Many would be laughing at the title above. For many, party embodies the democratic structure of a country. Asian countries have to the tendency to overlook the candidates and emphasize on a party strength. In this current era of globalization, individuality plays a key role in politics. Countries such as United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada and France tend to look at candidates strength rather than the popularity or the influence of a party. In these countries, we see parties shift in, shift out during major elections. Looking at this context, we can see the differences in development between Asia and western countries. Take Malaysia for example, we certainly see advancements in certain issues.
However, our political scene is currently at an appalling state. Who cares if it’s the ruling coalition or the opposition, the fact is that we are looking at a political situation which certainly needs colossal changes. The 2008 elections certainly portrayed a change to many people. Many felt with the uprising of Pakatan Rakyat, we would see a major uplift for the political situation in Malaysia. However, we are currently looking at Parties facing off each other with their very own personal agendas. Who is the victim here? The Malaysian citizens are at stake! The give promises during campaigns and claim that you would see wholesome changes. Moreover, when OBAMA-mania took over Malaysia, many politicians in Malaysia used his favourite tag line – CHANGE is coming! What do you we get now? A political laughing stock which is out of sorts! I wished we had a ‘Dr. Cal Lightman’ in Malaysia. Then we would be able to detect liars who are poisoning our political situation.
The main point of discussion is the Hulu Selangor by- Elections to be held on the 25th April 2010. Many analysts felt that from this election we would be able to gauge the current political state in Malaysia. Being PR’s fort, many wanted to see whether BN could break the stronghold established by PR. As you can see by the title, many are expecting that duel but I just can’t seem to agree on that fact. The candidates facing off in this election are well versed individuals with one agenda, RAKYAT first. P. Kamalanathan, the man tasked with bringing the gong back to BN. Dato Zaid Ibrahim, the man who wants to prove everyone wrong and prove himself to be a able MP.
These two candidates are the ones which I believe has the credentials to bring Hulu Selangor out of the doldrums. Kamalanathan and Zaid are two individuals who are well educated and have bags of ability to look after the welfare of the people. During the nomination day, when I saw these two candidates, one was the rookie while the other was the numero uno of politics. Both coalition parts certainly choose the right candidates and had one thing I set, conquer HULU SELANGOR! People in Hulu Selangor were certainly expecting a two way fight and were skeptical of the selections made by both parties.
Then, the campaigns started. From here, things started to go out of hand. Both parties brought in influential figures within the party itself to promote their candidates. Their task was to promote these candidates. Sad to say, we are seeing otherwise. Character attacks, smear campaigns and many other irrelevant issues are being raised during campaigns. We can see the personal attacks targeted at Zaid, the sodomy charges against Anwar, Samy Vellu’s stubbornness in moving away from his post and etc as a indicator of the ways of attracting voters. Politicians should realize one thing. As time goes by, people will change. We are not leaving in some ‘kunun’ era!
Based on the campaigns, BN is not promoting their candidate at all! All they do is criticize Anwar and undermine Zaid’s capabilities. When asked about Kamalanathan, they only utter a few words. Dato Isa Samad certainly showed his ability in criticizing the opposition party. To some, personal attacks may undermine a person’s confidence. However, these are just minor blips for some. Look Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, Chua Soi Lek, Anwar Ibrahim, John Terry. They have bounced back from personal problems and get on to their respective lives. Personal are thing on the past. People are looking at the people’s ability to lead their respective constituents and do not care about the MP’s private affairs.
This election should be centered on these two candidates not on their parties. People are now having different perceptions on politics. They feel that the capabilities of candidates are the vital aspects in choosing them. The winner will be the one representing the people in the parliament. They will be the ones fighting for the constituents. Parties will make promises but the one who will be in charge of it is the Member of Parliament. People are realizing this very fact. With the booming impact of bloggers, people have many views on politics. Hulu Selangor might be a ‘ulu’ place thosen days but I’m sure now they have a different perception on things. There are many educated folks there. They know what is going on in our country and have the ability to voice their opinions.
Politicians might think that people are still vulnerable. Sorry to say this. We are changing folks! We are changing! Even the Kampung people are able to analyse the political situation in our country. Though we are still not on par with other developed countries on politics but we are seeing a wave of change.
Politicians in Malaysia should realize that the candidate is the one who determines a victory. The party just gives a added identity to the candidate which only helps in certain things. This is basically my current take on the political situation in Malaysia. The Hulu Selangor elections will certainly be an indicator on the current state of politics in Malaysia. We certainly want people around the world to take good note on our politics. Current circumstances certainly do not help strengthen the political state but with articles like this being circulated around, we might ‘mini’ shockwaves in our politics. We certainly want to see changes for the betterment of our ‘rakyat’!
