Saturday, June 28, 2008

How arrogant have we become?

The recent incident at the JB division branch election illustrates perfectly how arrogant Gerakan leaders have become. The leader was arrogant enough to conduct the alleged illegal activities right in front of witnesses. There was no hint of shamefulness nor respect for the proceedings when he falsified the signatures and submitted the forms. Like Mugabe, there is no pretense to respect the rules and regulations because, maybe like Mugabe, they believe that only God can take them down. Is this where it starts? If this is where it starts, then I am relieve we were rejected at the last election because not only have we become arrogant but also intellectually challenged.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

White + Black = Grey

The matter in the JB division branch election has been some what resolved. The NESC has decided to disqualify the Taman Majidee branch election and renominate by 12 July. However no action has been taken towards the alleged perpe"traitor". He is not even shown the "show cause" letter. Many Gerakan members are watching this incident closely to see if the national leaders can be fair in such a blatant breach of election rules, not to mention the arrogance of the act. Are national leaders going to do a "Close One Eye Mat Said" too. Let see if the alleged perpe"traitor" is allowed to contest for the post again by 12 July.

Vote Move IT

One of the the most annoying thing about being in a political party is the father knows best attitude in the leadership. Although not all of the leaders are such but most are. I guess it comes with the super ego needed to lead people. However, ego aside, democratic rules and conventions still needed to be adhere to. And the most irritating trait of this "father knows best attitude" is the anointment of selected people for the vacated posts. In a democratic society, leaders have to go through a baptism of fire in an electoral process. This mandatory process will provide the winner with the necessary mandate to lead. When a leader has been selected, the opposing camps should work hard to close the gap. The winner should be magnanimous and the loser gracious in defeat. In actual fact, the biggest winner will be the party because a leader has been selected without any loss in solidarity and purpose. Viva la democracia!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Why Vote for Move IT

Many has questioned the rational behind the move for Move IT to go for the Ketua Pemuda Negeri post. When all has been distilled and purify, the only reason for this exercise is CHANGE.

Move IT wants to change Gerakan so that it will be relevant again. After all what is there to lose. We are down to 2 MPs and 4 ADUNs. A party must represent the people. A party that does not represent the people does not have any excuse to exist.

Gerakan has always been touted as the conscience of BN. But the conscience has not been speaking out at the excesses of the government or did not seemed to be doing so. Even though leaders have always maintained that they have voiced out concerns behind closed door, such action is like the old saying "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Over the years, Gerakan has developed a culture of giving positions to party members as a reward for their loyalty instead of true capability. That is why the party has not been able to attract new talents and has become more and more remove from the voting public. We need to attract new people with ideas and commitment to serve the party. We do not need these hangers-on that is sucking the party dry of it's lifeforce and reputation.

No more menu politics in Gerakan. Positions will be given to those with true capability and commitment. Those with ulterior motives will not be given positions because their commitment is to self and not to party or to the public. These leeches need to be extricated from the party or the party will never be reinvented.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

White is white and black is black


Recently at the JB division branch nomination, a branch leader was caught falsifying signatures and submitting forms for the youth and wanita wing of the branch. It was witnessed by a few people and even caught on video. The complaining party even had a press conference to highlight the matter in the newspapers because they fear that the matter would be swept under the carpet by the powers that be. Unfortunately their fears were well founded. The state election committee has referred the matter to national and early signs are not good. This being an election year has transformed many rational people into power hungry spineless twits. In search for votes in the coming election, many things black has turned white and vice versa. The thing is this, do we need such leaders? Reinvent Gerakan? Change leaderslah!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

The Fish Rots From The Head


Move It will contest for the state youth top post. He is determined to ensure a competition for this important post. This will, he said, ensure a democractic and strong leadership in the youth leadership. The more the merrier, he exclaimed. Democracy is about choice and the people we choose. Therefore the more choice we have, the more democractic we will be. The process of rejunevation cannot be accomplished if the same old leadership is still in charge whether de facto or de jure. Real change can only be achieved through a revolution of ideas and approach. We have to discard the old parochialism and cronysm not to mention the old malady, nepotism. Even white can become black if you are my people and if you are not, everything you do is wrong. Even this disease of the power hungry has permeated into the national HQ recently when we see waivers given out like confetti, even to the day before the nomination. The fish truly rots from the head.

Friday, June 13, 2008

OIL - No increase this year


The PM promised no increase in the price of petrol this year. This is another blow to the goverment's intergrity. After the bitter pill of the 40 percent increase in petrol price, the country seems to be on the right track. With sudden policy changes like this the government is shooting itself in the foot. The government seems to be a slave of popular opinion. A country cannot be governed by popular opinions alone. Leadership is when the leaders do the right thing not doing the most popular thing. My feeling is we have to adjust to this high price sooner than later. Oil is an opiate of the masses. We have relied to much on oil to develop the country instead of real gains in productivity and efficiency. More needed to be done to increase the income of the citizens. The first step is to curb the influx of cheap foreign labor which has depressed the pay of the local job market for ten years. Salary for the working men and women has stagnated. Foreign labor must not be involved in any kind of front line jobs. They should be limited to jobs in the 3D categories, dirty, dangerous and difficult. Citizens should enjoy the fruits of our economic development and not be set aside like the first wife in a polygamous marriage.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

What makes a good leader?


Recently I received bad news from our wanita division head. It seems our division's wanita wing could be disqualified because we might not meet the minimum of 4 wanita branches. This is out of 18 branches in our division. It is a shame really. We had 4 branches the last time but the Johor Jaya branch decided not to set up the wanita branch. I am not sure what is the reason but I sure the branch chairman has a good one not to continue with the registration. As a division with the full complement of branches we should have no trouble getting the wanita and youth wing going. Maybe what we need is a leader who leads, not one who wants to sleep.