Who should be worried about Perkasa? — Tay Tian Yan
SEPT 30 — If Perkasa guys like Ibrahim Ali follow the political developments in the US, especially those on the Tea Party, they should be happy like birds!
Indeed, the Tea Party has stolen a lot of limelight of late. Some GOP rightists associated with the Tea Party have jostled out veteran Republicans to become the GOP senatorial candidates.
The most astonishing is none other than Christine O’Donnell, a down and out political rookie known for her freak talks, including her advocacy of asceticism, objection to the use of condoms, etc.
That said, she emerged victorious in the Republican primaries in Delaware, beating her moderate rival, to book her ticket for the upcoming state senatorial election.
The same thing also took place in other states like Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida.
The Tea Party does not need to register itself as a political party. It has infiltrated right into the core of the Republican Party.
Strictly speaking, the Tea Party is a social movement, not a political entity. With an apparent right tilt and strongly against the policies of President Barack Obama, it has issued countless statements against the minorities.
The Tea Party reaches out to the Republicans, and many Republicans are now its members. The Tea Party, therefore, is also seen as a secondary rightist organisation or a pressure group within the GOP.
This makes our Perkasa a pretty close comparison.
A rightist NGO in Malay society, Perkasa is 100 per cent politicised but would never register itself as a political party.
According to its leader Ibrahim Ali, 60 per cent of its members are from Umno.
If the rightists within Umno pair up with Perkasa to vie for candidature under the BN banner in the next general election, it would be a replay of the Republican rightists and the Tea Party, here in Malaysia.
If they get elected, Perkasa will invariably receive a significant boost in morale, and Ibrahim Ali will have all the power in his hands.
But wait a minute, logic doesn’t always work this way, and Ibrahim Ali should not celebrate too early.
It isn’t the US president nor the Democrats who are most concerned about the rise of the Tea Party.
It is the GOP itself.
The successful infiltration of Tea Party elements has torn the conservatives and liberals within the party further apart. The conservatives co-operate with the Tea Party, while the liberals are staunchly opposed to it.
The Republicans will face an uphill task in the coming elections.
The middle voters in America hold the key to elections. Being moderate, they will lean towards the Democrat Party if the Republican Party leans excessively towards the Tea Party.
As a consequence, the mid-term elections that used to favour the Republicans might now work in favour of the Democrats.
By comparison, if Perkasa successfully infiltrates into the very heart of Umno, it is not going to be Pakatan that gets the headache, but Umno and BN.
Such infiltration of Perkasa elements will broaden the rift between the reformists and conservatives in the party, and a survival war will break out before the national or party elections.
Unhappy with Perkasa, other component parties’ relationship with Umno will also sour and BN will get battered way before the election war is initiated.
Moreover, Umno candidates with a Perkasa tilt will be denied of the support of non-Malay voters, while the middle, young and more liberal Malay voters may not necessarily cast their ballots in their favour.
The conclusion: Umno should be more worried about Perkasa than anyone else.
Got it, brainy leaders of Umno? — mysinchew.com
MEANWHILE IN TOKYO
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