By all counts, the DAP's first national level Aidilfitri open house at the open-air carpark of the Kajang Municipal Council Stadium in Bandar Baru Bangi here was a success.
The members of the public who streamed in came in all shapes and shades. There were Chinese salaam-ing other Chinese, Malays, Indians and vice versa.
The mood was genial if not jolly. It helped that the weather held for the brief three hours the party lasted.
For once, it seemed, the opposition politicians were able to relax and mingle directly with the rakyat without fear of being molested or harrassed about when they were going to act on their promise to take over Putrajaya. The feel-good vibes were reflected in the easy smiles they wore on their faces.
There were representatives from the top echelon of the triparte Pakatan Rakyat at the do. Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail the president ofParti Keadilan Rakyat were there. Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, the president of PAS also attended.
The three main leaders delivered a short speech each. Mainly it focused on practising good governance and building a strong and lasting partnership among the different ethnic communities.
Much of it was spin, of course, but the core message it attempted to convey was nevertheless true, more so in light of the special reminder issued by the council of rulers last Thursday. Solidarity amid diversity.
Or as Anwar summed it: "Let us not, while building, be demolishing."
He said that it was a quote from Muhammad Natsir, an influential Indonesian politician and ulama. He explained that it was a reminder that as important as it was to build for the future, it was equally important not to break down the foundations of the society it was building on.
"The issue of morals and ethics, that is still core," Anwar said, before launching a new book about the DAP secretary-general titled "Lim Guan Eng: Dari Penjara Ke Tampuk Kuasa" (Lim Guan Eng: FromPrison to Seat of Power).
Muhyiddin Yassin
The jostling is seemingly over. A weak leader is quickly and unceremoniously overthrown. The vultures comes to feed. Everyone moves up one rung. The people will have new rulers soon.
And who are these new leaders? Somehow, all of UMNO's leaders who will hold the fort, until Pakatan Rakyat takes over, have one or more scandals in the cupboard. Najib is famous for the submarine and arms deals, as well as sex and murder scandals. This time the commission for the Eurocopte seals will not go to him but to Pak Lah - his golden handshake!
Let's look at Muhyiddan, the quiet one who is a frontrunner for DPM and future PM (?). This story was carried out in the magazine Asiaweek a while back. One day, when Muhyiddin was the Menteri Besar of Johor, he called up Stamford Holdings, a Singapore company which owned more than 4000 acres of land in th state under oil palm cultivation. Muhyiddin told them to develope 400 acres of the land. He then demanded that Stamford Holdings give him 30% of the devepment. Stamford Holdings agreed, developed the land, and Muhyiddin got his 30%.
Sometime later, Muhyiddin called up Stamford Holdings again and told them to develope the remaining 4000 acres of land. This time, Muhyiddin wanted a whopping 70% ! Stamford Holdings refused. A few days later, Muhyiddin called up Stamford Holdings again, and told them, "Look, I have this piece of paper in front of me on my desk. All I have to do is sign it and Stamford Holdings will no longer own the 4000 acres of land. Now, do you agree or not to develope the land and I take 70%."
Stamford Holdings again refused. The following week, they received a letter from the Johor government signed by Muhyiddin stating that the government have taken over the land.The nationalised land was later divided to three of Muhyiddin's cronies.Muhyiddin did not dare sue Asiaweek for this report. Asiaweek pre-empted any funny ideas Muhyiddin had by also reporting that all the telephone converations were taped by Stamford Holdings. Now is this guy going to be successful in atrracting foreign investments? Is this guy going to be Malaysia's DPM? Do we deserve him?
Bye-note: When Mahathir heard of the deal, he immediately transferred Muhyiddin to Federal level, not because he disappoved of the deal, but because Muhyiddin did not share the loot with him! Just as a former MB of Kedah was sacked because he did not give any share to Daim and Mahathir in a prawn project in Kedah with Arab partners. Incidentally, one of the Arab partners was named Osama !