WE ARE WINNING...SLOWLY BUT SURELY WE ARE WINNING..THIS I KNOW...THIS I AM SURE!

There are a few times in our life, not by our own design nor is it by others, when we can bear witness to and become part of our nation’s history. This is such a time. We do not have to be men of politics, religion or of any ideological convictions for who we are is not of much importance. What matters is that we are now bearing witness to changes in the state of our nation and what we do and not do will become the history of our Nation.

So how goes the Ship of State?

The night is dark and the hour is late. Our Ship of State is in stormy waters with not a safe haven in sight. It is leaking and creaking through its timber frame with still no good captain and crew to tend to its ills. What would save this ship would be for the storm to blow over for it is in dire need of a port of call to dock for repairs and to replenish its supplies so that it can carry onwards to its final port of call – its safe haven – to be again with those to whom it really belongs – the Rakyat.

We are in such a time.

While our State Ship sails the stormy waters our people are swimming in a sea of corruption…not yet drowning but will soon be if nothing is done to save this drowning nation from a Barisan Nasional government that hogs all the life saving vests even as they do not need to do so – for this Barisan Nasional Government is already on dry land. This Barisan Nasional government would prefer that we drown in a sea of corruption rather then see us saved and be able to haunt them for ever more.    

A Nation will only be as good as its leader. Germany had Hitler and Cambodia Pol Pot. Iraq had Saddam and Uganda Idi Amin. Other nations are cursed with greedy and mad leaders who use the country they rule over as their own domain to pillaged for their own selfish purposes. Then there are nations like Vietnam that has been pulled part by Nations much more powerful that it is and yet in the end prevailed because its people overcome all that lies between them and their desire to be free.

Malaysia is in flux. Our people are not troubled by the extreme poverty as in Sudan. We are not troubled by suicide bombers and IED as in Iraq. There are no violent riots or mayhem in our streets as in Egypt. None of these are our lot. So why are the people troubled?

We are troubled by this Barisan Nasional government because that is the government that is in power. This is the government that can do something about the ills of our nation and does not!

It can do something about the corruption about the greed and about the arrogance of its leader who now have lost touch with the people they have governed over the last half century and it does not!

We have a government with delusions of grandeur ruling over this nation in benign neglect while its leaders plot and scheme endlessly to stay in power without thought to anything else but their own selfish needs.

But those of you who despair of change be of strong heart for I will tell you that you are making a difference.

This week our victory was in making them not soiled our National Independence day by hitching their “Janji Di Tepati” slogan to our National Day! Yes, you and I, we together made our displeasure known to the powers that be and this Rais Yatim  - on orders from Najib – cut their losses and come up with their reason for not using that slogan. You and I know why they do so and that is all that matters!

In the past few months there have been other victories. Each and every victory we get wins us another notch in this war of attrition against this BN government.

Bersih is now Legal. NFC has been given noticed that it can no longer go on spending OUR money as they want! Perkasa has been banished to where it belongs - to the jungles and up the tree with Berahim Berok. FLOM has been asked to cease and desists her attempts at trying to gain "almost cult status" that she thinks she deserves....all victories we can be proud of.  

Today we all talk about corruption as we use to talk about the Communists during the Emergency and the Indonesian during Konfrontasi. And those who indulge in corruption   are people we loathe and despise. No longer do we keep quiet and accept that corruption is a way of life for our society. Today when the Police take their money from us they no longer do it with the swagger that they use to but with fear in their heart. Fear that there might be a hidden camera somewhere recording what they are doing.

Today any politicians that think they can get away with being corrupt is indeed a fool – though there are already many of them in BN and PR....fools I mean! Corrupt fools!

And still they talk about frogs on both sides of the divide without understanding the contempt and disgust we will have for any frogs on any side who put personal gain before duty to the electorates that will vote for them. But let us take heart from the fact that they now do so with the understanding that when they do so they are forever branded as pariahs by the people that matters – their electorates and by us. Najib and Anwar pander to these frogs at their own peril!

Today corruption is no longer a way of life. It is no longer the respectable thing to do that it was while Mahathir ruled. Today corruption is once again hidden, covert and something you do knowing that if caught you will pay heavily for your greed.That is the way it should be! 

And if we continue with this hatred that we have for corruption it will just be a matter of time when it will be relegated to where it should be – a criminal activity that no self respecting person would think of doing – what more Prime Ministers, Ministers and those in High Public Office. When it comes to that then we have won another victory towards the future we aspire to. 

  

But it will be a long hard and relentless fight for the people we are against are not only our peers but also those who are rich and powerful. People who are able to silence us through state apparatus under their control – through the use of physical and legal means. Through the Police and the Legal System of this Nation. And for most of us these odds are daunting if not overwhelming.

Alone maybe they are but together we can protect each other. I can tell you that even the Riot Squad are not as Gung Ho as they use to be as in those days when they could steam roll over the Rakyat without worrying about defending themselves. Today it is different. Our people are ready to meet the Riot Squad head on – not turn the other cheek like any good Christians will do.  Our people will now face the riot squad determine to defend themselves if attacked. And when attacked they can give to the Riot Squad as good as they get. Today you can be certain that when the Riot Squad are deployed to manage any crowd they are very aware that they themselves may be in danger of being attacked and harmed as the Rakyat are likely to be by them. Tit for Tat!

Barisan Nasional leaders no longer swagger in the corridors of power. Now they ask that we give them the same consideration as we give Pakatan Rakyat. As Chua  said yesterday "Compare BN with PR before voting" Najib uses Facebook and even Mahathir takes pain to say that it is for the people of Kedah to decide who they want as Menteri Besar! All these are small but sure victories for us.

We must continue with these attrition against anybody that dares to think that we the people are unable to make a difference. 

Today Government Ministers can no longer thunder from their high and mighty offices in Putrajaya that what they do is in our national interest! Nor can they use the excuse of Ketuanan Melayu and Islam for any action they take without being questioned as to the right or wrongs of what they do. We can question them not because Najib thinks we have earned the right to do so or because he believes that our society have evolved into a responsible and knowledgeable society. No way! We are able to do so because we have fought long and hard for these liberties. And slowly and surely we are winning. 

Yes we know that he has replaced the ISA with another draconian legislation but let us not forget why he has thought it necessary to do so - it is because we have made him do so. He can only delay the inevitable. Sooner rather then later the people will have their way - not for evil but for good.

We live in interesting times. We are now aware that  a Fish Rots from the Head. I am still trying to figure out what "enhanced interrogation techniques" means. We are familiar with "Gutter Politics" and the list goes on  - each one of them driving another nail into Barisan Nasional coffin. Soon we will run out of places to drive the nail into but we will never run out of nails. This Barisan Nasional government keeps making enough nails for us to hammer into their coffin - a case of self harm or just plain ignorance of continuing to do something that is not good for oneself? 

No political entity, no government in power and certainly no political leader can continue the way UMNO, Barisan Nasional and Najib is carrying on today without the certainty of an early demise. What is left for UMNO is to wait for the fat lady to sing....FLOM please rise and start singing!