The fateful Loh Gwo Burne

Who would have thought that a young man accompanying his father to a lawyer’s function could have such a great impact on Malaysian politics?

Though it was only one of the many factors which brought about the winds of change or better known as tsunami, his recording of the famous someone’s (who looks and sounds like Lingam) telephone conversation with another, alleged to be a judge, seems incredible in terms of impact, almost like a divine intervention, meant to cause a change in our political landscape. Of course, it involved others like Anwar who managed to exploit its potential to the full. It could have been different if handled by others. Then came Loh’s candidacy for Kelana Jaya against well known state executive councillor, Lee Hwa Beng vying for his first parliamentary seat, which incurred loud protests from bloggers like Zorro and Haris Ibrahim. It was like sending a lamb to be slaughtered. But Haris changed his mind:

From Haris Ibrahim’s blog, ‘The People’s Parliament’:
31 comments to the ‘PKR, why,why,why?’ post with so many diverse views.
Farida’s though, resonated with my own thoughts.
I have reproduced Farida’s comment below for the benefit of all you Kelana Jaya registered voters.
______________________________
Dear All,
I am not from Kelana Jaya but what goes on there and every other constituency is the rakyat’s business.
Firstly, not every constituency can have a candidate with established credentials. Don’t forget that even established candidates began as first-timers. And first-timers can find delivering their first speeches formidable, and the first run gruelling. But if they stay the course, over the years, they will mature into credible and even incredible Yang Berkhidmats.
Secondly, we are out to defeat BN. So the focus has to be on Billie or Loh. THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE. You can use this space to argue all you want but it is a done thing - Billie or Loh. If I were a KJaya member, I’d go for Loh for the following reasons:
(a) No matter what the hidden/personal/ self-gratifying reason may be for contesting, he already has a track record, people. He came back to testify, he came back to expose what needed to be exposed. Remember, he could have chosen to stay away from it all.
I call that accountability. I call that taking responsibility. I call that stepping up to the demand of the moment.
(b) So he wins and does a disastrous job of being an MP? Take him to task, your yang berkhidmat, put him on the carpet and finally, if he does not learn, sack him at the next elections.
Billie? He garnered less votes in 2004 than in 1999. He is the role model for his failure theory - ‘dare to fail’ We can’t afford that kind of thinking in this round of elections.
Bottomline: Will you give Loh a chance? After all, you gave BN so many chances. Where did that get us?
If not the party, then the man? MCA’s Lee Hwa Beng then?
Question: Did you hear his voice when BN wanted to extend Fairus’s tenure? Did he speak on your behalf when you called for Rashid’s term to be terminated? Has he ever denounced the ISA? People, where was he? Towing the party line.
I asked a high-ranking MCA guy once why party members had to vote the party line and not according to their conscience.
His answer was simple but frightening : ‘Our taiko is UMNO,’ he replied.
I rest my case.


The outcome was again incredible though I was impressed before the election and even commented in Loh’s blog that he has good political sense besides being a good video maker. Not only did he send Hwa Beng packing, his Kelana Jaya results was the deciding one which denied BN’s 2/3 majority!

From Malik Imtiaz’s blog, Disquiet:

It was almost 4 am when we got to the 75th candidate, Loh Gwo Burne.

The official results were slow in being broadcast. They trickled in, heightening the excitement those of us there felt as the number of candidates on that list slowly increased. Some have suggested that the late declaration and broadcast of official results was aimed at downplaying the shock result so as to avoid untoward incidents. The directive by the police that there be no victory parades supports the theory as does the calls by the DAP for calmness when it learnt of its victory in Penang.

I have a different view. As useful as these efforts were in helping maintain order, if there were going to be clashes that night there would have been. The simple truth is that there were not going to be any clashes that night and the nature of results were the strongest indicator as to why this was going to be. Throughout the country, Malaysian of all communities had voted in support of a multi-racial opposition. They had voted on issues and not on race. There was no reason for any clashes, neither was there a context. Malaysian politics had matured.

And as a friend suggested two days later, perhaps we had laid to rest the ghost of May 13th. I would like to think so.

MIS

While the nation awaited the deciding 75th seat, Kelana Jaya, (to deny BN’s 2/3 majority in Parliament), in Perak, Teja or Simpang Pulai held the deciding 30th seat for control of the state.

It was reported that the results of the last two state constituencies of Teja and Simpang Pulai in Perak were only known at around 4.30am. These last two were crucial as to which coalition is to form the state government. The BN had 28 while DAP-PKR-PAS had 29. Both were confirmed PKR victories and the final tally becomes BN 28 vs BR 31.

While Penang, Kedah and Kelantan had already sworn in their respective Chief Minister and Menteri Besar, rumours were flying about that negotiations between a couple of PKR or PAS winners and BN on possible cross-over were rampant. My immediate reaction was one of disgust if it were true. There should be a law against such despicable acts, and in the absence of such a law, the people should hound such people. Hopefully, good sense will prevail.

Teresa Kok has pointed out the sensitivity of having a PAS Menteri Besar when the DAP had won a majority of the seats. In the previous GE, DAP lost heavily because of its collaboration with PAS and the perceived fear of it introducing Islamic laws. Most people are quite comfortable complying with the Perak state constitution, which requires a Malay muslim to be the MB. However, since PKR has more seats than PAS, it would be a better compromise to have a PKR MB. I am sure the opposition party leaders are quite unprepared for this unexpected victory and the delicate matter should be well thought out, taking into account the sensitivities of all concerned instead of rushing into it.

With the new state administrations from the opposition coalition introducing a more transparent and accountable approach, I hope it will lead to encouraging a new breed of politicians who are more professional and dedicated without harbouring hopes of making money on the side. It is going to be honest work with a different mindset of serving the public and the state. In time to come, most of the politicians will be serving one or two terms each (depending on their genuine inclination to serve) until another dedicated person comes along.