A vote for Pakatan is a vote against corruption

by Thomas Lee

The Bagan Pinang by-election on Oct 11 is an opportunity for the voters to tell the Braisan Nasional in no uncertain term that the practice of corruption and cronyism must be wiped out in the country. They must go all out to ensure the defeat of the Umno candidate.

By fielding a candidate suspended by his own party for corrupt practice, the Barisan Nasional is obviously snubbing the people, indicating that it couldn’t care less about what they think and feel. It is a de facto endorsement of corrupt practices.

By nominating such a tainted candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election, the purported high moral ground on which the Umno leaders have been self-righteously proclaiming has been exposed as a mere hollow sinking ground.

Umno is arrogantly confident and cocksure that it will win the Bagan Pinang battle even with a corruption-contaminated candidate.

The voters of Bagan Pinang must come out in full force to show Umno through the ballot box that the days of its exaggerated sense of superiority are numbered.

It is time the Barisan Nasional be told that:

– it cannot simply grab power by unethical and illegal means, like what had happened in Perak;

– it cannot simply use oppressive laws like the ISA to silence its critics, opposition leaders and the freedom and human right crusaders;

– it cannot simply use harsh enforcement on peaceful unarmed demonstrators and candlelight protestors;

– it cannot simply change the education system at its whims and fancy every other few years, causing confusion among the teachers, parents and students, and creating chaos in the schooling system;

– it cannot simply continue to control and manipulate the press and mass media to promote its own causes, and to run down the opposition and critics;

– it cannot simply allow the corrupt political leaders to go unpunished, especially those using public funds for private holidays to Disneyland and those living beyond their means in great luxury in multi-million ringgit mansions;

– it cannot simply allow investigation into the mysterious death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock to be frustrated by attempts to prevent relevant persons from testifying;

– it cannot simply cover up scandals involving public projects such the PKFZ issue.

Will the voters of Bagan Pinang take the lead and send the message to Umno and the Barisan Nasional that “Enough is Enough” and it’s “Time for Change”?