PKR showing contempt for voters

PKR showing contempt for voters – Kua Kia Soong

JANUARY 29, 2014

The people marched in Bersih 1.0, 2.0 & 3.0. What was that all about?

For free and fair elections, for an opportunity to topple Barisan Nasional that has shown contempt for voters not only in elections but also in its laws and policies.

We read about how voters were so passionate about making a real change that they had taken the trouble to travel back from overseas just to vote in the May 5, 2013 general election.

Resignation of convenience

Now, just a few months after constituents had voted for their representative in Kajang, the PKR assemblyman has resigned without providing any valid justification to the people of Kajang who had voted him in.

He said it was for “the greater interest of PR”.

In most cases, the people can accept the justification for a by-election if the politician concerned is embroiled in a scandal or has health problems and is thus forced to resign.

In this case, it seems to be a case of “resignation of convenience” aimed at solving the internal politicking between the PKR menteri besar and the PKR strongman who opposes him and to facilitate the entry of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim into the Selangor government.

The cost of this strategy is to force a costly by-election and leave constituents without representation for weeks.

Mind you, Anwar has said that he has no intention of becoming the MB and the current Selangor MB has said he does not intend to vacate his post.

All this makes the resignation of the Kajang assemblyman all the more preposterous. Anwar is already the adviser to the Selangor government and head of the entire Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

So how will he being an assemblyman help to strengthen PR in the state?

This is a most cynical violation of the public trust. Furthermore, if Anwar is to stand in the Kajang state seat, he has to justify holding two offices (in addition to his federal seat in Penang), which can be seen as an abuse of political privilege and a further contempt of voters in both constituencies.

DAP politicians have finally been forced to forgo this privilege or contempt of voters after years of public shaming.

Karpal Singh has spoken out against this gross abuse of political privilege and it would be interesting to hear his views on this further case of constituency grabbing within PR.

For political ideals or crude power grab?

In other words, this forced by-election has nothing to do with any political necessity to outdo Barisan Nasional.

In fact, this latest political circus act within PKR may well work in favour of BN if the sultan of Selangor decides to follow in the footsteps of the sultan of Perak in 2009.

Nor has this anything to do with “higher principles” of the faction opposing the incumbent MB.

We have seen and heard the interminable bickering between the incumbent Selangor MB and the PKR strongman in the same party since 2008, with mixed messages about the MB’s corporate and political competence.

To justify the current MB’s removal, PKR has to educate us about his shortcomings for only that will give the electorate of Selangor a better idea of the political vision and mission of the prospective new PR leadership in the state and perhaps justify the Kajang by-election.

PKR hacks may claim that the public are not privy to their “grand strategy” that is behind their latest shenanigan but what good is that when even the DAP secretary-general professes ignorance of this grand strategy?

Boycott Kajang by-election

The people of Malaysia have been making their voices heard as they have done so in the various Bersih public campaigns.

We do not accept political parties taking us for granted and turning the democratic process into a political circus according to their will.

As a strong message to all the political parties, the voters of Kajang may well decide to boycott the next by-election so that politicians will not take voters for granted ever again. – January 29, 2014.

* Dr Kua Kia Soong is a Suaram adviser.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

source : mi