Is Pakatan Rakyat ready to rule?

Is Pakatan Rakyat ready to rule?

AUG 19 — I actually posed the title question on The Star’s Citizen blog for some feedback from anonymous sources. I had also requested that the answer be a simple yes or no, without going any further into explaining the details.

Obviously there are those who couldn’t help themselves.

So the results of the poll (excluding my vote) after 32 comments were:

15 no, 12 yes and 5 spoilt votes

Since I’m a firm believer in transparency, I’ll list out the spoilt votes for you to read.

First spoilt vote came from hoeyin who writes:

“Khalid Ibrahim — YES

Lim Guan Eng — OK la

Anwar and PAS — big NO NO....”

I consider this a spoilt vote because you have to accept Pakatan Rakyat as a whole, PAS, DAP and all. I give the same argument for the spoilt votes of wwjd88, klyong2502 and watansatria.

That would be four spoilt votes showing bias towards a single party in Pakatan Rakyat, and not the whole coalition.

The fifth spoilt vote was more of an “abstain” vote from theraj, who writes:

“Hey hey hold it. All those who voted YES must not disagree with the government for reverting teaching to Bahasa. You cannot disagree with the government for doing exactly what the opposition wanted.

“Hafidz, I am so confused. Can I stay neutral?”

Better the devil you know

I was surprised that some of the comments were stating that it was okay for them to be cheated by BN for the past 52 years because they didn’t do it directly in their faces. In fact, the comment even suggests that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition wouldn’t do any better.

Some were also distrustful of the Pakatan due to their continuous infighting as highlighted by the media.

The first chink in the armour was no other than PAS’s Husam Musa insisting that PAS would be implementing hudud law should it be in federal governance. This question was, of course, posed by Khairy Jamaluddin.

It was only after this that the top leaders of each party signed a declaration that they would come up with decisions that were agreed upon by all three members of the coalition.

However, further issues then came to the forefront.

Issues involving the infighting recorded by the media were the demolition of the abattoir in Kedah, the placement of the second Penang Bridge, the insistence of a reshuffle of excos in Selangor and the constant insistence for PAS-Umno unity talks much to the behest of all the other members, including within PAS itself.

My take

Seeing how the current state government in Selangor is handling its affairs, it seems rather fair to state that it is a populist coalition and a scrutinising one at that.

While the recently-concluded negotiations to make water cheaper and research to look into legal ways to undo the Official Secrets Act on a state-wide basis ae commendable, there are nevertheless grouses.

Personally, on my end, it would be the continuing interference from religious conservatives who suddenly became power crazy. It started namely with the raid on a hotel where customers in the lounge were suddenly issued summonses by JAIS.

Then it was the constant shaming of artists wanting to perform in the country by PAS Youth.

In addition to this, there was also the issue of the tender procedure for Alam Flora contractors raised in The Nut Graph recently.

And, of course, who could forget the now famous “Shah Alam beer party”, which, perhaps, after being pissed with their anti-ISA march failure, they decided to ask MBSA to raid a 7-Eleven outlet in Shah Alam of its beer.

Paradoxical as it may seem, thank Allah for Ronnie Liu for letting common sense rule over religious dogma and hubris.

Verdict

I personally think Pakatan makes a credible opposition and there are some wonderful instances where I love their work, particular in being vocal about wrongdoings. This is seen in SELCAT, the water deals.

However, I am apprehensive about the differences within the PR-controlled states. In Penang, a breakdancing competition was almost cancelled because PAS didn’t want girls dancing with guys.

Furthermore, rock concerts are banned in PAS-led Kedah. One wonders if this is perhaps why Rempits are amok in that state.

So while I support the PR government of Selangor, which is by far the best-run state government in this nation, Pakatan is, as a whole, unacceptable to a more open society. Thus, I’m going to have to give them a “no” vote.

Therefore the final result of the poll would be 16 no, 12 yes, and 5 abstain

source : www.themalaysianinsider.com