I refer to the Malaysiakini report Lee quits Gerakan, rebuts criticisms .
Nearly two months after the election is over, our federal government headed by Barisan Nasional and in particular, the Umno leadership, is still trying to get to grips with the reality that they are working with a simple majority. If that is not bad enough, they lost five states along the way.
The swing votes came from all races and this showed that the people had had enough. I seriously doubt they understand the real reasons why they lost. It was the people who voted, not the so called internal saboteurs. Going on a witch hunt does not help either.
In fact, if another election is held today, I do not think they would even be able to achieve a simple majority. As it is, they are still bickering over everything. The way they have handled losing those states and their two-thirds majority makes one think that they deserve the March 8 result.
The Pakatan Rakyat is to be commended (cautiously) for making things work so far. In fact, the appointment of Lee Kah Choon by the Penang CM ought to be commended by all. Not only does he have the foresight but also the courage to make the necessary appointments and decisions that are good for Penang. We need that in a leader. Likewise, Lee Kah Choon should be looked at in high regard for putting Penang above politics. The needs of the state and its people far outweigh anything that the Gerakan party can provide at this point in time.
The Gerakan president - who has been silent all this while - should be bold enough to come out in strong support of Lee Kah Choon. Being a Penangite, he should do what is good for the state and not follow some directive from a not-so-great leader.
We thought we had a good leader in 2004 and by golly, we gave him a super huge mandate in 2004 to do what was good for Malaysia and her people. Nothing came from that, sadly, and he is now in a quandary.
The rakyat were advised to use the right channels, ie, the ballot box, if they were dissatisfied with the performance of the government. The rakyat have spoken yet the very same people who so arrogantly challenged the rakyat to vote wisely, refuse to accept that decision. They appear as sore a loser as any that can be found.
For the sake of the nation and for the sake of the sanity of those of us who read the newspapers everyday, BN should grow up. Go back to work and do what is good for Malaysia. Be mature and accept the defeat with grace.
The leaders should accept responsibility and make way for a new breed. So long as they remain, there will always be excess luggage being carried around. The only way is to drop these people.
