They Don't All Agree

I mentioned to a friend in passing, that I was planning to blog on the issue of dissent. It's been bugging me for a while now and I would have blogged earlier, had I the time.

You see, I hear a lot about people getting disillusioned with Pakatan Rakyat.

I hear a lot of gripes about how Pakatan Rakyat can't seem to agree on one topic or another.

They make that seem like a bad thing.

That's where I disagree. Do you know where BN went wrong?

No?

Let me tell you. It all started when UMNO assumed the dominant role and dictated terms to all the other coalitions.

In BN, there is such a thing as a whip. From my understanding, it is official BN policy that:

1. No MP can speak against the party stand
2. No MP should support any motions brought by the opposition.

Because of this policy, no MP would dare to dissent or break ranks for fear of being punished or facing displinary action. And there have been MPs suspended for those very reasons.

So those who rule the roost remain unopposed. There is no check and balance, and since then things have gone downhill. Not just for the party but for the entire country as well.

Subsequently, when people like Tony Pua say, "State government leaders who openly defy party and coalition discipline and work in the interest of Umno and Barisan National must be harshly reprimanded..", I am disconcerted.

My confidence in Pakatan Rakyat is not boosted by the lack of disagreements between them.

It is boosted by the fact that they are so different, and yet work together to establish a shared medium or common ground to which we can all eventually agree.

Crying shame I can't say the same about Barisan Nasional.

In fact, I suspect Hasan Ali is a trojan horse planted by BN into PR to sow disharmony and discord in the state. After all, Selangor brings in the most amount of revenue and Najib has had his eye on it since BN pathetically lost it to PR.

We have a rabid dog foaming in the mouth with racism in his attempts to garner support for UMNO. It's no secret that UMNO has thrived because of race politics and corruption alone.


I surmise that UMNO has no redeeming quality to its name.

Khairy Jamaluddin is a smooth orator. He is the face that reassures an unsuspecting audience, the voice that calms the skeptics, the accent that makes the western world think that he is the educated symbol of reason.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

He is nothing but a greedy opportunist who would sell his mother to fulfil his personal ambitions.

And Khairy Jamaluddin is the UMNO Youth leader. No one within UMNO will rebuke him for the vitriolic and seditious attacks, where he attempted to agitate by saying that DAP is the enemy of Islam and the Malays.

Evidently, whatever weaknesses Pakatan Rakyat may have, it is not as bad as UMNO.

I beseech the public and the voters of GE13: whatever Pakatan Rakyat's failings may be, may it NOT be the lack of dissent within the party.