Kelana Jaya get an MP : Take your chances with Gwo Burne

Two days after nomination day, in my post entitled ‘PKR, why, why, why?’ , I alluded to numerous e-mails I had received asking why PKR was offering Loh Gwo Burne for the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat and asked if PKR would shed some light on this.

This post elicited 34 comments. The discussions that ensued were, in my view, healthy and helped me and many others to come to a settled view on the question ‘Who should Kelana Jaya folk vote for?’.

PKR’s Johnson Chong’s sent in a comment. This is a part of what he said :

‘…I believe that we should be very clear about our main objectives, not only in this general elections, but overall for Malaysia and the future of its Rakyat’

Johnson’s comment helped me to re-focus. In trying to resolve this question for myself, one factor was now clear.

The BN candidate was not to be given the vote, however good we might think he might be.

Because he represented BN, and BN has come to represent oppression of the people and the hijacking of the nation’s wealth, by a sytemic ‘divide and rule’ regime.

The first part of my answer to the question ‘Who for Kelana Jaya’ was simply ‘Not BN’.

Then who?

In the post entitled ‘Loh Gwo Burne : How now, Kelana Jaya voters?’ , I reproduced a comment by Farida which I said resonated with my own thoughts on this question.

I reproduce below excerpts from that comment which I thought were relevant considerations to this question.

‘…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?’

Farida’s closing question led me to the question ‘What are the negatives that make Gwo Burne an incurably unacceptable choice?’

For me, those negatives were neutered by the responses I got to my questions during the interview that I had with Gwo Burne day before yesterday, and which I shared with you in a post entitled ‘The People’s Parliament catchs up with Loh Gwo Burne’ together with the impression I formed of him even before nomination day, having had the opportunity to observe him in the witness box during the Commission proceedings.

That impression which I formed of him earlier I will share at the ceramah later tonight.

For now, let me just say that I think Kelana Jaya voters should give this man a chance in Parliament. 

Posted in: 12th General Elections