WINNING THE HEARTS OF THE MASSES – A VIEW

Over the last few days, Malaysian have been fed by the media with some 'sensational news' that reflects clearly, the uncertainties that plague the nation today. The BN government headed by PM Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi aka Pak Lah, is himself being challenged by members of his own party UMNO, to quit early as President in favour of his deputy. A lost of confidence towards his leadership has been brewing since the disastrous March 8, 2008 general election which saw the BN being humbled in five states, and almost losing the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur to the opposition party. Never has the BN been so badly defeated in its 50 years of governing the country, and surely the blame has been on Pak Lah who has yet to be awakened from his slumber.

BN's component parties, namely Gerakan, MIC, MCA , UPKO, SUPP are in many ways not too happy with Pak Lah, and in particular his poor handling on issues relating to race and religion. With UMNO in turmoil, coupled with the dissatisfaction that is heating up within and among BN's component parties, Pak Lah now seems to have lost his sense of control of the parties and government, which now appears to be sliding deeper into political oblivion.

Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that had failed to take over the reign of government from the BN last September 16th, 2008, is also immersed in problems, stemming from sexual misconduct and corruption by his party members in Perak. Anwar is himself saddled with the alleged sodomy case, which if found guilty by the courts, is grievious enough to end his political career, and with that goes his ..Lawan Tetap Lawan.. slogan. Anwar, in the eyes of many certainly has lost credibility on his failure to take over the government, and calling wolf the second time, may not garner the trust that many had in him previously.

Similarly like the BN, PR too has problems of its own. PR component parties has yet to prove itself to be cohesive and united in its challenge to the BN government. Differing statement uttered by leaders of the PR component parties concerning the party, reflects a sense of uneasiness within the parties, and among its leaders.I believe, PR has yet to find an ideal unifying factor that can harness the parties together, and to remain absolutely loyal to its leaders. This is where Anwar has to work upon seriously, if he aspires to make PR credible enough to challenge the BN leadership.

Whatever be the problems confronting the BN and PR today, the losers will surely be the masses i.e.the ordinary people, who in the last general elections have proven to be a decisive factor in determining the outcome of the elections. Clearly, party members, especially the BN and UMNO in particular, are no longer a decisive factor to determines whether the party wins the elections. This is because the spirit of commodaire and absolute loyalty among UMNO members towards the party and its leaders, is only superficial and not deep rooted. UMNO members has for too long been spoon fed, and without a promise for rewards, they will willingly abandoned the party, and this was exactly the case during the Permatang Pauh by-elections.

It is now time for both the BN and PR to focus their attention on winning the hearts of the masses. Do not promise them the sky and the heavens. Character assassination, swearing, slandering and bad mouthing others have to cease, as this has proven to have a negative impact. The masses no longer wants to hear issues that does not affect their daily lives, such as the promise of a multi million development project coming their way, that will see fruition only in ten years time. What is needed are quick impact projects in which the masses themselves are involved, and the returns being given back directly to the masses.

To our leaders from both the BN and PR, the masses today are no longer fools. They hold the trump card, and winning them has its rewards.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION