February 28, 2013
| Praba Ganesan is Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Social Media Strategist. He wants to engage with you, and learn from your viewpoints. You can contact him at prabaganesan@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @prabaganesan |
FEB 28 — "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for." — Robert Browning
In my first university debate coach gig I made a difficult promise. I told one of my trainees that money would be found to get him to a debate competition abroad.
Later, in a crushing fashion the window of opportunity closed and I had to let the lad stay behind. Four months of training came to nought and he was very disappointed with me.
I reflect on that experience when I am asked to promise important things. Reflecting does not mean that I am in failsafe mode, for I fail just as much. It just tells me beforehand not to take promises lightly. It helps me become serious when I have to promise.
Today in Malaysia, it is the season of doing exactly that, making promises. An election manifesto is a series of promises, often under a set of premises or principle statements.
If promises are bonds one should not break, then what is a good promise?
Promises are difficult in their very nature. If they were not difficult, they need not be made, and when made laughed at. For example, I don't promise my office-mates when I reach the office in the morning that at some point in that day, no matter how late, I will go home.
But if they are impossible, then they become incredulous. As in the above, I don't promise my office mates that I'll wear a cape and fly home by day's end.
A good promise is ambitious yet grounded, and the character of the persons pledging equally determines them being delivered.
So you consider the promise, and you consider the man. Is that too subjective for the common man to judge? Perhaps not.
In life, all of us make promises and are equally expecting some from others. People by definition have an intimate comprehension of what promises constitute, as they live by and off them. And live by the side of those who have met their promises or failed them.
Pakatan has a set of promises
Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of three political parties, one of which I work for, has an election manifesto. It will rely on the veracity and diligence of the ideas in it to convince those who like to know how things are to be done, and what would represent success. The short-term desired outcome, votes.
The real desired outcome, the one that will take years, is the actual delivery of those promises, for within them lies the chance for a better life for millions.
It is numerous and it has details. The cynic might point out that it only takes a madman plenty of idle time to generate reams and reams of text. I agree.
However it is undeniable that most of these Pakatan ideas in the form of this manifesto have been articulated consistently over the years, they are not new nor are they being championed by a Johnny-come-lately.
The Malaysian people are perfectly entitled to call Pakatan men mad, but our political opponents have to come to the table with more than the circular assertion that these plans of ours will not work because they have never been used, and therefore never been successful and therefore unsuccessful ideas should not be used because good ideas would have worked by now.
There is a limit to incumbency as proof of value, and parallel to that, there is no fixed ceiling to what a new federal government can achieve.
Our voters will always be our biggest critics, but I have to tell my competitors, they have to gear up and compete.
From easy to difficult, set your dial
Read and re-read the Pakatan manifesto, so you can agree or disagree better.
There are quick gains bolstered by a new government. There is low level of accountability in the way public funds are administered if heightened will fattened the treasury. These will be the easy wins for Pakatan.
Then the difficult ones. Creating a million jobs in one term, while whittling down reliance on foreign labour is a huge undertaking, more so if the jobs intended are decent paying ones, not just temporary clerical contracts in ministries.
A government can set the conditions through policy-making and engage the private sector, but business realities and global economy will affect considerably.
Here, the jury must examine the intent, process and outcome.
Healthcare and jobs continue to be US President Barack Obama's priorities, and the American people decided his second term not only on the results but the effort and focus applied by his administration to the challenges. They had to factor the Congress he had to work with to get the results.
Not dissimilar to Selangor trudging to success while an omniscient and omnipotent federal government housed in its heart dictates finances, laws and media.
Still millions of Malaysians are set to enjoy some solid policies which are long overdue: The ending of cabotage which effectively forces the prices of imported goods in Sabah and Sarawak to be more expensive than in the peninsula; handing 141,000 hectares of land back to the Orang Asli; ending unhealthy monopolies so that cable TV, rice, sugar and transportation will be more affordable; and letting military procurement be pro-military, not pro-politicians.
Our feudal lords over at the manor meanwhile...
Even in 2008, the Pakatan parties did not have their policy thoughts in a cohesive manner right through to Election Day. Today they have, and it is frightening to say the least to Umno and its coalition.
We are at the eve of a general election and the BN general approach is to give small payments — BR1M, school vouchers, cheaper motorcycle licences, more RELA allowances — and ignoring armed militants.
Solutions have come in the way of picking the lower quality goods in its Kedai Satu Malaysia for the millions of Malaysians whose purchasing power is diminishing by the month.
There is no easing up in handing out fat contracts to key supporters and leaders, even a lame effort to have a moratorium till Election Day is absent.
Still, voters' mentality is never straightforward.
To the Malaysian people, the choice may have to be practical when in the polling booth; I won't begrudge people for not wanting to rock the boat.
And believe me, in the next few weeks, the emphasis on why it is so crucial to never rock this imaginary vessel will reach a crescendo.
But between the fear-mongering, I'd welcome you to talk about the manifesto, even if you want to deride it. Already you would be steps ahead of most BN candidates who'd just spew the cliff-notes rebuttal Mothership Umno HQ will issue them.
Even if we don't get your vote, we'd like to get your judgment on our thinking. Anyway, we've got a series of neat ideas we'd like to carry out.
* Praba will return to his principle issues of the coming general election next week.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
The Malaysian Insider :: Food
NEW YORK, March 1 — The New York Times and Starbucks are teaming up to give coffee drinkers a way to leap over the newspaper's digital paywall — as long as beverages are savoured in stores.
LONDON, Feb 28 — An investigation by a US academic has uncovered 50 unpublished poems by British writer Rudyard Kipling in locations including a New York house and the papers of a former cruise-line owner, it was revealed Tuesday.
CYBERJAYA, 28 Feb — Sebuah jejambat berhampiran Taman Sains Selangor di Cyberjaya runtuh hari ini, yang mana merupakan salah satu lagi insiden melibatkan projek awam di dalam negara. 
KUALA LUMPUR 28 Feb — Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia (DPMM) berkata pihaknya sedia membantu 60 pelabur British yang mengemukakan saman terhadap bekas bendahari Umno, Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Zabidi serta dua defendan lain kerana didakwa melakukan penipuan berjumlah RM12.8 juta.