reduced and recycled

In the aftermath of the LKS debacle, I’ve been wondering what’s been going on with Barisan Rakyat - I’ll keep calling them that till they show unequivocally that they can’t work together at all. I was chatting with my friend from Singapore again, and we both agreed that the component parties have really not gotten down to organizing themselves - either that or rumours that BN reps have been trying to gouge out a space for themselves by brokering deals in lost states are true.

Lim Kit Siang’s reaction online, however, leads me to think that there is some weight in the assumption that things are still disorganized in the Barisan Rakyat camp. Why? I think some army flers I’ve made friends with in Singapore will agree with one thing: the need to set up, immediately, a proper C & C (command and control) centre through which all information and all press releases, statements and such are released - kinda like how all political news in Singapore is filtered through the Prime Minister’s office. Hoping I don’t sound pedantic, I think you’d agree that information control and control over component members is crucial - else you’ll have debacles like LKS’s statement. His apology to HRH Sultan of Perak, no less, doesn’t dispel the fact that the damage is already done.

When PKR’s number 2 released a statement disagreeing with the state-exco make-up of the Perak assembly, it started becoming obvious how controlled and sophisticated the BN’s information “bureau” is; they are able to launch multiple attacks through the PM himself, and through the Penang UMNO opposition faction, whilst DAP-PAS-PKR are still floundering about playing defense against both the government and intra-party infighting elsewhere. BN’s attacks are coordinated through the press and the media, with disparate sections saying different (but essentially the same) things against BR, so much so that it’s starting to sound like a constant stream of threats and abuse.

What can hold out against such a concerted assault? The hell if I know! I think maybe at least PKR’s decided that a merger between component parties is necessary; a few days ago, R Sivarasa mentioned on Malaysiakini that a merger isn’t necessary - and isn’t on the cards, as there are other things to focus on. Tian Chua’s saying something quite similar, also picked up by Malaysiakini, but does think a merger of parties is the next step. In fact, I think BR hasn’t got a chance in hell of survival if there isn’t a merger and a centralized command structure, in time. What do you think?

BN are masters at playing the race game, and if parties don’t merge, they are capable of picking on divisive, communal and religious issues to pry the BR parties apart - in vein with what the Opposition did, in fact, by disassociating UMNO from the “common” bumiputera, and MCA/MIC as effective representatives of their respective communities. Racism is a prejudice, a pre-judgement: it never really leaves us, and is never really dispelled completely. Pre-judgements are part of how we understand and operate in the world. UMNO and BN can always rely on this aspect of our baser natures to tear us apart.

On the other hand, all things come in good time, and a part of me berates myself for not having the patience to wait for BR to get their house in order. It’s only been 5 days, dammit! Don’t mind if I remain tense, in the meantime.