People voted you because of PH

 

        Many of us will still vote for Pakatan Harapan (PH) because there are no better choices around. 

        Even though I treat Siti Kassim as a friend, the fact that she is an Independent means, I would not vote for her. 

        This is because we need every single vote for an alternative coalition to form the next government. We have had enough of leaders like Najib Abdul Razak (and his wife, Rosmah Mansor) and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. It will be a very long list if I were to go on. 

Strong Message

        Therefore, let me send a strong message to leaders in PH. They ought to learn to be humble and serve the rakyat the moment they form the next government. 

        Snubbing some of them does not mean that I would not cast my votes for PH. I vote because of PH, not because of these individual politicians themselves. 

        But YB Anwar (Ibrahim), please do not put any more goons into your next government. If you do, and they fail to perform, PH will face a bigger challenge in GE16. 

        Many of us are willing to work in the background to help the good people in PH when they are in government, because I am sure there are MANY Malaysians who want re-build this nation to its past glory for the sake of our future generation. 

        We have seen how this country has been destroyed by politicians in the likes of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the UMNO court cluster. 

Comments about PH Politicians

        Most of us as Malaysians are colourblind. We would not mind chastising people 'with the same colour skin' because any form of correction should begin with one's own race. Let me begin with Anthony Loke since the post a  friend of mine sent me about Loke's media statement above has prompted me to write this blog post. 

        Anthony Loke:  I had not even read the press article, as it is sometimes not worth reading what our politicians have to say, but for the sake of writing this post, I went to check his statement: 

I cannot help but to agree with my dear friend. 

         My contact with Loke is minimal. I only offered to meet him once for a cuppa a month or two ago, when I was planning to be in Seremban for a weekend with my family. I used to admire his ability to speak in Bahasa Malaysia. 

        Unlike Guan Eng, or even Chin Tong, who occasionally respond, you would not even know if Loke was alive or dead. There is simply no courtesy in responding. He may think he ministerial material, but I do not have a title, money or a high place in society. 

        My grandfather was only an O-Level 'graduate' in the 40s and working as a chief clerk at Seremban Hospital before he passed on in the 50s. 

        But whatever little I know about him from my uncles and cousins, Ng Han Ti has what I have inherited from him, altruism which I will re-visit at the end of this article, but let me go on with Mazlee Malik. 

        Maszlee Malik: First time politician, Maszlee was picked by Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Minister of Education. 

        My first half year efforts were focused on meeting him with a group of disgruntled parents, whose children were bullied by a former headmistress. She targeted mainly parents who were afraid to take her to task. 

        Maszlee's first response was promising: "Okay, please arrange for a meeting." With that, I told the parents and representatives of Magpie, Hope and PAGE that they have the ears of the newly-minted minister. 

        But, it turned out that after more than a year, there was still no meeting. 

        Meanwhile, the "boy" from Simpang Renggam was making all sorts of press statements which not only riled us up but infuriated us with his wrong focus as minister of education. His lack of working experience caused him to fumble and stumble. 

        Swimming lessons for all school children (maybe in a pool of water on the road after a heavy downpour), teaching of khat during Bahasa Malaysia lessons, black shoes, and lots more to the point that I decided to pull out my children from the national-type schools. 

        I once told him that he would be heckled by the public because of his `black shoes' policy. Sure enough, within just a couple of days, the press hit him real hard when a reporter asked him, "What would be the colour of the socks then?" 

        He could not answer, but had to refer back to the ministry. And the press highlighted the criticisms from shoe manufacturers and retailers who would suffer losses because of his sudden announcement. 

        Maszlee's downfall was his own doing when he made a statement about the hiring process of staff with knowledge of Mandarin. For some jobs, I know I would also be at a disadvantage because a knowledge of Mandarin is important in dealing with the clients. 

        Sure enough, he received strong criticisms from the public. Even an online campaign which I initiated, and abandoned, was used to garner over 150,000 signatures seeking for Maszlee's removal as Minister of Education. My phone kept ringing with press people asking me for comments when I was holidaying with my family. 

        A former senior cabinet minister told me to just relax and enjoy my holiday which I did since I had nothing to do with this episode.

        P. Waythamoorthy: Waythamoorthy and his elder brother, P. Uthayakumar were involved with the Hindraf movement. They were respected because of being a voice for the Indian community. 

        So, when Waythamoorthy was picked as minister of unity, I sent him a congratulatory message. But, as usual, there was sheer lack of courtesy to even respond.  

        This politician hardly made a squeak in the past four or five years until a month ago . Guess what, my first response to him was to ask, "What is MAP, by the way?" 

        I do not need to mention names like Tony Pua and Ng Sze Han. I have mentioned a lot about them in this blog. But all I can say is PH supporters will still vote for them, not because they are great politicians, or think they are great, but because people vote for PH. 

Would there be a Third Chance for PH?

        It is hoped that this time around Anwar would make a good prime minister, and he would pick the right people to form the cabinet. 

        The good people will attract good people, especially the stakeholders, to support them in the background. 

        I earn an honest living, live a frugal life and I have my own family commitments. Time spent on assisting the government of the day is opportunity lost, when I should be using the time to look for the bread and butter. 

        I guess many Malaysians would help, not for anything but because we do not want to see Malaysia having to export maids or blue collar workers to other ASEAN nations. This is altruism, but this word is hardly understood by our politicians even in PH.

        I created this blog out of altruism, no money paid but some politicians rather practice: "Hear No Evil, See No Evil and Speak No Evil." I believe I am doing what a lot of Malaysians want to deliver to our politicians.

Where is the Altruism?

        It was a Muslim state assemblywoman whom I respect very much, who sent me her analysis recently. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had long conversations on how to help Covid patients in the B40 category. It is unfortunate that she is calling it a day come GE15.

        This word 'altruism' which was very lacking in the first time PH government of 22 months, reminds me of my grandfather. 

        When he was alive, every evening, he would pedal on his bicycle from the government quarters opposite KGV School in Seremban to a coffee shop near the wet market, where he would meet his contemporaries.

        His friends were mostly uneducated, and often asked "Ah Kong" (grandfather) to explain to them letters that they received from the government and help them to reply to the letters. 

        Here was a man who, whether rain or shine, he would cycle to the bank on pay day to withdraw the money to pay the salaries of the hospital staff. 

        Years later, when I interviewed Tan Yap, a Lions' club member who introduced Braille to the blind people (as far as I recall), told me all about grandpa as a colleague who side back to back of each other. 

        Unfortunately, some politicians in PH have lost touch with the grassroots. PH component parties are starting to attract new people who are hardly part of the reformasi struggle which Anwar started. 

        The danger is these people change the path that PH has taken all these years. If not careful, some day, PH will become Barisan Nasional 2.0.  

        For this reason, I have said, "Enough is enough!" Although altruism is still in my blood, this time around, I would not offer my services for free. After all, no soldier serves his country without a salary. After all, I work for my money.