25 Aug, 2008
The by-election is no longer a democratic contest. Instead, it is the continuation of resentment between Anwar and Umno. In the "decisive battle", BN must not allow Anwar to win to prevent his power seizing plan while Anwar must win to return to the political arena.
By LIM SUE GOAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily
A series of incidents happened since Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned from the post of Permatang Pauh MP on 31 July. These incidents, included Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim being charged with anal sex, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan swearing on Quran, two Perak executive councillor were detained by the Anti-Corruption Agency for alleged corruption, the Government reducing fuel prices and the Penang state government declaring the by-election polling day a public holiday. This highlights the great importance of this constituency by both the BN and Pakatan Rakyat.
The by-election in Permatang Pauh is the first election after the 8 March general elections. Originally, it should be a litmus test to see whether the ruling coalition has managed to regain lost support since the last elections as well as its handling of the fuel price crisis and management of the economy. However, the extremely dirty campaigning thus far is now seen as a setback for democratic elections.
PKR sees the by-election as the battleground for Anwar Ibrahim to get back into parliament and to wrest control of the government from the incumbent Barisan Nasional. It is also a battle for public opinion whether the sodomy charges brought against him are true. But it is undeniable that if Anwar wins the by-election, part of the reasons would include voter's continuing dissatisfaction with BN, inflation and the outbreak of racial issues.
Similarly, if Umno is able to reduce Anwar's majority votes, it can be said that Umno has regained some people's support. But we must take into account the resources, manpower, money and working hours of many officials being "sacrificed" for the by-election.
Originally, the by-election can be considered as the performance evaluation for both BN and Pakatan Rakyat five months after the general elections. But the people has overlooked the performance comparison between the two parties. Instead, they can only see the community is being torn apart and an intense confrontation between BN and Pakatan Rakyat.
Some government organisations have been involved in politics and huge resources have been wasted in the by-election.
The by-election is no longer a democratic contest. Instead, it is the continuation of resentment between Anwar and Umno. In the "decisive battle", BN must not allow Anwar to win to prevent his power seizing plan while Anwar must win to return to the political arena.
Most worryingly, some people seem to have gone mad and fallen into the "life and death" battle. They have exposed the possible crisis that the country may have been walking towards the direction of hatred and destruction.
After the by-election, the political confrontation will not come to an end. Instead, it may become more intense. Perhaps, the battle will only be end when one of the contending parties is demolished.
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