By-elections... who calls the shot?

By Jeff Ooi,

Not that self-elected political analysts in Malaysia have much sterling record in their sideline observation of local politics.

The latest from them is that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has lined up four to five more by-elections before the next general election which must be held not later than March 7, 2013.

Some of these soothsayers justified their hypothesis by saying Anwar needed the by-elections to avert his party's internal problems. Not much credibility in their thoughts, though, but let's let the thoughts run wild a little.

I have somehow campaigned in four out of five by-elections held within one year after GE2008 -- largely due to God's will that precipitated in two deaths-in-office for the MPs from PAS, and two others due to resignations by PKR's elected (Permatang Pauh) and professed (Bukit Selambau independent, originally) wakil rakyat.

Driven out of the desire to crush Umno, I had to dip into my own pocket to help run every of those campaigns... transporting, feeding and housing the campaign workers who volunteered their time and energy for a common cause. But we simply don't have deep pockets to talk about in the first place, and volunteerism has its limits.

Volunteerism will wane when the cause gets blurred and blurry.

Nevertheless, till this day, I still believe Bukit Gantang is a God-willed by-election that went to help us prove a case, that the Najib-Zambrie coup d'etat in Perak must be made a referendum for despise; whereas, the Permatang Pauh by-election carried some significant meanings as the BN has shrewdly decided to hold the GE2008 just one month before Anwar completed his post-incarceration political imprisonment.

Personal feelings aside, I must say the people and taxpayers are now very sick and tired of by-elections because none of the outcomes will change the political representation at the national level at this point in time.

By-elections are justified if God so decides to recall any of the elected YBs to his side. He is in total command to will and to dispose.

But by-elections cannot be justified if they were to be manipulated to fulfill non-taxpayers agenda of finding solutions to intra-party problems.

Unjustifiable by-elections are a betrayal to voters and akin to raping democracy and the democratic process and I deplore that.

In the same vein, DAP should think carefully if the brewing vacancy in Kota Alam, Selangor, will not be alluded and equated to another of those alleged Anwar's antics.

Situations warrant that I skip Penanti a little.