Ijok Oh Ijok! Kenapa kau sibuk?

The Ijok by-election fight is on! The two political parties contesting for the vacant seat are the BN and PKR (KeADILan). Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, MBA (PKR) and Cikgu [Teacher] K. Parthiban, M.Ed. (BN) are contesting for the Ijok seat on April 28, 2007.

‘Dia.mau.kerusi’ is alive in Malaysia!

The most highlighted news today in the local press was the rowdy behavior of supporters of both parties at the nomination centre yesterday. Both sides accused each other of starting the commotion.

Reading how national leaders of both contending parties point fingers at each other remind me of two children having a fight, and each child trying to tell his parent that the other child started it. For example, the Menteri Besar of Selangor said: “I was there and saw the first bottle being thrown. I am sure it came from the Keadilan side” (as quoted by the Sun newspaper today).

The DPM, Najib Razak, who led the BN team at the nomination, said: “the Keadilan supporters seemed aggressive today. I hope that they respect the law...and do not increase tension and conflict.” On the other side, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail claimed that it was UMNO Youth members who threw the bottle [first].

Hishamuddin Hussein, the UMNO Youth chieftain, said that they (UMNO) always faced this problem when they were up against PKR, and that they didn’t have this problem with other parties. Maybe it’s because of the presence of UMNO Youth Gerak Gempur in Ijok that sparked the commotion. Or didn’t Hisham bring his keris along?

Children, children...please!

By-elections actually reveal leaders’ true colors. We can expect all kinds of dirty linens to be washed in public in the next few days leading up to the Election Day. MIC chieftain, Samy Vellu, had promised to ‘expose’ Tan Sri Khalid’s dark side to the Indian voters in ijok. Apparently, some Indian Malaysians in Ijok are not happy with the PKR candidate’s (a former Guthrie Group CEO) alleged past role in giving an unfair deal to Guthrie’s estate workers, who were mostly Indian Malaysians. Many people believe that Samy Vellu will use this issue to the hilt in a bid to win the seat.

PKR has nothing bad to say about the BN candidate, since he is almost a ‘virgin’ (oops! I mean a bachelor, at 38). The Cikgu is still a novice. But that will not stop PKR from exploiting other issues connected to BN leaders. Predictably, topping the list would be the DPM Najib Razak’s alleged involvement in the Altantuya case, which is now with the courts, and his alleged involvement in the purchase of a Russian ship, for a commission is said to be paid to certain parties. But Najib Razak says he will not use his privileged information to discredit Anwar Ibrahim, PKR advisor, because Mr Anwar has a wife and daughters. Good for you Najib! That’s the way to go. Let’s hope PKR, too, on its part, will be above board. Winning is not every thing, and how you win is also important. We are trying to teach good values to our children, are we not?

I suppose this is the most interesting by-election since Lunas, in which the BN lost to PKR in a most “bloody” (figuratively, la!) fight of the millennium. Who will win the Ijok contest? Let the voters decide. But both sides should fight it out in a gentlemanly way. Please don’t use dirty tactics and bribery to win. There are many forms of bribery, some appear to be legal, but they are immoral. Doesn’t morality mean anything anymore in this country of ours? So, please do not make promises you cannot fulfill. No party should be allowed to use government property to campaign – just stick to your party resources to win. BN, please fight like a gentleman.

What do I, as an observer, see during by-elections? To tell you frankly, I think we are a late developer to democracy. After 50 years, we have not matured yet when it comes to politics and contests for seats. Every contest must appear like a do-or-die undertaking. Like two dogs fighting for a piece of bone.

Why? Why can’t we be like developed countries? Most of our leaders were trained in these advanced countries. Why don’t they bring some of their overseas experience to our politics? Like not hitting your opponents ‘below the belt’ and keeping out personal attacks. Keep to the issues that concern the rakyat, like high costs of living, corruption, shoddy workmanship of government contractors, etc. But of course, it takes two to tango, or two hands to clap.

The BN, being the incumbent, sees the Ijok seat as their birth right, and must win it back by hook or crook. But it can afford to lose Ijok without losing power in the State assembly. However, losing Ijok spells a bad omen for the party, as Ijok is an indicator for performance in the general election (GE). Results in Ijok will be used by both sides of the political divide to make projections or extrapolations for the GE. Well, let us pray that no untoward incidents will happen during the campaign period. It will be like we hope if both sides observe the law and keep their cool.

NO NEED TO FOLLOW THE BN WAY...

This is the season for by-elections. In a space of less than six months we are seeing three by-elections—Batu Talam (Pahang state), Machap (Melaka) and now Ijok (Selangor). All three are brought about by the untimely demise of the state assemblymen of these respective state constituencies. Now all eyes are focused on Ijok, in Berjuntai Bestari (formerly as Batang Berjuntai—never mind the reason behind the name change!)

As usual in any by-election, stiff lobbying will take place within all political parties vying for the vacant seat. The BN, being the incumbent holder of the seat and the state government, was the first to announce its candidate, in this case, K. Parthiban, 38, an MIC member and a teacher. The opposition comes from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, whose candidate is Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, 61, a corporate figure who is also their Treasurer.

The Menteri Besar of Selangor has already promised to pump in RM36 million to develop Ijok—a huge sum considering the small size of the constituency. For ordinary people, whose primary need is for good infrastructure, the RM36 million promised would be the best thing that can happen to their ‘sleepy hollow’ like Ijok.

The opposition is crying foul over the promise, because it perceives this to be a corrupt practice in elections (buying votes in a ‘buy’-election?) The fact is that, this sort of behavior has been going on for over half a century in Malaysia—since the country’s independence in 1957. With such a promise, there can be no doubt that BN will be returned handsomely in this by-election.
Who says there has to be a level playing field in any contest? This world subscribes to the notion that “might is right.” Whoever is in power will use it to perpetuate his or her power. The age of chivalry is gone. After all, even the PM is selected by the outgoing PM, and not by his party members.

In today’ NST, the DPM Najib Razak criticized PKR’s decision to field Khalid Ibrahim, a Malay, in a constituency with the largest Indian electorate in the country. He says that the PKR should follow the BN way by fielding another Indian PKR member to fight against the MIC candidate.

Najib Razak seemed to fail to understand that the purpose of a political party in a by-election (or any election for that matter) is to win. Any party will do whatever it takes to win an election. The BN has the luxury of fielding an Indian candidate because it is already in power. Even if it loses Ijok, it will remain the state government. The PKR does not have this luxury. It has to strategize in order to make the greatest impact on the electorate. It does not have to follow the BN way in selecting its candidate.

The PKR wants to repeat its success in Lunas (Kedah) by-election. The PKR needs to win the Ijok election because it will be a good barometer for the coming general election. It cannot afford to gamble in the choice of candidate just to prove it is a multiracial party. Perhaps in the general election it can adopt a more liberal attitude in the allocation of seats to satisfy all its members, but not in a by-election. Since Ijok is a Malay majority district, Khalid Ibrahim is a candidate sent by heaven! He is a local-born, a successful Malay corporate figure and Malays can easily identify him as the man responsible for the success of Amanah Saham Bumiputra. The people of ijok should give this man a chance to serve in the Selangor State assembly. It is time we have some dissent in the assembly which is now filled with all “yes-man”. After all, isn’t this what Najib wanted when he suggested that the education system should be revamped to eliminate rote learning. If we want to encourage healthy discussion by tolerating dissent, then it is time to put Khalid Ibrahim in the Selangor State assembly. The state will only benefit from his presence.