The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Jangan timbulkan lagi isu siapa MB Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:04 PM PDT Shukur mempunyai lebih 30 tahun pengalaman sebagai wartawan dan bekerja dengan pelbagai media. Beliau kini pencen tetapi menjadi pemerhati politik yang tegar. Selepas kemenangan cemerlang calon PKR/Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail dalam PRK Kajang, Ahad lalu, semua pihak dalam Pakatan Rakyat perlu memikirkan persoalan yang jauh lebih besar, iaitu bagaimana hendak mengukuhkan lagi Kerajaan Pakatan di Selangor. Dalam masa yang sama juga Pakatan perlu memikirkan bagaimana dengan kekuatan Pakatan Selangor itu boleh menjadi pemangkin dalam meneruskan perjuangan untuk sampai ke koridor kuasa di Putrajaya. Keyakinan ini mesti dibina oleh pendukung Pakatan Rakyat sekukuh-kukuhnya dengan usaha besar semua pihak dalam Pakatan, mengelakkan perselisihan sesama sendiri, mengatur strategi dengan bijaksana dan yakin akan kemampuan Pakatan. Selepas kemenangan besar Pakatan, terutama di Selangor dalam PRU yang lalu dan menyusul kemenangan manis Pakatan di Kajang Ahad lalu, ada petunjuk yang sangat jelas bahawa rakyat sangat mengharapkan kemampuan Pakatan Rakyat untuk membela mereka bukan saja di Selangor, Kelantan dan Pulau Pinang bahkan seluruh Malaysia – Sabah dan Sarawak. Maka itu, selepas kemenangan Dr Wan Azizah ini, janganlah ada lagi suara yang membangkitkan isu siapa menteri besar Selangor selepas ini. Justru saya memikirkan ini kerana sebelum ini sudah sangat hebuh suara keras dan nyaring mengenai siapa sepatutnya menerajui Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Sekangor. Ini menyebabkan tercetus masalah dalaman yang sangat serius sebelum PRK Kajang itu. Sebab itu, isu siapa MB Selangor ini janganlah dicetuskan kembali hingga menggugat kekuatan Pakatan Rakyat bukan saja di Selangor, tetapi juga seluruh negara. Biarlah isu ini diselesaikan oleh para pemimpin tertinggi Pakatan, kerana kita yakin dengan segala kemampuan mereka boleh menyelesaikan isu tersebut. Biarkan para pemimpin tertinggi Pakatan berunding semasak-masaknya dalam perkara ini dan berilah mereka mandat sepenuhnya untuk berunding dan menentukannya. Janganlah ada selepas ini, suara sumbang di sana sini, kenyataan demi kenyataan yang bercanggah, tuntutan yang tidak munasabah, yang semuanya hanya mencederakan Pakatan Rakyat, khususnya di Selangor. Janganlah ulangi lagi hal seperti ini di masa depan. Ini kerana, rakyat telah menaruh harapan tinggi kepada Pakatan untuk terus memerintah negeri Selangor, bahkan negeri lain di Malaysia. Maka itu jika berlaku perbalahan dalaman yang tidak berkesudahan, maka rakyat akan merasa sangat kecewa dan mungkin kekecewaan itu akan diterjemahkan dalam peti undi di PRU akan datang dan ini sangat merbahaya. Sementara itu keputusan pilihan raya kecil Dun Kajang Ahad lalu menyaksikan perkembangan baik buat Pakatan Rakyat apabila dua peti undi majoriti pengundi Melayu berjaya dimenangi. Menurut Ketua Pengarah Pilihan Raya PAS, Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli, kemenangan dua peti undi di Sungai Sekamat dan Taman Delima menggambarkan Pakatan Rakyat berjaya mengembalikan sokongan daripada pengundi Melayu. Baginya, ini satu berita yang mengembirakan di mana satu perubahan yang luar biasa telah berlaku. Bagaimanapun kata Dr Hatta, Pakatan Rakyat perlu melihat kembali terhadap penurunan undi kaum Cina kepada mereka dalam PRK ini. Beliau tidak menolak pengundi di kawasan Cina agak menurun khususnya di saluran anak muda mungkin kerana mereka tidak ada di dalam kawasan pada Ahad lalu. Mungkin, katanya, mereka merasakan tidak penting untuk kembali mengundi dan kita perlu melihat kedudukan sebenar perkara ini. Beliau menyatakan ini di Pusat Penjumlahan Undi di Stadium Bangi. Menurut Dr Hatta, walaupun undi untuk Dr Wan Azizah menurun, tetapi pencapaian peratusan undi Pakatan kali ini meningkat kepada 65%. Di sini beliau meminta rakyat sedar bahawa "kita buat penilaian awal terhadap kerajaan BN, nampaknya mereka masih tidak sedar lagi bahawa mereka tidak popular. Inilah kesan PRK Kajang." Dalam hal ini sesuatu yang sangat penting difikirkan ialah penambahan undi di kawasan tradisi Melayu, malah di kawasan bandar Kajang sendiri di mana jumlah pengundi Melayu juga ramai. Kontijen PAS pimpinan Dr Hatta itu dengan kerjasama jentera PAS Selangor pimpinan pengarah pilihan raya Selangor, Cikgu Jaafar Shamsudin, dilihat bertumpu di kawasan pengundi Melayu tradisi. Ini tugas yang sangat