If At First You Don't Succeed....

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again....." so goes the quote by writer William E. Hickson.

Normally, I wouldn't associate these words with our elected reps (on both sides of the divide) .... but the events that have occurred over the past year and a half keep showing that these people are dead serious about their jobs... and that they will go to any lengths to keep, fight, take over, legally, ethically or otherwise, what they consider as rightfully theirs. And without ever failing to remind that they are indeed fighting to "serve" us! Err...ah...hmm...

Whether it's a case of Barisan vs Pakatan, as has been the slug fest mostly since 2008, or Pakatan vs Pakatan as is unraveling now, one thing is crystal clear. These guys sure take their roles seriously. So, they keep trying their darndest.

They tried at Perak..... and won, for now at least;

They tried in Kedah, and were thwarted ...... for the time being;

They tried, still are, and doubtless will keep on trying in Selangor, presumably because that's where the "pot of gold" lies;

And now, they've finally brought the circus to Penang. I was wondering why it was taking them so long - presumably they must have been very busy with the necessary "ground-work"! See how hard they try!

But, rather unfortunately for them (and us), Malaysia Insider paints a more bleak picture about the true state of affairs here and my own local YB Chong Eng was prompted enough to state the obvious. But then I suspect we knew that already!

Let's presuppose a few facts. Most would agree that this country is in a mess. We were not like this all the time. It took us at least 30 years to get where we are now. We know all about the corruption, cronyism, racism, discrimination, incompetence, insecurity, brutality, etc.e ctc. . By that same token, wouldn't it take an equal length of time to set things right again? And if that were true, wouldn't it be mere wishful thinking to want all the wrongs righted within a couple of years?

There's a lot that needs to be Unlearnt, Undone and Uprooted.
Then only the new Seeds can be Planted and Nurtured.
Then maybe in due time, we (well, maybe not us, but our children & their children) will harvest the Fruits of our Labour.

In the meantime, we need to remember those faces and the names that belong to them that are "trying" so hard. Because come next GE, we can give all of them an almighty kick - out of public office, which is what they really deserve - try or no try.

In which case, this Quentin Crisp quote may sound just right:

"If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style".

In the meantime, it would be great if those of us who consider ourselves as conscientious citizens, take time to meet up with others, for the kind of collaboration that is needed to take the rakyat's struggle one step further. Like the one happening below this Friday, 5th Feb in Penang:

Forum: Pakatan Rakyat's Common Policies Framework - Meeting Voters' Expectations?

5th Feb 2010, 8.30 p.m., Caring Society Complex, Penang.

Speakers include:

Tunku Abd. Aziz Ibrahim (V-Chairman DAP)
Dr. Zulkifli Ahmad (Central Committee Member PAS, MP Kuala Selangor)
Sivarasa Rasiah (V/President PKR, MP Subang)