Winners never quit, quitters never win....

When Federal Territory Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Chief and Supreme Council member Datuk Zaid Ibrahim announced his imminent quit decision, it did not surprise many, since the writing was already on the wall.

A gentleman he may be, but quitters go nowhere in politics, as one only need to flip through the annals of Malaysian politics for evidence. No leaders who had left the ‘system' had succeeded in achieving the desired goal by fighting their battle from outside the ring.

Furthermore, running battles don't win the war says an old English adage while another says a winner will never quit and a quitter will never win.

Tun Musa Hitam who was apparently unhappy with the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President in 1987. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, once regarded as Prime Minister material too did not succeed after initially quitting Umno to form Semangat 46, also after a spat with Mahathir.

In 1987, Tengku Razaleigh challenged Mahathir but the latter managed to retain his position but UMNO was split into two separate entities as Tengku Razaleigh was left unsatisfied with the result. The split forced the court to declare UMNO as illegal and shortly after the court ruling, Mahathir re-established UMNO as UMNO Baru (New UMNO), while Tengku Razaleigh went on his own path and founded a new political party called Semangat 46 in 1989. The number 46 referred to the year UMNO was originally founded. Seven years later however, Tengku Razaleigh disbanded Semangat 46 and rejoined UMNO.

Former Health Minister and MCA vice president Datuk Chua Jui Meng was also billed as the future MCA president but when he quit MCA to join PKR, he has been playing only a subdued role. Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, who was the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister before he resigned two years ago, had also quit UMNO to become an independent candidate and fight against UMNO during a by-election.

Seasoned and battle-hardened politicians had more or less anticipated Zaid's exit from PKR since he was among few leaders who preached transparency, fair play and honesty and regarded a man of principle. "But quitting will not change anything. You have to fight from the inside. It doesn't matter whether you are fighting the system, the chief or others within the party, because when you leave after having exhausted all avenues, you can still walk with your head held high," said a senior politician.

Zaid meanwhile, seems to have adopted the principles of Abraham Lincoln who had said: "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. "I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. My vision has not wavered. It was the reason I ran.

Zaid said it was made clear in his manifesto that he was running to move PKR away from the old politics of this country and to decentralize the leadership of the party so as to ensure that every voice was heard and that every member of the party could serve and contribute.

"Those who say that I have exhausted my options in Malaysian politics cannot be further from the truth. When I set out to contest in the party elections it was to offer the members of PKR an option, a new vision, for both the party and the country.

"I still have a very clear vision of how the politics in this country needs to be transformed and very definite views on what leadership means. I still believe the people of this country deserve better politics and better leaders.

"If I am not able to make headway in transforming PKR in these elections, it doesn't mean that I have failed. It means that I will try another way and will explore all possible options and avenues to ensure this transformation is achieved."

Rumours are also rife that Zaid may form his own party called ‘Keadilan Baru' but for that to happen and to gain a strong footing in Malaysian politics or pose a serious threat to the ruling coalition, time will be an essence, something that the maverick politician may not have at his disposal. It will be interesting though to see what Zaid has up his sleeves in the near future to establish himself in the political circle, just like how he had managed to establish his legal empire through Zaid Ibrahim & Co.- JR Letchumanan

source:klik4malaysia.com

Anwar is still the best bet. Anyway Zaid can join Zulkifli Nordin, Zaharin and the other political prostitutes, that eventually will end up nowhere.....

cheers.