Saboteurs, saboteurs - where are you?

The headline on page 6 of The Star today screamed: "Barisan was sabotaged. PM blames loss of Kedah and Perak on UMNO members." PM Abdullah Badawi said acts of sabotage had taken place in 14 parliamentary and 22 state constituencies in these 2 states during the recent GE. If not for it, BN would not have lost the two-thirds majority and the two state governments.

For me, it is both not surprising and not so important. It is not really rocket science. In many constituencies, if all BN members (members of all 14 BN component parties) were to vote for BN, there is no way BN could lose in those areas. No way! You add up all BN members in a particular area, they would make up the bulk of the voters, thus ensuring BN's grip in that area. These areas are labelled 'white areas' - safe seats, whereby BN would and should win comfortably. Therefore, if BN loses in a white area, you can automatically conclude one thing - BN members did not vote for BN. Straightforward conclusion. So this admission of sabotage is of no significance. What is important is why. You know the disease. and you must also know what causes it. if not, how are you going to fix it.

(Digest this. In 2006, UMNO's Secretary General disclosed that UMNO has 3.2 million members. UMNO has 191 divisions all over the country, except Sarawak. One division represents one parliamentary seat. As such, on average, UMNO has approximately 16,000 members per division. It has been estimated that 15% of the members are non-voters for various reasons eg below the age of 21 etc. Therefore, you have about 13,000 UMNO-member voters per division. of course these are simple calculations. add other members of BN component parties to the figure, and you get the idea.)

PM Abdullah Badawi however declined to elaborate what he meant by sabotage. I am sure he has the necessary evidence. Since he didnt elaborate, we have to assume some types of sabotage occured during the recent GE. Sabotage can take many forms. I have heard many stories - leaders telling their supporters not to help campaign, the Bilik Gerakan (so-called War Room) not properly set-up or manned, posters and other election materials were not distributed etc. If any UMNO members indeed sabotaged the party, i say hang them! figuratively of course. No matter how angry you are towards UMNO (for whatever reason), as a party member, you should not in any way let UMNO be in a disadvantage position during the GE. You should not resort to any dirty tactics to weaken UMNO. You must work for UMNO, and never against it. That is your duty. You as a voter can show your anger at the ballot box. That is your right. If you cant get yourself to vote for the opposition, then either spoil your vote. or dont go to vote at all. Not that i approve. all i am saying, you have options rather than sabotage UMNO with dirty tactics. Not acceptable. Duty vs. right.

According to my Collins Paperback English dictionary, sabotage means deliberate obstruction of or damage to a cause or effort. as such, can the act of voting for a party other than BN be considered as a sabotage, if you are a member of a BN component party, eg UMNO? Based on the definition, it is debatable. If the answer is yes, then, polling stations should only have three rooms/lines - one for BN supporters, one for the opposition parties and one for others.

Actually this question is also applicable in our legislative halls. For example: can a BN MP vote against a certain bill proposed by the government? In current practice, he/she cant. Why? Simple. You were chosen to represent BN. as such, you must at all times, uphold the aspirations of BN. so you are expected to vote for the government. this has led to MPs being labelled as rubber-stamping whatever the government wants to do. To be fair, some BN MPs have been critical on certain issues that compelled the government to revise certain policies. But most of the time, they vote along party lines. The Chief Whip would ensure that. if anybody dares to be different, he/she would be 'whipped'. Literally!