PR, BN, the 3rd force and the lop-sided sack race.

By Vijay Kumar Murugavell

Of late many have jumped on the bandwagon of being a 3rd force, they do not endorse BN but they are unhappy with PR too, they however go beyond
constructive criticism to suggesting that PR be punished at the ballot box if they do not buck, strangely some imply they would rather walk with
the known devil (BN) than the unknown angel (PR) they then group all PR supporters into one single furball of blind , slavish and mindless.

Not all PR supporters are blind or ignorant.Do we need to slam PR equally as hard as BN, when even if they sneeze BN controlled MSM will whack them but remain quite silent or evasive on issues regarding BN.In my opinion we should back PR into Federal Power , then if they don't perform whack them or push for a 3rd force, but a 3rd force now checking PR will just benefit BN.I can tell you that if BN takes power again next GE with a two-thirds majority it will take a very long time to repeat the 308 tsunami, and as long as BN rules we can forget about a 3rd force, if they can scuttle Pakatan with 80 MP's in parliament, a puny 3rd force will be crushed like a bug before it can even take off.That's what I try to explain when folk say they want to take a 3rd stand, now this is fine is fine if the MSM, police,SPRM,MACC, Judiciary etc are professional and neutral , but sadly they are not, its not a level playing field to begin with.

As if that is not enough, BN sabotages Pakatan ruled states by limiting capitation disbursements, this point is entirely lost on some who say that PR
rules two resource rich states namely Penang and Selangor, echoing BN's accusation that they do not know how to rule their own states therefore do not
deserve a chance at Federal Power, never mind that Selangor managed to collect some RM300 mil in arrears and Penang posting a surplus of RM1bil a feat
not acheived when those states were under BN despite comparatively generous federal disbursements.

Reference to the capitation grant can be found in article 109 of the Federal Constitution, it is not fixed and can be varied by parliament
which of course is under the federal government, in short there is no law compelling the federal governmented to do so, some constitutional
experts say that democracy is a check and balance and if the federal government squeezes the state too much, they will be punished at the
ballot box, but Malaysians are not only "mudah lupa" many are also vastly ignorant about what falls under the ambit of state and federal.

Selangor Plans to Bypass Federal Government with New Tax System http://blogs.iium.edu.my/ka_mokhtar/2009/07/15/malaysian-federalism-selangor-plans-to-bypass-federal-government-with-new-tax-system/ This (bypass plan) by collecting zakat is also dangerous, the idea is not new as RPK mooted it sometime back, but I am concerned that we have a vindictive Federal Govt
that may scuttle those plans and make zakat a non-deductible item on the tax schedule and cut capitation grants further to punish Selangor.
This is patently unfair as Penang pays RM5 bil and Selangor Rm16 bil in federal taxes annually.

Now lets move on to Selangor government getting private funding, it was reported in The Sun today (16/11/09) that,
Selangor will embark in the next few years on a privately funded stimulus plan, but private companies
won't do charity , they would want reasonable guarantee's. Some people are jumping up and down
saying, give it , give it .......after all you are the state government right ? how naive, lets look at article 111 of the constitution

111(3) reads "A State shall not give any guarantee except under the authority of State law, and such guarantee shall not be given except with the approval of the Federal Government and subject to such conditions as may be specified by it. "

Do I need to point out how the Federal government can subvert that plan as well ? Never mind let me spell it out , it means
the Federal Govt can arbitrarily refuse approval for such an initiative and even dictate conditions that are so ridiculous as to frustrate the state govt.
Many are vastly ignorant about how federalism is so lopsided in Malaysia, and fall for BN rhetoric that the Pakatan
state governments should run the states where they are in power all the while using federal caveats to sabotage them.

In short the Federal Government, is punishing the people in opposition ruled states (including their own supporters who happen to reside there) then
say that those state governments are to blame entirely for their suffering, capitation grants are but one area there are many other areas where the federal
government has used caveats to make opposition ruled states look bad.

Comparing BN which holds the reigns of federal power to PR then chastizing PR is like watching a sack race where one man has his legs
bound by a sack and another has his legs free, you then cheer on the man whose legs are not bound as he streaks ahead and taunts his opponent.
The man whose feet are bound by a sack to comply with the rules of the race cries foul, his supporters cry foul, the victor and his supporters
scream jeers of jubilation unashamed that they did not play fair. To make matters worse some supporters of the vanquished also start rebuking
him telling him not to give excuses for his poor performance.
A idiom that is commonly used to indicate fair comparison or analogy is "comparing apples with apples".

I invite members of the well meaning but premature 3rd force to read this excellent article written by Li Fook Gao Are we being fair to Pakatan Rakyat? – http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/43473-are-we-being-fair-to-pakatan-rakyat--li-fook-gao-
Like many things in life timing is essential and now is not the time for a 3rd force, vote Pakatan into power and demand that they repeal unjust laws,
institute a fair non-partisan media, abolish acts and ordinances that are unfair, an Independent Judiciary and a level playing field then there may just
be a chance for a 3rd force to flourish to augment democracy by checking both PR and BN.

My other writings reside here : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6778953884