Pas, don’t fall for Umno’s trap!

aliran - Should Pas’s leaders continue to make unilateral demands, they will only be helping Umno/BN weaken the collective resolve and accommodative spirit that brought the Pakatan Rakyat together in the first place, and by doing so, helping further Umno/BN’s objective of maintaining its hegemonic grip on the country. And so for all our sakes – the Malaysian people’s and for Pas’s sake as well – do rein in these wild horses and keep the PR convoy in line, says Farish Noor, who reminds us that the March 2008 elections was an election for a new Malaysia - not for a theocratic sectarian state, be it in the communitarian mould of Umno or of Pas.
Civil society, and the actors who occupy that public domain, exists for a number of reasons and one of the reasons is to keep all politicians and political parties in check. It would appear that the work of civil society actors in Malaysia today has been cut out thanks to the murky goings-on within and between the political parties of Malaysia on both sides of the political fence.

Hardly three months have passed since the landmark results of the 8 March federal elections and already we see Malaysia transformed as never before: despite winning 79 Parliamentary seats, Umno, which has been in power for more than half a century, is showing signs of internal division and fragmenting before our very eyes, bringing with its collapse the very real possibility of change in the mindset of millions of ordinary Malaysian citizens who were told for so long that the sun of the Barisan Nasional would never set. Well, with BN MPs running helter-skelter in all directions at the moment, it would appear as if that claim is about to be tested in no uncertain terms.... selanjutnya.