Poor turnout a warning to Pakatan

I refer to Malaysiakini report Najib gets bashed at Pakatan 'unity' rally.It is strange that at a time when there is 'political discontent' within the Pakatan Rakyat fold and the states they administer, they feel it is more politically correct to indulge wastefully in 'Najib bashing' rather than introducing solutions to the many problems the nation faces.

But perhaps it was politically necessary to divert the attention to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak instead of onto Pakatan Rakyat themselves. But the fact remains that for Pakatan, it is better to 'bash Najib' rather than admit their own mistakes and shortcomings or the serious indications that all is not well within the Pakatan Rakyat fold.

It is just not the 'unity talks' or the fall out from it despite the huge damage control efforts by Anwar Ibrahim that kept the alternative political coalition still together after weeks of political comatose.

It is the manner Pakatan administered states are governed, the issues are addressed and political rhetoric, however necessary, kept intelligent. But it also matters how the intelligent and politically-alive electorate and civil society leaders are kept within the loop of the states' administration.

It is whether 'hearts and minds' of the voters are being managed, challenged and engaged by the new state administrations. In Penang, Kedah and Selangor, there are issues beginning to surface and we cannot continue to blame solely on the previous administrations.

It is time to move on and take remedial steps to right a wrong. It is about leading. I am certain that many who voted for the change on March 8 last year may be seriously having second thoughts and only the continued incompetence, corruption, arrogance, abuse of the law by BN is still assisting Pakatan Rakyat to have a continued political relevance.

If BN can get its act together, I am certain it will be an interesting photo finish at the next general elections.

The signs and indications are already there that the people are fed up of too much politicking on all sides of the political divide.And an indication of that was seen when only less than 4,000 people turned up at the Stadium MPPJ in Kelana Jaya yesterday for Pakatan Rakyat 'unity' rally, a bid to project a united front.

The two-hour ceramah, which kicked off at about 9.30 pm certainly attracted a much smaller crowd compared to previous similar rallies despite the appearance of top leaders from the opposition coalition.

This despite the presence of all the leaders from Pakatan Rakyat being present. The vary fact all the leaders took pains to squash rumors of major cracks within Pakatan as a result of PAS' flirting with Umno clearly confirmed in the minds of those present that there were still many an issue still unresolved and that whatever said and done, the non Malays must be wary of PAS.

If one had expected to be given a running discourse on what the Pakatan Rakyat -run states are doing to address the economic burdens of the nation, we were sadly mistaken. The response was predictable with potshots being fired at Najib Abdul Razak's '1Malaysia'.Najib is certainly not perfect, but at least he is seriously trying to clean up and address the perceived wrongs and misdeeds of the previous administrations.

And what are his critics doing?It is easy to take the podium and tear apart the '1Malaysia' concept, the former administration or any of the federal government's initiatives but what perhaps one has failed to address or acknowledge is perhaps, just perhaps, Malaysians today are all tired of these political stunts and 'tit for tat'.

They want more sustainable solutions and alternatives for what should be done to address the nations many difficulties, challengers and woes. This is where Pakatan Rakyat has failed.It is true that during the last elections, many a candidate with questionable backgrounds and track records were elected by a tsunami of voters angry and annoyed with the arrogance, incompetence and abuses of the Barisan Nasional.

But many are today watching, analysing and certainly rethinking their decisions and if the Pakatan Rakyat does not initiate a drastic and holistic change in the manner they select candidates, govern or address issues, they are in for a rude shock sooner than they think.

The unfilled MPPJ Stadium is just a reminder to Pakatan leaders to take stock that the Malaysian voters are not as politically gullible as they used to be.