with Thanks to FMT
A critical virtue to good governance
Umno-BN is bankrupt despite its once vast reserves of goodwill and Pakatan, with or without Anwar, will do well to never forget that power is dangerous without humility
COMMENT
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has promised good governance through transparent and genuine democracy; driving a high performance, sustainable and equitable economy; social justice and human development; federal-state relationship and foreign policy.
All these are contained in its ‘Buku Jingga’ which outlines polices to be undertaken when in Government. We will hold them to these promises. The coalition is committed to the rights and demands of each citizen to be treated equally, and as I have said before, the devil is in the details.
Election of individual partners in the coalition leaves much to be desired but its saving grace is that this weakness is being discussed and debated openly and, refreshingly, by even its own party members.
There have been crossovers to Barisan Nasional (BN) due mainly to the lack of stringent measures when vetting candidates choosing to represent PR, and the leaders of PR are not shy in admitting this weakness, vowing to be more judicious when candidate selections are done in the future.
While greed is prevalent even within PR ranks, it has not been allowed to fester and is certainly frowned upon by all in the coalition. While greed is good in Umno, not so in PR. It has instilled in us the hope that change has finally taken root in our political landscape.
Pakatan Rakyat is the future and it must take over the government for change to happen.
Imagine Umno in Opposition! Imagine Umno berating PR for failing to provide good governance in Parliament. Imagine Umno questioning the process by which government tenders are awarded or negotiated for!
Imagine Umno lamenting the inability of the PR government to police corruption in the police, restore independence in the judiciary and provide for the needs of the less privileged, the minorities, the old and the sick!
It is too delicious a scenario to imagine, but you and I can make that happen!
And while all this is happening within Umno, rest assured that we are watching PR for any diversion to what was promised in its Buku Jingga. Any slackening of its resolve to do as it has promised will be questioned and monitored, and we will not let it rest on its laurels.
Our future prospects are daunting but it promises much, much more that what we have now. Certainly we will win back our dignity and graciousness as a multi racial society that respects our diversity and unity.
There’s hope for Pakatan Rakyat
We will have again our individual and civil liberty to worship to our own beliefs, believe in our own political ideologies. Once again we can take to the streets responsibly to protest against the shortcomings and failures of our government to deliver its promises to the rakyat.
We can all meet in Dataran Merdeka and protest against the slowness of the government to grant the Orang Asli their deserved place in our society. We can protest about a government that we think has failed to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
We can show our displeasure at its failure to appoint a police chief who we feel would be better at eliminating corruption within the force and we can even protest because our protesting have not been acknowledged by the authorities.
And our religious festivities will no longer be an opportunity for political leaders to meet and greet the rakyat for their own selfish purposes.
Race and religion will once again be the individual’s prerogative not the government’s. Our television and radio stations will entertain and educate us. It will no longer be a government medium to disseminate propaganda.
I will be looking to the media to tell me the news as it really is and I will be able to enjoy reading them over breakfast, secure in the knowledge that I will not be reading about “another BN project” or gutter politics!
These are my dreams friends, dreams that are not impossible, dreams that are already in the making in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan, and it is all because of PR. We must thank Mahathir for it because he started it all when he began the prosecution and persecution of Anwar Ibrahim.
Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Tok Guru and Hadi Awang were the Clint Eastwoods who stood over Mahathir and Umno and told them: ‘Make our day, Punk!’ And they have made our day!
Today there is hope that we can vote to put PR in Putrajaya. Today we are confident enough to say that with or without Anwar, PR will win as it did in Kajang.
And if we can win in Kajang why not elsewhere, with or without Anwar, and then Putrajaya, with or without Anwar!
But above all this, we must remember one thing: humility. In every political victory, always humility. In our dealings with each other, with our political nemesis and peers, always never forget humility.
The lack of humility has made Umno-BN bankrupt despite its once vast reserves of goodwill, affection and trust it had from the people. PR must never forget that power is dangerous without humility!
CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.
No comments:
Post a Comment