mencabar, justru memikirkan Umno sudah begitu lama bertapak di kawasan itu dan orang Melayu di kawasan seperti itu adalah pengundi tegar Umno/BN. Sebab itu, kejayaan Dr Hatta dan Cikgu Jaafar serta pasukannya memberi makna yang besar. Perubahan sikap pengundi Melayu ini yang mula menyokong Pakatan Rakyat, perlu dikekalkan. Walaupun perubahan ini mungkin hanya dalam kes PRK Kajang, tetapi ia petanda baik untuk memikirkan keseluruhan perubahan sikap pengundi Melayu. Sepanjang sejarah pilihan raya di Malaysia, menunjukkan pengundi Melayu paling sukar untuk memilih pembangkang, kecuali dalam beberapa pilihan raya seperti pada 1969, 1999 dan beberapa pilihan raya lagi. Malah pada PRU 2008 dan 2013 yang lalu, pengundi Melayu, dilihat kebanyakannya masih kekal bersama Umno/BN. Tetapi petunjuk dan perkembangan terkini ini, memperlihatkan perubahan sudah sangat ketara dan pengundi Melayu kelihatan bersedia membuat perubahan. Dalam hal ini, anak muda Melayu bandar dilihat menjadi pelopor kepada perubahan ini kesan dari pengaruh media baru yang mereka kuasai. Maka itu, pengundi baru ini, sewajarnya diberi perhatian untuk menjadi pemangkin kepada kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat dalam PRU akan datang. Dalam PRK Kajang Ahad lalu, undi anak muda semua bangsa memberi sumbangan besar kepada kemenangan Dr Wan Azizah. Untuk itu, menurut pendapat saya, Pakatan Rakyat mestilah memberikan perhatian besar kepada aliran pengundian anak muda. Jika pengundi tradisi Melayu sudah menampakkan perubahan, sementara undi anak muda terus kekal berpihak kepada Pakatan Rakyat, maka lebuh raya ke koridor kuasa di Putrajaya akan mudah dilalui. Ini sebuah keazaman, bukan sebuah ilusi. Orang politik tidak berilusi, tetap berazam dan berusaha merialisasikannya. – 25 Mac, 2014. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. | |
| A goal-den weekend of stars, from Rooney to Messi Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:17 PM PDT
Can you beat that! When Wayne Rooney hit the ball on the half volley from just inside the halfway line, it took my mind back to a former Spurs player, Nayim, doing a similar thing in the 1995 Cup Winners Cup Final for Zaragoza against Arsenal. That was the winning goal coming deep in extra time, and although Rooney's strike was in the first half, the euphoric reactions from his teammates and coaching staff alike were akin to the wild celebrations of the Spaniards some 19 years ago. A great strike indeed, as Manchester United brought freshness and variety to Upton Park. In total control especially in midfield (a rare occurrence this season), the Red Devils could also count on the calmness and composure of Michael Carrick filling in at central defence. A few articles ago, this column suggested a similar position for Carrick in the England team for Brazil 2014. Carrick may not be the speediest, nor win any "most likely to get stuck in" awards, but his sense of positioning and reading of the game makes him perfectly suited for the role of a sweeper. At Stamford Bridge, the game between Chelsea and Arsenal was over as a contest in the first ten minutes. Forget the case of mistaken identity, it was all over when Chelsea sliced open the Arsenal midfield for two quick goals. The sending-off by Andre Marriner was curious to say the least. So confident in singling out Kieran Gibbs for handball (plot twist: it wasn't him), there was no hint of hesitation in brandishing a red card despite Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's (the real culprit) attempts to reason. They should be more careful, these footballers - trying to reason with a referee? Who do players think they are? The gall of it all. It was the 1,000th game for Arsene Wenger, and I salute his loyalty to football development and playing philosophy, but to look at the team against Chelsea is to realise the fatal flaw in Wenger's match-day setup - the lack of balance in midfield was diabolical. Contrast that to Jose Mourinho starting with David Luiz and Nemanja Matic in central midfield, and it was easy to see how Arsenal would be overpowered down the middle. Why Mathieu Flamini, an individual who should be an automatic choice in midfield slugfests, started on the bench is a mystery; perhaps Wenger thought he could take the game to Chelsea, and for the first 3 minutes it certainly seemed that way. Oliver Giroud had a glorious opportunity to give Arsenal an early led, but his weak shot across Petr Cech's body was comfortably pushed aside. No "weak foot" excuses this