,Christina and their Lieutenants are busy campaigning for Zaid Ibrahim in the PKR Deputy Presidency.Where is their loyalty,sincerity and commitment in the party,when a fellow comrade is the candidate for the Batu Sapi by-election?I question their intentions,as this is unacceptable.
I will even go one step higher and demand that the party haul them up for disciplinary action for sabotage and insubordination.It was claimed by one of Jeffery's aid's,Alex Kiob that Jeffery was not welcome in Batu Sapi.I'm baffled by this claim,PKR belongs to members,since when it became the property of an individual?The word is that,two Kitingans cannot be at the same place campaigning,worst off on opposite sides.
Why aren’t they showing solidarity with Anwar, Lim Kit Siang and Mahfuz Omar. These guys are all working round the clock to bring reform to Sabahans, but Jeffery and Christina only seem to be interested in their own party positions. That's why they are drawing flak from other party members because they don't seem to be interested in Pakatan or PKR at all, but only in themselves.
Anwar now has to acknowledge the truth in what a lot of Sabah members have been telling him – Jeffrey hasn’t done a thing for PKR. To continue to rely on him,Christina and most of their lieutenants, is for PKR to commit suicide in Sabah.I guess Winston Churchill was right when he said"Politics is more dangerous then war,for in war you are only killed once".
In fact, just on the grounds of selfishness and putting personal interest above party and coalition, many members feel both Jeffery and Christina should already be axed. This is serious. We are talking about war in the 13th GE and we only want those who will fight with PKR and Pakatan through thick and thin, and not for themselves.
There are many KDM leaders in Sabah,one only need to open their eyes.The young and new generation has already emerged,a fact that worries Jeffery to his bones.I recall Christina arrogantly mentioning in the recent cabang election,"we should not support Orang Malaya".I wonder where does Zaid comes from,surely not from Sabah?Having said that,Christina was not even BORN in Malaysia,let alone Sabah.Christina was born in Indonesia and only holds a Permanent Residency(PR),yet she insults us by telling Malaysians not to support another Malaysian.
PKR's ON-GOING PARTY ELECTION.
It's a fight to the end,and anything goes in the on-going party elections.From what was endeavour and hoped to be a "friendly"party elections,it has now gone down to "anything goes".While there is no contest in the President's post,the Deputy President's post is getting uglier by the day.The 2 aspirants,Azmin Ali and Zaid Ibrahim are not too far apart in the votes so far,judging from the 68 cabangs(divisions)that have already completed their election process.
The one thing that is rather obvious now is,the guessing game as to who will win Azmin or Zaid doesn't arise anymore.That decision now lies in the hands of the 400,000 members throughout the country,who will vote in the next 3 weekends.In Sabah,both Jeffery Kitingan and Christina Liew have been "baptised" to campaign for Zaid Ibrahim,while Azmin has most of the cabangs supporting him.From the grapevine...huge sums of "money" is being poured in to ensure Zaid's victory.
But lets examine and take a closer look at Azmin and Zaid,do we need a magnifying glass to examine them?Azmin has been with the party since it's inception and has gone through the"mills".A die hard party man,who has sacrifice himself for the party,members and the rakyat.As a person,some may equate him as a total "asshole",but we're not here to distinguish him as a capable leader or an asshole.The root of the matter is,the party needs a person of his calibre,you can't satisfy everyone anyway.Azmin has proven himself beyond reasonable doubt over the years,and he well deserves to be elected as the Deputy President.
Zaid Ibrahim on the other hand,does possess charisma,but we're not looking for charisma.If it's charisma we're looking for many would qualify,me included.But we're not talking about me.The party must be steered in it's right direction in facing the 13th General election,and Zaid Ibrahim is not the man for the job.I'm sure many would take this opportunity to "whack" me for saying this,particularly die hard fans of Zaid,but the reality is before us,PKR must have a LEADER,and Zaid doesn't impress me,perhaps in 3 years from now,I may defer in my opinion,depending again how Azmin performs.
Okay,I've said enough,I did promise not to be "cheong hei".My parting birthday wish,I urge the people of Batu Sapi to come out in full force and vote for PKR.A vote for PKR is a vote for the future generation.For members of PKR who are still uncertain as to who to vote for the Deputy President,allow me to assist you..vote Azmin Ali.
