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Thursday, 10-Jun-2004 2:04 PM Be your own man There comes a time in your life when everyone has to eventually be his own man. It’s fine to walk in the shadow of big brother. But this should only be for a brief period, until you have found your footing. Sooner or later, it is time to step out of big brother’s shadow and stand on your own two feet. KeADILan has already come of age. It may be only five years old -- and for a political party that is not too long considering some political parties in other parts of the world have been around for more than 200 years -- but keADILan has had to go through the baptism of fire so it has matured greatly in those short five years. It has had to endure and experience in a mere five years what some did not have to go through in 50 years. It’s advisor, Anwar Ibrahim, was demoted from Deputy Prime Minister to detainee in a flash. He was beaten to near death and indicted under ridiculous charges. Under the most bizarre trials in Malaysian judicial history he was found guilty and handed down stiff sentences never before seen in spite of the absence of evidence and testimonies of unreliable and contradicting witnesses. Under this dark cloud, keADILan was born and within a mere seven months it faced its first general election. KeADILan certainly showed promise and its 1999 election performance was most impressive which frightened the shit out of Umno and the coalition it leads, Barisan Nasional. Umno was determined to finish off keADILan and grab back the two states under opposition control so the worst election fraud in Malaysian history was hatched which almost wiped out the party. Yes, keADILan has gone through a lot these last five years, which included defections. Yet it landed on its feet and not its head though it has many battle scars to show for it. But it now has to move on. It should not be basking in its glories of days gone by for there is no future in the past. All good things must come to an end. So let us accept that keADILan’s good days are no longer with us. Umno wanted to finish off the party by financing a couple of defections just before the recent election with a hope it would create an exodus from the party. This did not happen. Then Umno engineered the almost total wipe out of the party in the election thinking that this would be a signal to the party members and supporters it is now time to put the party to sleep. That too did not happen. Umno is now in a dilemma as to how to kill off the party. It tried everything but nothing seems to work. Short of deregistering the party, it appears like keADILan is here to stay. Whether keADILan realises it or not, it has now reached the crossroads of its career. It is time the party moves into the next phase of its life. For a good part of its five years, it has been hanging onto the apron strings of its big brother, PAS (the Islamic Party of Malaysia). It is time to cut loose. KeADILan needs to move forward. And it needs to do this on its own, not under the shadow of PAS. KeADILan must realise it is its own man. It is not a chip of the old block or as they say in local political terminology ‘parti serpihan’ (splinter party). KeADILan is no splinter of anyone or a chip of anything. It is a party in itself and should act accordingly. Many may not agree with the DAP (Democratic Action Party) in its opposition to the Islamic State plan. Many may also not agree with PAS on its strong Islamic State stand. But at least there are no doubts in anyone’s mind what these two party’s stand for. There is absolutely no confusion as to what both DAP and PAS aspire. But the same cannot be said about keADILan. What, may I ask is keADILan’s stand? This is certainly very cloudy indeed and extremely confusing. And this is what cost keADILan its seats in the recent election. It was not its wrong stand. It was its unknown stand. This keADILan needs to clear up. Better it take a wrong stand than take no stand at all. If keADILan takes the wrong stand it will make enemies. But in the process it will create many friends as well. But by taking no stand it has neither enemies nor friends. And this is worse for it is better to have a balance of both friends and enemies than to have nothing at all. KeADILan cannot just declare it is not a party to PAS’ Islamic State. It is like the driver of the getaway car pleading he is not a party to the bank robbery. Never mind you did not pull the trigger for just being a member of the gang makes you as guilty of murder. And that is how keADILan is being judged. And that is why the DAP decided to pull out of the opposition coalition, Barisan Alternatif (BA). Is the BA still relevant? It served its purpose in 1999. Was it still useful in the 2004 general election? And will it be to keADILan’s interest to face the next election in 2008 or 2009 as a member of this coalition. In short, should the BA be just put to sleep? These are the hard questions facing the party. It now has to come to terms with this reality. If the marriage has lost its magic then it may be time to consider just ending it. No one likes a divorce. But if a divorce is inevitable then a divorce it has to be. The party leaders must address this issue. But they should not make any decision in isolation. The party does not belong to only the leaders. It belongs to the members as well. There are more than 200,000 party members. Only a mere handful of these 200,000 are leaders. And the leaders represent the members and serve the interest of the members. So the members must decide, not the leaders. The leaders must just take the cue from the members. What do the members want? Can we take a referendum? Do the members want keADILan to remain in the opposition coalition and continue its association with PAS and its Islamic State? This, the leaders are obliged to find out. Early feedback from the ground indicates the grassroots murmuring ‘enough is enough’. It was good while it lasted but it is time the marriage with PAS ended. KeADILan can still of course remain friends with PAS. But let it be a friendship based on an electoral pact and not as a member of an opposition coalition. This is going to be a major paradigm shift if this is what the party opts for. But you cannot fry the egg unless you break the shell. So what must be done must be done. There are no two ways about it. KeADILan must show that it is its own man. It must show it is confident in its own capabilities and need not seek shelter under PAS’ umbrella. Most importantly, keADILan needs to take its stand according to what the majority of the members want and not satisfy the whims of a select group who do not represent majority wishes.
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