time, he simply failed to strike the ball well enough with only the keeper to beat. "It could have been so different" would be an unfortunately apt description of Wenger's last six seasons as manager, the players letting him down on big occasions being one constant thorn in his side. The one player Wenger has never truly replaced is Patrick Vieira, and the return of Mathieu Flamini addressed that issue to a certain extent earlier this season, but to trust Mikel Arteta to be an enforcer is just beyond reason. Arteta has featured in the deep lying midfield role once too often - the 5-1 defeat against Liverpool being another example showing how Arteta is simply incapable of performing the role of holding midfielder all by himself. Horses for courses? Just ask Mourinho. Defence? Who needs 'em! It was fun and games in Cardiff City as Liverpool, the great entertainers despite not starting main clown Kolo Toure, managed to let in three goals and still pull off a victory. The truly world class Luis Suarez once again shows why he is the best striker in the world. Player of the season by a mile (and most certainly in the conversation for the Best Player in Europe award), Suarez certainly deserves a gong sooner rather than later. And whoever thought Mousa Dembele is better suited to a playmaker's role for Tottenham Hotspur better think again. Described as "strong on the ball", the number eight position requires guile and agility. Dembele is too slow physically (his bulky frame being a hindrance in that role) and too slow of thought when asked to pull the strings alongside Nabil Bentaleb against Southampton. It was supposed to be a master stroke from former manager Andre Villas Boas, converting Dembele from a second striker into a hotshot playmaker. However, Tim Sherwood has to realise he can use Dembele as a target man in the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor. Dembele can hold it up with his back to goal, shrug off a couple of challenges and deliver a venomous shot, but will never have the vision to dominate in central midfield. Time and again, we have seen Dembele struggle in an area where lithe-ness of thought and foot is vital. Spurs labour when Dembele plays in midfield and Gylfi Sigurdsson made a world of difference when he came on. The legend of Christian Eriksen is growing, despite being shunted onto the wings. This man has such intelligence on the ball and awareness of space without it. He is a great player already showing that Spurs need to build the team around him. It would seem that he indeed is the attacking midfielder to take Tottenham Hotspur forward. And now for El Clasico, and boy, did Real Madrid and Barcelona serve up a classic. It certainly was a classic in every sense of the word! All the ingredients were present - goals galore, dodgy refereeing, disgusting play acting and the perennial red card for Sergio Ramos. Oh, and the football was impressive too. We have often spoken about the "extra man" that Cesc Fabregas makes in attack and in midfield. And in this Clasico, he made the difference, allowing Barcelona to overload in defence, midfield and attack. His movement kept Real's Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric occupied hence allowing Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets to dictate. Real Madrid had the forceful running of Angel di Maria making a difference, but Ronaldo and Gareth Bale could only play peripheral parts in what was ultimately the Leo Messi show. Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick, with two brilliantly taken penalties and a flowing move with Neymar that allowed him to slot home past Diego Lopez while surrounded by three Madrid defenders. Andres Iniesta's rasping goal was the culmination of a vintage Barcelona build-up move, and it was encouraging to see Barcelona dig deep once going 2-1 down, with all momentum pointing to a comprehensive Real Madrid win. Karim Benzema, despite two well taken goals, should have had a hat-trick at least and will be disappointed with his finishing at times. The legend of Messi grows despite some extra weight around the hips. And Neymar will have to adapt without Messi at the World Cup. Neymar showed ability on the ball and willingness to make runs as Messi always found him. Will there be a Brazilian in midfield who will spot the runs and make those penetrative passes? I can only think of one, Kaka. – March 25, 2014. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. |
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