DISORGANIZED OPPOSITION WILL RUIN?

         

KOTA KINABALU : If there is any conclusion that one can draw from the Perhimpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (Peoples Uprising Rally) at the Chong Thien Vun Park here on Saturday, it would be that the Barisan Nasional (BN) would still be ruling Sabah after the 13th general election.

Drawing such a conclusion was outspoken blogger cum activist Ronnie Klassen, who commented that his observation of the said rally, could best be described as a fiasco – worse than a ‘boy scouts outing’.

As compared to the historical huge turnout at a similar rally held in the Stadium Merdeka, Klassen estimated that only about 300 participants were present at the Chong Thien Vun Park.

He observed that not only it was poorly organized, but it also reflected the discord and disunity among the organizers, comprising mainly youths aligned to the various opposition parties like SAPP, DAP, PKR and PAS.

“Instead of showing solidarity, these youths were literally elbowing each other in order to steal the limelight. But, I don’t blame them; I blame their so-called leaders for they themselves are fighting each other most of the time, and is still going on.

“With such an attitude, they (the opposition) must be dreaming or hallucinating if they think they can defeat the BN in the coming general election. Anyway, I wish them good luck,” he said.

He went on to note that the disarray among the so-called organizers was further demonstrated at the press conference held at the end of the rally, with each and every one speaking for themselves, rather than in unison.

He further noted that the organizers failed miserably to drive home their message, except for shouting some outdated, hollow-sounding rhetorical slogans, such as “Jatuhkan UMNO/BN”, “Tenggelam BN” etc.

Klassen who is also the Deputy Chairman of Demokrasi Sabah (Desah), a Sabah-based political pressure group pushing for a ‘one-to-one’ fight between the opposition and BN, also questioned the conspicuous absence of the state opposition leaders at Saturday’s rally.

Noting that majority of the so-called opposition leaders were attending the rally in Stadium Merdeka, he questioned:

“Have they forgotten that their presence in Sabah was more important than in Kuala Lumpur, so as to be seen with the national opposition leaders like Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang or Awang Hadi? Or have they decided to stand as candidates in Petaling Jaya, Kepong or Kampong Baru?”

He quipped that this clearly demonstrated their desire to be seen among their national leaders was much greater than to be with fellow Sabahans, who they wished, would vote for them in the coming general election.

“Have they (the opposition leaders) forgotten who will be voting for them come the 13th General Election?” he asked.