Monday, May 28, 2018

A good Opposition leader, like Kit Siang?


If Zahid Hamidi listens to Lim Kit Siang’s unsolicited advice on “How to be a good Opposition Leader”, I’m afraid it might take BN 50 years instead of five to take back Putrajaya. BN does not have such luxury. Kit Siang was lucky, he had all the time in the world. The DAP stalwart was Opposition leader for a record three times, spanning 30 years. Including a 24-year uninterrupted stretch from 1975 to 1999, which must have been some kind of a world record or something.  
Despite this long tenure, the Opposition made very little headway under Kit Siang. In fact, it became weak and it suffered many humiliations, especially during Mahathir Mohamad’s era (Prime Minister, 1981-2003). If Kit Siang had been a good Opposition leader, the voters would have kept him. Instead, at the 1999 polls, they showed him the door. Lim led the Opposition for the last time from 2004 to 2008 and had better luck in the 12th general election, but only because he and the Opposition had help from Dr Mahathir, who was going after Pak Lah, the Prime Minister then. 
If Kit Siang had been a good Opposition leader, we the people wouldn’t be paying through our noses for our highways today. And Mahathir would not get to create the IPPs for his cronies. And Penangites would still be taking the ferry to go to the mainland. Just to mention a few.  
No, Zahid will be better off creating his own brand as Opposition Leader. I hope he does not oppose just for the sake of opposing, which was what Kit Siang was all about. The Leader of the Opposition must provide check and balances, call a spade a spade, tamper the new Government’s over-eagerness with the realities on the ground. Put the people first, as Tony Fernandes would say, and everything would fall into place. 

#Leader of the OppositionPolitical partyTerm of officePrime MinisterRefs
Took officeLeft office
1Male portrait placeholder cropped.jpgBurhanuddin al-Helmy
(1911–1969)
MP for Besut
PMIP19591964Tunku Abdul Rahman
2Tan Chee Khoon.jpgTan Chee Khoon
(1919–1996)
MP for Batu
SF(LPM)19641969
-Position vacant19691971
Abdul Razak Hussein
3Male portrait placeholder cropped.jpgMohamed Asri Muda
(1923–1992)
MP for Pasir Puteh
PMIP19711973
4Lim Kit Siang cropped.jpgLim Kit Siang
(b. 1941)
MP for Bandar Malacca
DAP30 January 197331 July 1974[2]
5Male portrait placeholder cropped.jpgJames Wong
(1922–2011)
MP for Miri-Lubis
SNAP19741974
6Male portrait placeholder cropped.jpgEdmund Langgu Saga
(b. 1936)
MP for Saratok
SNAP4 November 19744 November 1975[3]
(4)Lim Kit Siang cropped.jpgLim Kit Siang
(b. 1941)
MP for Kota Melaka (1975-1978)
MP for Petaling (1978–1982)
MP for Kota Melaka (1982-1986)
MP for Tanjong (1986–1999)
DAP4 November 197512 June 1978[4]
Hussein Onn
31 July 197829 March 1982[5]
Mahathir Mohamad
10 July 198219 July 1986[6]
8 October 19864 October 1990[7]
10 December 19906 April 1995[8]
15 June 199510 November 1999[9]
7Male portrait placeholder cropped.jpgFadzil Noor
(1937–2002)
MP for Pendang
PAS20 December 199923 June 2002[10]
8Abdul Hadi Awang
(b. 1947)
MP for Marang
PAS9 September 20024 March 2004[11]
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(4)Lim Kit Siang cropped.jpgLim Kit Siang
(b. 1941)
MP for Ipoh Timor
DAP19 May 200413 February 2008[12]
9Wan Azizah.jpgWan Azizah Wan Ismail
(b. 1952)
MP for Permatang Pauh
PKR30 April 200828 August 2008[13][14]
10Anwar Ibrahim.jpgAnwar Ibrahim
(b. 1947)
MP for Permatang Pauh
PKR28 August 20083 April 2013[15]
Najib Razak
26 June 201316 March 2015[16][17]
(9)Wan Azizah.jpgWan Azizah Wan Ismail
(b. 1952)
MP for Permatang Pauh
PH(PKR)18 May 201510 May 2018[18]
11Najib Razak 2008-08-21.jpgNajib Razak
(b. 1953)
MP for Pekan & Former Prime Minister of Malaysia
BN(UMNO)10 May 201812 May 2018Mahathir Mohamad[19]
12Deputy Prime Minister Hamidi - 2017 (36294565072) (cropped).jpgAhmad Zahid Hamidi
(b. 1953)
MP for Bagan Datuk & Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
BN(UMNO)12 May 2018Incumbent

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:30 pm

    Lim Kit Siang as opposition leader he opposed everything..The Plus Highway, Penang Bridge,KLIA, Putra Jaya, KLCC etc.

    ReplyDelete
  2. xnakdedak6:03 pm

    "If Kit Siang had been a good Opposition leader, we the people wouldn’t be paying through our noses for our highways today. And Mahathir would not get to create the IPPs for his cronies. And Penangites would still be taking the ferry to go to the mainland. Just to mention a few."

    Latuk O Latuk O Latuk.

    If the Opposition hadn't risked arrest or worse for exposing your pink-lipped idol's numerous crimes (paying for highways? We have 42 billion of 1MDB debt and only pink diamonds and soft porn films to show for it), where would Malaysia be, eh Latuk?

    It's only hopeless sycophants like you who looked the other way when the atrocities were being done against Felda, TH, KWAP, KWSP and Khazanah, all of which are going to come out in painful detail.

    At least some folks weren't napping, eh Latuk?

    ReplyDelete
  3. xnakdedak6:07 pm

    PS: I hear some MPs are donating their salaries to reduce the national debt.

    If you know any overpaid BN bloggers, Latuk, do suggest they do the same.

    After all, they need to repent for their massive (and expensive) failure to make even the slightest dent in public opinion.

    It's almost like a waste of public funds, you might say.

    I guess paying for 284 luxury handbags wasn't the worst crime against taxpayers under the previous regime : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:33 am

    Hahaha...good luck & all the best to Zahid & Hisham..pupus lah Umno, and museum will be a place for them. Really cannot see their capability to bring back Umno led BN to power. They can get trust from Umno people but certainly not from the majority of Malaysians. Umno will be more & more irrelevant.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous6:02 pm

    " he and the Opposition had help from Dr Mahathir, who was going after Pak Lah, the Prime Minister then."

    So were you

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pretty good home work on the stats

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry Bro11:27 am

    Balik balik Tony Fernandes.

    Tainted already la bro.

    The federal police in India are hunting him down for alleged bribery and corruption:

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/indian-police-target-ceo-tony-fernandes-in-airasia-corruption-probe-20180530-p4zi9v.html

    Bro, can you quote someone cleaner or nobler? There are so many philosophers and other noble humans in the history of the world you could refer to.

    ReplyDelete