Burning the House Down

People must start wondering after all my posts on politics there is this deafening silence on what happened a few days ago in a political party that everyone knows and loves (maybe love is not universal but it's there). There's no love lost, but there is a lot of disappointment.

So, what happened? In summary, the person that should have gone didn't. A group of them were sacked from the party while some others were suspended for 6 years. One was to be suspended but he had the audacity to challenge the President, thus he is gone now too. What, disappoints though is that he quickly jumped to another political party.

While the other? Depending on which media we read, one reads that he cried into his cereal bowl, while the other read that he quoted various lines from classics and movies, while they lay dying with a dozen of arrows in their back or after being bumped by a cannonball.

So, what does that make the much-loved political party? Does it involve the famous adage of miffed at a mosquito one burns the entire mosquito net? Or winning cheers but entire village is hocked or pawned (depending on how one reads it.)

A few posts ago I said to myself that I am an idealist and a realist, thus making me a pragmatist? I guess.

I loved when that party had a very strong voice from the youth wing. They were their own opposition; thus, leaders of yore treaded carefully. They had internal watch dogs that ensured that the people are not miffed and upset. But a certain leader of 22 years became deeply annoyed, and that strength were neutralised creating mere lapdogs and kittens. They hardly bite, maybe a once in 7 blue moons slight hiss and mini yips but lots and lots of purring.

With that structure removed, later leaders encouraged more and more purring and less hissing. And thus, the adoring big eyed Puss-in-Boots look was born. And everyone did exactly that. So, now, what happened? There were a few gave gimlet eyes instead of those big adoring eyes. The claws were not even out, and they were already given the boot.

Thus, the top cat needed everyone to sing from the same songbook and not mewl a different tune. It doesn't matter that the top cat only has barely 20 adoring big eyes following him with others just being copycats (pun intended). They still try to carry a tune, but they can barely read a note.

So, what next? In the court of public opinion, they have lost. The same public opinion that rejected them in almost 200 seats, the same public opinion that they have chosen to ignore. Are they oblivious? I don't believe they are, but they are not smooth operators, they are not the slick strategists. They are streetfighters. They only know brute force and that's what exactly they did.

By letting them roam free, they have been given ample time to regroup and strategise. If it was I, I would keep my enemies even closer and load them with a tonne of tasks that works to my advantage but keeps them thoroughly occupied. Every advantage and opportunity need to be removed and the carpet pulled from under them.

And contrary to general opinion, the people never forget and with the alternative on offer, they just might push this party into the abyss and oblivion, no matter what they are trying to do to the former conjoined twin.

Will it disappear? They need to disappear, do a lot of soul searching, meditate in caves and return stronger. In the meantime, they need to return to what they came to do, what they were known for, working for the benefit of the people and not for themselves. That's why years ago, trying to secure independence, people threw their life possessions just to finance the trip. The scene was immortalised in the movie Hati Malaya.

What irks me most is not that they no longer help and support the people, instead it's the impression of tokenism, that their act of throwing crumbs is merely to pull wool over our eyes. They can no longer afford mere tokenism and rhetoric. People no longer want to hear all these nonsenses. They want blood. They want head on a pike. Those that broke the law, those that pilfered, those that cheated and lied need to be punished. They want leaders that they can be proud of, not politicians with huge question marks floating on their head instead of halos.

As long as they continue to harbour politicians with question marks over their heads, they will continue to lose in the court of public opinion. Why is the skullcap brigade more attractive? Simple, they, collectively do not have such question marks over their head, instead some people saw halos over their heads. Pure and simple.

Question mark over the head.