The battle is on for the Bagan Pinang by-election. Isa Samad is the best BN candidate (so they say) to stave off the opposition attack. Will it be a direct BN-PR challenge or will we see a third spoiler in the race?
Well this time around, elder statesman Tun Dr. Mahathir's cautionary remarks about choosing a clean candidate wasn't heeded at all. I am just wondering what will be Tun Dr. Mahathir's reaction to the BN's choice of Isa Samad. I am quite sure Tun. Dr. Mahathir isn't pleased at all. And is this UMNO's way of saying bluntly “Tun, your days are over and please let us run the party our way. You had yours for 22 years”.
I quickly called up some friends for their views and comments. Their views and comments were mixed. But there was one that I liked most. He says that the UMNO leadership does not have any choice. It is Isa Samad or nothing, and that nothing struck fear in the UMNO leadership. UMNO leaders will be threatened and the election will be boycotted by UMNO Negeri Sembilan itself.
I was also told that there were already some posters threatening a boycott if Isa Samad is not named as the candidate, supposedly by UMNO supporters. If threat is the way to choose a candidate, then there is nothing to stop the same method being used to elect UMNO's top echelon leaders in future party elections. Isn't this scary, and if the scourge of money politics isn't enough, this new method of applying threat and boycott will be the final nail in UMNO's coffin.
I am concern at how the political parties will act to entice the soldiers to vote for their party, knowing that the 5000 odd postal votes is critical. I would like to appeal to politicians to cease going into military camps now on the pretext making an official visit, but in actual fact it is to campaign. There is already a report that some senior ministers are making their rounds in military camps.
Let me tell this to politicians that our soldiers today are not like those recruited in the 50's and 60's. Soldiers today can think rationally and they can distinguish between a lie and truth. Making lots of promises at this critical stage of the by-election is futile and means nothing to them. Keep soldiers out of your political fray, if you want them to remain apolitical.
CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Salam Dato,
With all the official visits being organized into the camp and promises made by the ruling party, I do hope the army stand strong and high stature to their political belief.
After all, we are in the 21st century where the mind that matters. We'll triumph triumph and progress with good judgement but catastrophe if otherwise.
UMNO has opted for short term gains at the expense of long term goals. Like they say in the army, they want to win the battle but perhaps lose the war. If Isa Samad wins, there is going to be a war in Negri Sembilan UMNO, because it is common knowledge that the present MB and Isa Samad cannot see eye to eye.
The main problem is 'weak' leadership in UMNO. They allow the followers to dictate the direction rather than the leaders deciding on the direction.
Dear Dato',
As I said it before Raya, with Isa as the candidate, half of the battle for Bagan Pinang has been won by BN and my bet was right on the dot, that Isa is their man. Nothing surprised me with their pick knowing Najib would gain in merit for fielding the candidate of the local UMNO's choice even if Isa were to lose. Winning is only a bonus to Najib, and I have a sure feeling Najib will be getting both the merit and the bonus from Isa soon.
And today, never before, not even when Najib was the Defence Minister, a Hari Raya gathering was held in PD Army camp by Najib. The soldiers had never had that for Najib had never been so bothered with soldiers when he was the Defence Minister. That's why TV coverage was so quick and brief to just zero in on Najib's declaration that made PD is BANDAR TENTERA DARAT, whereas all these while since umpteen years, we all have been calling PD as 'Soldiers' Town'.
Then there was when Najib started his political campaign for Bagan Pinang when he said something of a political promise, that by declaring PD as Bandar Tentera Darat, he promised there will be projects and development to make PD as one town for the soldiers. we heard applause from the crowd soldiers and families and we all can let the rest of Najib's address to the soldiers, to our imagination.
Najib may deny he was doing any political campaign by citing any reason, even any stupid reason, for he did it because HE CAN DO IT. SPR will vouch for that 'right of passage' is Najib's in his whatever capacity as the bloody PM of this country and Najib has set the path for other government ministers that right of passage to go into the military camp in their whatever 'leftover' capacities they may want to use as an excuse for further visitations to abuzz the army camp after this until by-election day then it will recede and the army camp will be back deserted by the politicians like normal until next election time.
So I ask, when right now there is an ongoing drastic cut in new recruit intakes, so drastic that rumours has it the government has no money as the reason, now I wonder how the soldiers can take Najib's promise of projects and development to make effect of making PD a Bandar Tentera Darat???
Why is that it has to take a politician as big as a Prime Minister to come down to PD and do the 'peanut talking' to soldiers at this moment?
Najib is giving a carrot to a donkey so as to keep the donkey going for the carrot hanging in front to make his cart moving forward, that's it. He has to demonstrate it first before he leaves it to the Defence Minister to continue with other 'carrot powered' cart pulling donkeys.
The chances are the BN will win, but with no honour. But then, our politicians never had any honour in the first place!!!
But good luck to the people of Bagan Pinang. Enjoy the projects and 'ang pows' that will come your way.
As for the Army, enjoy all the visits now because after the by-election, no one will even know or be bothered that there are army camps in Port Dickson! Good luck
Post a Comment