An inconvenient truth for Pakatan Rakyat!

Pakatan Rakyat has a fight on its hand.The 13th general election nears and as each day passes the fortunes of Pakatan Rakyat ebbs and flows like the tide that washes up on to our shores. At times in spurts it erratically seizes upon a momentary lapse in Barisan Nasional concentration and then claims a victory of sorts for the day. Then inevitably the tide turns as its more powerful and wealthy adversary once again steam rolls itself over any force that dares to even contemplate standings in its way towards another term in office.We are all interested on lookers to this oft repeated spectacles of Malaysian politicians fighting for political survival where winning is the only way to go. 

Against Barisan Nasional the only ally Pakatan Rakyat has is the people - for it has no large armies and no deep pockets from which it can scoop up endless richess to fund its way to victory. Against Barisan Nasional the people, in the main, will demand for Pakatan Rakyat to have leaders who are without blemish in their public and private lives. Leaders who would stand up to any inquisition demanded of it by the people from whom the are seeking a mandate to govern....almost an impossible task given the Malaysia we live in. So why is Pakatan Rakyat not addressing the issue of DSAI credibility?

The inconvenient truth is that Pakatan Rakyat first tier leadership would prefer the issue of DSAI credibility to be addressed AFTER the 13th general election. But as Shakespeare puts it: 

"Truth is truth 

To the end of reckoning"

And what is the truth about DSAI?

That he is a politician par excellence can be borne out in the manner that he has survived Mahathir's political execution of him at the height of his political nadir when he was DPM. Not only has he survived that but he has come back as leader of the opposition to torment the party that once held him to be the heir presumptive to its Presidency. He has done so at great personal sacrifice - physically and mentally - he has emerged strong and resolute to win the 13th general election as leader of Pakatan Rakyat - heir presumptive to BN's after the 13th general election. These are stuff of which dreams are made of...but dreams have a habit of disappering when the dreamer is awakened! 

DSAI is an enigma- different things to different people...but what he is to different people is immaterial. What matters is what he is to Pakatan Rakyat. He is leader of Pakatan Rakyat by default. There is simply nobody around that can hold Pakatan Rakyat together and give it that sense of purpose as it goes into the 13th general election. Truly an unenviable position for DSAI to be in but for Pakatan Rakyat somewhat a precarious situation given that Barisan Nasional is also in the same frame of mind - but for different reasons. To BN if they take DSAI out, Pakatan Rakyat will self destruct.      

And so we have the situation today. BN attacks DSAI on all fronts and Pakatan Rakyat desperately fighting a  rear guard action to keep DSAI head above water to live and fight another day. But with each salvo thrown at DSAI's by BN the ability of DSAI to be effective as a leader in Pakatan Rakyat diminishes. Apart from the practical issues of having to front up in court to defend himself there are the niggling and cumbersome issues that keeps flying in formation around DSAI like flies around a road kill- Zaid, the PKR's party elections, PKR defections and of course the recent Carcosa Tapes etc etc. 

To date despite spirited defence from Azizah and declarations of continued support from Pakatan Rakyat's UMNO is still bent on pursuing this line of attack on DSAI. And we can expect more of the same as UMNO steps up its attempts to wreck havoc and mayhem if not on DSAI then on Pakatan Rakyat's leadership for not being able to resolve the issue of DSAI credibility once and for all.

Our concern is that this credibility issue does not become the focus of the 13th general election. Pakatan Rakyat must accept that this is a problem that will not go away. Maybe it might be more prudent to not give UMNO such a highly visible target for them to attack. If DSAI cannot be King then he could be King maker. Pakatan Rakyat needs to address the leadership issue now so that they can then go to the 13th general elections with confidence that the 13th general elections will be fought on issues of open and accountable government and nothing else. And even on that premise, the BN party machinery is already a formidable opponent. Victory is not certain. A credible leader might just make that difference.  


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comment from KL:


Thanks. Agreed.

Such a drama king. Trying to steal the thunder from Ambiga & Bersih with his put-on ICU show at hospital after being teargassed.

The logic of the situation is that someone from PAS should lead Pakatan. PKR is the least significant of the 3 parties in their electoral pact & their grassroots nothing compared with PAS & DAP.

Zaid may be among those taking shots at him but his camp have done tremendous damage to Zaid, Gopala, Wee Choo Keong & others who turned their backs on him & PKR.

The PKR assassination squads are masters at black propaganda & the ones dragging integrity into the gutter.