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Monday 12 October 2009

5,435

by Nathaniel Tan

ps- this is lame, but I couldn’t help asking: seen my little caption contest entry yet? :P

Well, good gracious that’s quite a beating :P

Much can be said about this result and its implications. I want to concentrate on that which is within our power.

I hope this will be an opportunity for those of us within Pakatan to take stock of where the coalition is going.

I think so far, we have ‘ridden’ on the momentum of events like people falling out of buildings and stepping on cow heads - things that a) we should certainly not depend on for our political fortunes, b) are merely own goals scored by the other side.

I do believe that we have to step up our game, and transcend the poor quality of Malaysian politics.

I have argued time and again that internal strife is part and parcel of any political dynamic, and I accept that fact of life.

In Malaysia though, it does seem to be getting a bit out of hand - all across the board. It’s time to demand less pettiness, and more statesmanship.

For Pakatan, I believe the time has come for the component parties to put its eggs in the Pakatan basket, and not their own. I reckon this is the main factor that will determine (as I repeat for the millionth time) whether we sink or swim.

The rakyat - especially the ever precious middle ground - do not seem terribly interested in individual party ideologies. They just want to see a viable alternative to a corruption-ridden, racist BN.

If Pakatan does not step into this role, it is only a matter of time before Najib convinces the rest that with some PR image makeovers, BN can pretend to play that role and still quietly conduct business as usual behind the scenes.

Have they won this battle only to lose the war? It’s a nice, catchy thing to quote, but only you and I will determine the truth of it.

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