People’s trust cannot be taken for granted....

For the last two weeks I have been in Gua Musang in the thick of the action for the Galas by-election. Even so, it was one of the most difficult by-elections to forecast. Not so much that one could not read the sentiments of the sometimes fickle electorate but also due to the backroom manoeuvrings.

The unholy alliance between PAS and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah gave rise to the following questions: Did PAS deliberately field a weak candidate to ensure Ku Li’s political longevity? In the same breath, was having an invisible PAS candidate a calculated measure to push votes for the BN candidate? Was this also a reason why there was no mention of Ku Li and oil royalties which he also demands to be returned to the people.

In the same vein, why was there limited coverage of the BN candidate in the first few days? Why was the price of RON 97 increased just two days before the polls to give more fuel to PAS? All these questions make one dizzy but at the end of the day, what matters is that the people do not end up being pawns.

The people of Galas have made their choice and where the candidate is concerned, I feel they made a clever decision. After all it is only healthy that the Opposition representation in the state legislative assembly is increased. But the promises made must be fulfilled and the people must not be victimised through the complex overlapping of federal and state administrations. One PAS leader at a ceramah made this subtle warning to voters: "What’s the point of voting the BN candidate because if he needs anything done, he still has to come to the state government – us!"

Well, irrespective of who the representative is, he was chosen by the people and the implementers at both state and federal levels have an obligation to respect the people’s mandate. If anything 2008 had returned power to the people. They had again demonstrated this in the two recent by-elections and sent the message that the people’s trust cannot be taken for granted, just because one is so and so or because one is from – or not from – a particular party.If anything, it has also proven that politicians have to work extra hard to earn our trust.- Terence Fernandez

source:theSun

cheers.