Umno, MCA and MIC ran Selangor for 51 years. Over the last two years Selangor was run by Pakatan Rakyat. Can we compare 51 years of Barisan Nasional rule to two years of Pakatan Rakyat rule? Have we seen a better-run Selangor over the last two years with Pakatan Rakyat at the helm compared to 51 years of Barisan Nasional?
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Zaid may drown in liquor allegations
When announcing BN's candidacy in the Hulu Selangor by-election, coalition deputy chairperson Muhyiddin Yasin said that their candidate, P Kamalanathan, is a man without baggage. He added that this was unlike PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim who has a chequered track record, and skeletons in the closet, which Muhyiddin promised to expose.
Top of the list of attacks are allegations that Zaid consumes alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam and undermines his identity as a Muslim and a 'man of principle'. As evidence, moments before the nomination process began Kuala Kubu Baru was hit with posters of a doctored image of Zaid with what appeared to be an alcoholic drink. -- Malaysiakini
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The dirty tricks and slandering has started. Doctored pictures of Zaid ‘drinking’ are being circulated and published in the pro-Umno Blogs to ‘prove’ that the Pakatan Rakyat candidate has ‘baggage’ while the pro-opposition Blogs are carrying stories about the MIC candidate Kamalanathan being gay.
So what if Kamalanathan is gay? This should not be an issue that is used against him. Ahmad Ismail of Penang is gay as well but I have never used this as an issue against him. I whack him for calling Chinese and Indians pendatang and for tearing up the Gerakan ex-Penang Chief Minister’s photograph. But I never whacked him for being gay.
A person may be gay. Well, that is not his or her fault. Most people who are gay can’t help themselves. They were born that way. But this does not mean they are immoral. Most gay people are faithful to their partners and do not sleep around whilst non-gay people can be very promiscuous and change sex partners ever so often. In that sense gay people are not sexually immoral.
Anyway, who cares what you do in the privacy of your bedroom? The pro-opposition Blogs should not raise the issue of the MIC candidate being gay as the ammunition to attack him. Does he sleep around? That is what should be more important than the issue of him being gay.
Zaid, in turn, is being whacked for his alleged ‘drinking habit’. Okay, let us say he does. So he drinks. So what? Does he buy his drinks using the taxpayers’ money? Does he rob the rakyat to support his drinking habit? Is his liquor being bought using our money? Or does he indulge with his own money and not the money he stole from us?
So you see, even if he does drink, and I am not saying he does, does he hurt any of us or only himself?
The Barisan Nasional people may claim they do not drink. Actually, many do, even Umno people. And they also rob the rakyat, steal from the nation, take bribes, misuse the taxpayers’ money, etc. So they are drinking with our money, not with their own money.
Actually, I don’t care a damn if a person drinks (or indulges in same sex relationships) as long as they do all this with their own money. But when you steal my money to indulge (even if you do not drink but just use the money to take your wife to London and Paris to shop) then I will make an issue out of it.
Let us be very clear as to what constitutes a ‘crime’. What you do in your own time and with your own money is your concern. What you do with my money is my concern. And the Barisan Nasional people use our money to do what they do even if they don’t drink.
I know they are raising the issue of liquor to shock the Malay voters, who represent more than half the voters in Hulu Selangor. If that is the only ‘baggage’ they can find to use against Zaid then this means they have very little to use against him. First of all, they have been caught using doctored photographs to support this allegation. This means they are not able to find evidence to support this allegation and are desperately fabricating the evidence.
Let us get way from the personal attacks and so-called baggage. Both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat need to talk about the mission and vision. We want to know how they plan to run the country. We want to know how they have run the country thus far.
Umno, MCA and MIC ran Selangor for 51 years. Over the last two years Selangor was run by Pakatan Rakyat. Can we compare 51 years of Barisan Nasional rule to two years of Pakatan Rakyat rule? Have we seen a better-run Selangor over the last two years with Pakatan Rakyat at the helm compared to 51 years of Barisan Nasional?
What more is Pakatan Rakyat going to do for Selangor in general and Hulu Selangor in particular? Would the people get a better deal with Pakatan Rakyat at the helm?
The Orang Asli in Selangor are unhappy and there are many Orang Asli in Hulu Selangor. Are they now happier since Pakatan Rakyat has been in charge the last two years? Is there more that they hope to see, which Pakatan Rakyat has not done yet and which needs to be done?
The same goes for the Chinese and Indians. In 51 years of Barisan Nasional rule there was much that they had hoped for but their appeals fell on deaf ears. Has all this changed over the last two years since March 2008 or has Pakatan Rakyat proved to be the same as Barisan Nasional? Has the change of government brought no changes to the state and has Pakatan Rakyat been as deaf as Barisan Nasional? Or have things changed drastically the last two years since Pakatan Rakyat took over?
No, who drinks and who is gay is not the issue. We are more concerned with the mission and vision of these leaders. Even if they don’t drink and are not gay, but if they rob our state, they abuse their positions, they misuse our money, they short-change the voters, they steal from the taxpayers, they line their own pockets, and whatnot, then they need to be rejected.
It is futile to argue about a person’s choice of beverage and sex partners. One side will accuse and the other side will deny. One side must certainly be lying. But let us not waste time arguing about who is telling the truth. We have only a few days to decide whom we want in government. And our choice must be made based on who can best serve the people.
That is how matured voters make their decision and decide on their choice.
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