Today, at the launching of the DAP Ipoh Timur election ops centre, I should be standing before you breathing with confidence, vim, vigour, vibrancy and vitality to plunge into the Electoral Battle of the Century.
In the past one week, I should be helping the DAP leaders to develop the great and critical issues facing the people and nation in the 12th general election when 11 million voters exercise their vote – but I feel a great sense of failure that I had not been able to do so as I had been “floored” by the Penang and Perak general election problems that had cropped up in the past several days.
In fact, for the first time I started my blog more than two years ago, there was not a single word from me in my blog yesterday!
With however heavy a heart and mind, I call on Party leaders, members and supporters to immediately and instantly re-focus and not to allow whatever heartaches and mental agonies to undermine their single-minded objective – to fulfill the potential and promise of the March 8 general election as the political watershed for the country, marking a major stride in striking down the ever-powerful Umno political hegemony and the marginalization of other Barisan Nasional component parties by denying two-thirds majority to the Barisan Nasional in Parliament, Perak and Penang.
I call on all party leaders, members and supporters to give the fullest support to the party in this general election particularly on candidate decisions by the party leadership, as sometimes very difficult decisions have to be made, with everyone rallying behind the DAP in the Electoral Battle of the Century.
At least yesterday there is uplifting news, this coming from Sabah – that our Parliamentary candidate for Sandakan will be a person whom I had the greatest respect and admiration, who had been Sessions Court judge in Tawau and Registrar of Borneo High Court – Shanty Chong Chui Lin, 57.
I have no doubt that if she is elected DAP MP for Sandakan, Shanty Chong will bring to the Malaysian Parliament a powerful voice for justice and freedom, as well as for women, Sabah and Malaysia.
If elected, she will be one of the most exciting new MPs for the 12th Parliament.