The Malaysian Insider

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

AUG 24 – Last night, “newly minted” PKR leader Datuk Chua Jui Meng gave a ceramah that impressed the Chinese community from Kampung Cross Street here in Permatang Pasir.

He spoke of a concerted attempt by Umno leaders to oust his friend — the embattled president of Barisan Nasional’s second biggest component party, the MCA.

He claimed that Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat’s attempt to expose the Port Klang Free (trade) Zone has riled many ultra right wing Malay leaders who would be implicated should a full expose be made. Hmmmmm.

Of course, many of the Chinese who attended the ceramah were blown away by what the former health minister said. After all, this is an ex-MCA man. And a top leader at that.

You won’t get this kind of information from DAP leaders, that’s for sure. Fair enoiugh that as a politician, it’s Chua’s job to conjure magic and inspire, to agitate the crowd and stir things up. He did it well judging from the response of the crowd.

But what he failed to realise, perhaps unintentionally, is that by saying what he said last night about Umno trying to oust Ong because the transport minister is trying to earnestly expose the PKFZ scandal, he had, in a way depicted Ong as somewhat of a hero, a martyr trapped between evil forces keen on gagging him.

This contradicts all the attacks lauched by DAP and especially Lim Kit Siang against Ong. It even contradicts the attack launched by leaders from his own party. He was fortunate enough, for now at least, that no one realised this. Or might I be wrong?

Again, what this indicates is the lack of cohesion between the component parties in the Pakatan Rakyat pact. This is not the first time they’ve done this.

From the unity government issue, to the second Penang bridge, the appointment of the state’s deputy chief minister and the latest, the beer sale issue in Selangor, the opposition pact have shown clearly that cohesiveness is not one of its greatest assets.

It’s not about democracy. To me that argument and reasoning disguises the true nature of the problem plaguing this pact. It’s about sorting the basics out, the ideological commonality, to streamline policies and to stick by it.

Until now, Pakatan has yet to come out with a Pakatan Rakyat ideology apart from that whole superficial universal values thing like justice, equality and bla bla bla.

Bear in mind that even the most genocidal of regimes out there that have murdered millions did so in the name of such universal values so Pakatan needs to really buck up and convince people like me what distinguishes them from others.

Until then Malaysia will always remain the haven of iconic politics and lag behind other more developed political civilisations which have discarded this mystical practice in the historical dustbin (Kit Siang’s term), fully realising that the battle front should be that of ideology and not personalities.

One of several jams that have come hand-in-hand with the economic boom in Manek Urai.

By Shannon Teoh

July 10 — The surrounding area of Kuala Krai has been experiencing traffic like never before.

It was heaviest on Monday, when candidates for the Manek Urai polls went to Kuala Krai to complete their nominations. Prior to that and at least two hours after, the entire stretch from Kuala Krai back to Kampung Manek Urai was bumper-to-bumper, multiplying the normal 20-minute drive by at least four times.

While it hasn’t been as bad since, bouts of traffic snarls still occur seemingly at random, thanks to a few ceramahs that happen on the main trunk road.

It might all seem a disturbance to the normal activity of residents here but the July 14 by-election is, well, a stimulus package for the economy of the sleepy environs of Manek Urai. (more…)