I would like to share a story of taxi man I met during my life changing experience in Bintulu during the Sarawak state elections. How life changing ? That's the subject of another article. The taxi man shared his unsettling frustrations of the rising cost of living. Further, he felt both the opposition and the governing parties are the same . He felt like not going vote.
Golden thread
As lawyers, we learn that there's one golden thread that runs through the web of English criminal law, i.e the presumption of innocence. Blackstone stated that he would rather 10 guilty men went free than one innocent man convicted.
In the same way we have to ask ourselves, what is the golden thread that runs through the web of our party's eternal principles ? Some may say principle of not treating your enemy as your friend - we will not be grouped together with brood of vipers like PAS or even Tun Mahathir who was called a pimp and leech by a brother in Penang. I feel for you, bro. That includes a whole group of principled and people of integrity whose hatred so consumed them that they want to hang Tun M between two twin towers and up side down for that matter.
However, I tend to take a different view with due respect to people I just mentioned. I take the view that the golden thread that runs through the web our party's eternal principles should be a Malaysian Malaysia ! Taking a leaf from Sdr Lim Kit Siang who explained the rationale for joining forces with Tun M last March during the Save Malaysia Coalition, Sdr Kit went on to refer to South Africa as an example for Malaysia. “After 27 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela emerged with a message for all South Africans. Mandela urged, after 10,000 days of incarceration, that “All of us who are hostages of the past must transform ourselves into new men and women who shall be fitting instruments for the creation of the glorious new South Africa which is possible and necessary to realize.”
These words by Nelson Mandela bear pondering and reflection by Malaysians at this juncture of Malaysia’s national development.
Therefore, Deng Xiao Ping's statement rang true here "it does not matter if it's a white cat or black cat. As long as the cat can catch the rat". Now, I want to ask you: "what is more important? Not working with Mahathir or a Msian Msia??
Women participation (quota)
I want to take this opportunity to laud the party for imposing a 30 % quota on the composition of women in the CEC. I must say that there are many disgruntled members who felt that it is a regressive step something like NEP but let me tell you why the quota is beneficial not only to women, it is beneficial to the country and party.
Why 30% ? We need to achieve this critical mass before we can make any difference. Beneficial to the country- Studies have shown that Scandinavian countries have achieved top three in the world index in terms of quality of life and quantity of development and also high on the integrity index and low on the corruption index. Because they have more than 50 % of women in top leadership.
Beneficial to the party -Studies have shown that the female voters turnout for female candidates are higher than if it's a male candidate. That means if a political party can have a manifesto that womenfolks can relate to and engage the women voters, more women voters will turn up to vote. There's a huge blue ocean of women voters left untapped. Perhaps this is the tipping point for us to win the elections.
Women representation
We are living in a very challenging difficult dangerous time. General discontent, anger and fury.99 percent of the silent majority are burning with fury and anger waiting to explode. 1% of the elite vis a vis 99% of the downtrodden. Just like the taxi man.
The recent facts have shown that the ignited fire had burnt across the continent in UK, Italy, France, Holland, Denmark and USA. I believe more so in Msia with the rising costs. Anti establishment sentiment that is already there can be further ignited by women.
We need more active women who's willing and able to do persuasion to turn up votes and to get the votes out. Time to do this in party is now. This is a very crucial opportunity. The party must raise the women representation. We must have more women candidates in order to win this difficult war.
End : with a quote by Malala "I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back."
