It is interesting to read Kadir Jasin’s article today, wherein he makes several observations and remarks with regards KEADILAN’s party polls; chief of these is that Anwar Ibrahim is contesting the position of party President as a form of self-preservation in light of the 5-year prison sentence meted out expeditiously on 7th March and that he “fears to be forgotten“.
His remarks are totally in character; the moment Anwar Ibrahim mentions “Tun Daim” and “corruption” in the same breath, Kadir Jasin will run to Daim’s defence with pen in hand. To borrow the “Game of Thrones” reference employed by The Scribe, Kadir Jasin is to Daim Zainuddin what The Hound is to Joffrey Baratheon.
As such, his remarks should be taken with a cup of salt.
KEADILAN is the first major political party in Malaysia to employ direct elections, where ordinary party members directly and democratically elect every single party leader, from the party President to Cabang committee member. To date, in no other mainstream political party – especially not Daim’s UMNO – are Malaysians able to experience this level of democracy.
Unlike members in the decrepit and ossified political machine that is UMNO, any active KEADILAN party member who has been in the party for at least 12 months can vie for any position in the party polls, hence the “festiveness” in terms of the personalities contesting central party leadership posts:
– 2 candidates for President
– 6 candidates for Deputy President
– 16 candidates for Vice President
– 78 candidates for Central Leadership Council (Majlis Pimpinan Pusat, MPP), among others.
Anwar has quite early on stated his intentions to run for the party presidency, while the question of why Wan Azizah is contesting has already been clearly answered. Anwar’s move to contest the Presidency is democratic and constitutional. This is not about his self-preservation, but rather, as long as Anwar remains on the political scene, he is a very real threat to UMNO’s self-preservation, hegemony, and political power. It is not that Anwar fears he will be forgotten, but that with each passing day he continues to make more and more Malaysians want to forget about choosing UMNO.
As such, no answer will ever satisfy the likes of Kadir Jasin as the principal issue – that Anwar Ibrahim is free and active in politics – has not been resolved to Daim’s “satisfaction”. Only when democracy such as that witnessed in KEADILAN and Pakatan Rakyat is crippled and its leaders locked away can the “Joffreys” in UMNO be satisfied.
KEADILAN will never waiver against the pens and prison sentences of Kadir Jasin, Daim, and their ilk, and will continue to fight for the cause of democracy and a better Malaysia for all.
Reformasi!
Fahmi Fadzil 