Off To Permatang Pauh
I think I’m coming down with the flu as my throat is getting ticklish and my there seems to be some build up of phlegm. Nonetheless, I’ll be on my way up to Permatang Pauh within the next few hours to join in the last 48 hours of campaigning for Anwar Ibrahim as part of the small contingent of the pro-tem KeADILan Bandar Subang Jaya caucus.
There’s really not much to say that has not been said. The message is pretty clear and the campaigning methods used are open for all to see. Despite Umno’s assertion that this is a local matter and does not really impact the nation, I think their subsequent tactics and actions tell an extremely different story.
I’ve been involved in election campaigning since 1995 and I must honestly say that this by-election wins the Dirtiest Election Campaign In Bob’s Experience Award.
Kepada saudara-saudara se-negara saya, tidak kira asal usul, kaum ataupun agama, detik ini mungkin akan menentukan sama ada kita boleh mendapat peluang untuk membina kembali sebuah negara bangsa yang berdaulat, makmur, aman dan betul-betul merdeka ataupun biarkan negara ini dijahanamkan oleh mereka yang rakus dan langsung tidak mengambil peduli mengenai nasib rakyat jelata.
Sudah 51 tahun kita merdeka, 37 tahun Barisan Nasional memerintah dan 53 tahun Umno menerajui pucuk pimpinan negara. Namun demikian, ternampak jelas bahawa krisis sosial, ekonomi dan identiti di Malaysia kini kian hari kian genting. Peluang telah diberikan kepada mereka berdekad lamanya. Ternyata bahawa agenda yang dibawa Umno-BN gagal jua. Sekarang tiba masanya untuk perubahan.
This is not about Anwar Ibrahim or Saiful or Najib or Abdullah. This is not about any sectarian rights or the lack thereof. This is about the future of our nation, our children and our children’s children. The people of Permatang Pauh may just be the catalyst that would trigger the change that is absolutely required for us all to have something to look forward to again.
Otherwise, we might, as the Cantonese expression go, just die together in one big embrace. And this epidemic of “death” tidak akan memilih bulu. We all go down in a blaze of ignominy.
It’s in your hands, people of Permatang Pauh and the rest of us who are keeping a close watch over this.
