Quick anecdote.
Just a super short and quick anecdote that Nat shared with me whom he shared with Rahimi before that.
How awesome is it to just look around you and see opposition land? :)
I was in Bangsar. Mmm, PKR.
I was in TTDI. Mmm, DAP.
I was in PJ. Mmm, PKR.
Going up north from Selangor to Perak to Kedah to Penang. Mmm - DAP, PAS, PKR.
It’s like breathing fresher air to me, actually.
I’m still not over it. I’m savouring it slowly :) Rumours are rife about the coalition having squabbles over the Perak Mentri Besar position and hudud laws being implemented in Kedah. Don’t believe the mainstream spin. They are still spinning furiously. Give the parties time, it is all very new for them and with us.
I’m actually refraining from calling the DAP-PAS-PKR coalition ‘opposition’ anymore because technically they aren’t. Is there a right terminology? To say ‘opposition-held states’ sounds terribly misleading. Neither are they a single entity. I don’t know what to call them anymore. Somebody I know suggested ‘liberated states’. lol. Naaah, I don’t think so.
Who has got suggestions to describe the DAP-PAS-PKR coalition (aside from Barisan Rakyat which is, by the way, informal and not entirely declared by party leaders) and call the five states held by them? Anybody? :)
March 12th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Yes! I too have heard people saying that when you’re driving from Penang to KL, it’s all opposition territory now :).
I can’t really think of a better name than Barisan Rakyat honestly. It fits perfectly. The Rakyat did indeed put them there, and it’s them they serve.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:57 am
That’s a tough one. Although technically Kelantan, Perak, Kedah, Penang and Selangor are still coalition-led state government, the term itself doesn’t help to differentiate between them and BN. At the end of the day, the PKR-DAP-PAS coalition is still the minority shareholder/opposition alliance at the national level. One’d probably have to slip in descriptive phrases and sentences to clarify such as, “…BN is the ruling party at the national level but in 2008 general elections, an opposition-led coalition won five state governments”. Or worse comes to worse, the rather lengthy description of ” the PKR-DAP-PAS coalition-led state government”?
March 12th, 2008 at 4:02 am
In the past, how did the media refer to PAS and Kelantan? To the best of my memory, it was always something like “PAS-controlled Kelantan” or something to that effect. Or we’d just have to settle (for now), that at the national level, PKR-DAP-PAS are still the opposition and refer to them as such, but clarify the actual status in the states they hold.
Sorry if I’m not making much sense. I’m typing this at 4am in the morning while trying finish a long-overdue report and not fall sick in the process.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:19 am
how about calling it TMC ie true malaysian coalition =)
March 12th, 2008 at 9:13 am
How about calling them the government-in-waiting coalition?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Tim - by your reasoning, we should change BN’s name to “Barisan Askar, Malaysia Timur dan Persatuan Orang-Orang Berumur 120 Tahun Ke Atas”.
thinking - stop babbling.
just curious - and getting confused with a supermarket is flattering because…?
they need a unique name, preferable one that does NOT start with barisan. i actually feel that they should use MDP as their coalition name. short, and perfectly describes what they stand for.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Still think Barisan Rakyat name suit the best
March 12th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Erm, I see no problem with the Opposition, given its status in the Federal govt. The key is to use the term in a new light i guess. To wrestle the word back, use it to empower us and move closer towards a two-party system.
Hmmm.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:51 am
The PKR-DAP-PAS could be referred to as the People’s Partners. Partner implying that all 3 parties are equal and the people are equal partners as well.
Or in Malay, Rakan Sekutu Rakyat or Rakan Kongsi Rakyat. Hmm…. sounds strange …. maybe just short and sweet Rakan Rakyat. :)
So it becomes the 5 People (with capital P) controlled States or 5 People-led States. How about that?
March 12th, 2008 at 11:52 am
how about - Kerajaan Rakyat?
March 12th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Call them the red states
Besides voting in the opposition, they also seem to be primarily concerned with socio-economic issues, hence the leftist tendency. They are like the AMCJA-PUTERA the leftists coalition prior to Merdeka.
As for BN-controlled states, make it a blue as the conservative states that prefer status quo.
March 12th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
phonetically pronounce it. puhkurdupas. HAHAHA
March 12th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
“opposition territory”
EXCUSE ME… it’s MALAYSIAN TERRITORY, currently represented by an individual who currently professes allegiance to a party conventionally and traditionally regarded as an opposition party. there you go. the acronym is MTCRBAIWCPATAPCATRAAOP.
What’s in a name anyway? If you want some means to easily address the various state governments, why not address them by the CM’s name?
E.g:
Penang - Lim administration
Kelantan - Nik administration
Selangor - Khalid administration (most probably, if not confirmed already?)
