Croaking From Underneath the Coconut Shell

In light these serious concerns, yesterday leaders of Pakatan Rakyat sent a letter to the Prime Minister at 2:30 PM requesting a meeting to discuss the future course of the nation’s leadership and to seek his assurance on the following important matters:
1) That the BN shall not hinder or prevent their BN MPs from acting in accordance with their conscience, constitutional rights and independent judgment;
2) That the BN government shall not invoke the Internal Security Act to detain any of the MPs who will join Pakatan Rakyat, or any of the present 82 Pakatan Rakyat MPs;
3) That the BN government shall not invoke emergency or police powers, or suspend the constitution, or dissolve parliament in response to our intention to form a new government;
4) That the Barisan Nasional government shall not impose road-blocks and impede the MPs from gaining access to the House of Parliament and the institutions of government.
We are confident he will ensure the BN will act constitutionally and democratically to ensure that the transition will be peaceful, and there will be no actions taken to sabotage the wishes of the people or play on racial tensions in the country.
We appeal to all quarters in Malaysian society to understand our intentions are for the betterment of Malaysian society. The mainstream media, in particular, should accept the reality of these historic times and report fairly, accurately and without bias. The irresponsible tact that is used by the media to obfuscate issues, attack opposition supporters and instigate racial tensions must end immediately.

3) That the BN government shall not invoke emergency or police powers, or suspend the constitution, or dissolve parliament in response to our intention to form a new government; (my emphasis)

Commentary:
This one caught my eye rather unexpectedly. In fact, I had to filch out my seldom used magnifying glass to be doubly sure. I was aghast this should come from a self styled democrat. One for whom, the constitution is supreme and the ballot box the pathway to Utopia. The way the words are couched it appears the sub-text reeks of demands, of neutering the other side’s right to determine the rules of engagement. In fact, it sounds much like a document demanding surrender and capitulation. Be that it is may, the maker of the document reveals his intellectual vacuity when he asserts “the BN will act constitutionally and democratically to ensure that the transition will be peaceful, and there will be no actions taken to sabotage the wishes of the people”. A reiteration of the need for constitutional probity and democratic fair play that goes against the very grain of (3) i.e denial of the right to constitutionally dissolve parliament! In other words, a Magnum has been placed on the PM’s head which in no uncertain terms demands that power be relinquished to the Pakatan at once, to hell with the will of the people!!.

Lets take apart these portions of the statement piece by piece and assess the credibility of the demands using the bible of all secular democrats : the Constitution:
Article 43
(4) If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.

Note that the PM has the democratic right to request for dissolution which goes smack against, ultimatum 3 that reads :
That the BN government shall not invoke emergency or police powers, or suspend the constitution, or dissolve parliament in response to our intention to form a new government;

Next, study the following:
If an act of parliament recites that action has been taken or threatened by any substantial body of persons, whether inside or outside the Federation -
(a) to cause, or to cause a substantial number of citizens to fear, organised violence against persons or property; or
(b) to excite disaffection against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or any Government in the Federation; or
(c) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or other classes of the population likely to cause violence; or
(d) to procure the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of anything by law established; or
(e) which is prejudicial to the maintenance or the functioning of any supply or service to the public or any class of the public in the Federation or any part thereof; or
(f) which is prejudicial to public order in, or the security of, the Federation or any part thereof, any provision of that law designed to stop or prevent that action is valid notwithstanding that it is…………………….

Yes siree what is encouraging defections but the procurement of alteration of the status quo in terms of party representation, something lawfully established by electoral means. And further what if any one the frogs in a moment of amphibian epiphany in the twilight zone of land and water reveal that he had been feted with insects or even promised the resident grass-hopper wouldn’t that constitute illegal means within the construct of 149 (1d). And then what, the PM to peluk tubuh and take a nap while a thief rifles the crown jewels.

Finally, lets take apart this high-falutin statement which has the cheek to appropriate public sympathy for his cause:

“the BN will act constitutionally and democratically to ensure that the transition will be peaceful, and there will be no actions taken to sabotage the wishes of the people”.

Why for God’s sake, should the BN cede their crown constitutionally and democratically when I have clearly shown that Pakatan never operated within these very paradigms. Further, democratically has all the hallmarks of a classic Anwar punchline. First, he denies the BN’s right to dissolve Parliament and call his bluff that he enjoys the support of the rakyat, so what’s so democratic about that? Second by demanding that such a recourse be never effected, Saudara Anwar in a bizarre move for a champion democrat, indirectly denies the citizen’s right to hold their reps responsible for their actions including their froglike tendencies to hop from one lotus leaf onto another in search for the perfect spot to attain Nirvana, plus their rights to vote in people based on a manifesto, the issues and ideology politics you so avidly advocate.

Finally, the people’s wishes?I am flummoxed by this. Which people? The 51% who voted against you + the 30% who did not turn up (God knows what’s their stance)+ the 4 million or so (including me) who are not even bothered. Since when your 49% constitute the majority in an electorate of 10 million or so, I wonder.

So, saudara Anwar, instead of cleaving semantics and breeding a fresh bevy of frogs (remember Sabah circa 1994) to unleash misery on insect colonies,you would be better off taking up aquaculture as the frog’s legs market is pretty down now and the market futures indicator is also dropping like a brick . Oh why not leeches for these blood suckers would surely enjoy your tender touch!

As for the press, trawl the blogs and witness how vile the comments are against a certain religion. Perhaps, that will knock some sense into you that the gutter traverses both sides of the divide. (more on this later)

Revert: this is what happens when we equate charisma with intelligence