Kedah - Azizan administration
etc…
These administrations WILL have substantial differences. E.g. the Nik admin has been there for some time, but to date no municipal council elections… will they start now? Another e.g. Lim admin is going investor friendly for job creation, but the Khalid admin has to go a bit more socialist (or Khir Toyo will huff and puff “lu cakap tara sarupa bikin”). Of course there are also similarities, e.g. Lim and Khalid both are introducing municipal elections and freedom of information acts.
Furthermore, there are variations to the government formations. E.g. in Penang the government is DAP/PKR, whereas in Selangor it is PKR/DAP/PAS, whereas in Kedah (IINM) it’s PAS/PKR. The lines are blurred by things like the Azizan admin (Kedah) offering EXCO positions to the DAP, but it remains that the government was *formed* by PAS and PKR.
So, to refer to them as a collective across party lines may not even be accurate to begin with. Right now I think it’s all ad hoc. We’ll see how things go.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
i think no problem calling DAP-PKR-PAS opposition, cos if everything turn out ok, in another 5 yrs (max) we will be seeing BN as the opposition liao lor! haha
March 12th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
PKR+DAP+PAS=The People’s Party
UMNO+MCA+MIC and other underlings = B(ank) N(ippers)
P + E = Harridans
March 12th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Li Tsin, Think no more.
The People have spoken.
Its People’s Power.
Its the Peopls’s country.
BARISAN RAKYAT IT IS!
March 12th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
i think we’ve to terminate the word’ Barisan’ ,instead we name it “Parti Rakyat Malaysia”.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
how about the Awakened States?
or the Roused States?
March 13th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I think opposition is a fine descriptor for the federal level. At the state level, we can refer to individual coalition governments. In Penang and Kedah it’s a two-party coalition anyway so we can refer to the DAP-PKR Penang government or PAS-PKR Kedah government. I agree with Elanor that opposition is an unfairly misused and abused label. The right thing to do is to legitimise it - to make it clear that opposition is what makes democracy work.
If we are going to speculate about economic tendencies, both the DAP and PKR have very free market-ish manifestos. It’s going to be difficult for them to run away from them.
March 14th, 2008 at 6:50 am
congratz!!!
Now, governs the 5 states successfully. Show the rakyat that you can govern states and then Malaysia nation especially in economy, safety, justice, education, state administration, transparency and many more.
if you excel in the five states, you can convince the rakyat to choose you as a ruling party at federal level; the same manifesto or strength of BN.
in your future manifesto, pay attention to investor/ corporate sectors. Draft the manifestos as if you are going to become the Malaysia ruling party. Alike BN, play with statistics and numbers; say 10 million for education, say millions for safety etc. opposition should have shadow cabinet line-up to prepare these manifesto.
Now, concentrate on Sabah and Sarawak parliamentary and state seats. pkr (or the opposition front) must show that it is a party for all races and ethnics ie bajau, kadazan, dusun etc. most of them vote BN because their mentality (i might be wrong) is BN brings development. if you can develop the 5 states, they can open their eyes and vote opposition in next general election.
Pas, pkr, dap etc must groom leaders or candidates for the 13th general election. Pick candidates with strong education background so that people have faith in them able to govern states (or Malaysia). Starting from today, these candidates must turun padang to list down all the problem faces by rakyat and tackled the problems; win their heart and show them that you do works. if the candidates don’t have enough time and energy, seek help from opposition supporters or appoint assistances as many as you need.BN won uncontested in 11 parliamentary seats meaning opposition lacks 11 leaders/ candidates.
Starting today until the next GE, keep record of mismanagements, corruptions (power and money), wrongdoings of BN for your campaigning points.
Most of the main media in Malaysia are controlled by the ruling party. opposition candidates must use alternative medium such as internet or blogs to convey their messages, counter the ruling party allegations, reveals corruptions by BN etc. if the candidates are busy, ask the party supporters to run the blog; maybe can elect media committee. The opposition have won five states and KL; make as many press conference as you can to address your developments, progress etc. each states have its own radio station; use these opportunity to deliver the messages.
Work very hard during this 4 or 5 years!!
If not, rakyat will vote for BN in the next election
if selangor can beat pahang or sabah or sarawak in economy, safety, education etc performances, the sabahan and the sarawakian and pahang people might choose the opposition in 13th GE.
The opposition must pick an outstanding state as a benchmark while governing the 5 states. If say pahang attracted 10 foreign investors, the five states must have more than 10 investors. If sabah crime rate is 10 %( let say it is a state with lowest crime rate), the opposition must have lower than 10% of crime rate. The examples are endless.
March 15th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
:(
Can we call them time bomb?
Sori to spoil your celebration.