opinion Barisan Nasional learnt their lessons. The opposition did not. BN swallowed their pride and ate humble pie. The opposition did not.

In the end, BN won with a majority which even surprised some of its leaders. The opposition, not surprisingly, had to lick their wounds.

Indeed there is yet another lesson to be learnt from the just-concluded state assembly by-election in Indera Kayangan for the two opposing parties, more so for the opposition.

That BN was able to retain the seat was a foregone conclusion. Indera Kayangan has never been a 'grey' area for the ruling party anyway.

Nevertheless, BN did not take things for granted. The Lunas experience remained bitter. Despite winning the Likas by-election in Sabah and more recently, the Sarawak state polls, BN leaders refused to rest on their laurels. They want to win and in order to win, they must co-operate among themselves and project a united force. This they did.

But the opposition did not. One wonders whether Keadilan was serious at all about the by-election.

To begin with, the party was not even ready with its candidate. Its first choice was, shockingly, a BN man. The courting by Keadilan of Dr Por Choo Chor, a life member of the MCA, was the first chapter of its obituary in Indera Kayangan.

Candidate carousel

This highly-respected doctor (as widely claimed and publicised) saw it fit to tell all during the campaign period that "Keadilan leaders including Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail called me but I told them nothing".

"I did not make any commitment. I am an MCA life member and I support the leadership of (MCA president) Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik," Por said.

So this is the candidate Keadilan wanted as its flag bearer in Indera Kayangan. What a farce!

After the snub by Por, Keadilan then tried desperately to sell Khoo Yang Chong. But it was too late.

Despite Khoo's credentials as a respected former teacher, similar to BN's Oui Ah Lan, the voters of Indera Kayangan somehow could not buy an eleventh hour replacement.

What were the problems for Keadilan in choosing its candidate? Is the party facing such a dearth of eligible choices, even in a small and easily manageable state like Perlis?

Why not settle for Khoo or even Anuar Tahir at the very beginning? BN settled for Oui Ah Lan days before nomination day.

Selecting Anuar could, at least, have prevented the defections from Keadilan; never mind that the defectors would have been sacked had they not "returned home" to Umno.

Is Anuar, its former secretary-general and a Perlis boy, suddenly so unreliable and untrustworthy? After all, wasn't he offered a position in Keadilan's supreme council after his defeat in the recent party polls too?

Or is it because Anuar is a Malay and that Keadilan's candidate must be a Chinese? Why must the opposition follow the game plan of BN, that a Chinese must always contest in a Chinese-majority constituency? Why didn't they live up to their war cry "Reformasi" and declare that a Keadilan candidate, of whatever ethnic background, represents all groups. That is a step towards genuine reform.

Then again, why was Ko Chu Liang, the defeated Keadilan candidate in the 1999 general election, sidelined? Considering that Keadilan was not even a year old at that time, Ko did not do too badly against the late Perlis MCA strongman Khor Liang Tee.

Why didn't Keadilan give Ko another chance to prove himself in Indera Kayangan? As it turns out, the number of votes obtained by Ko in 1999 and Khoo on Jan 19 was not much different.

One important lesson which the opposition should learn from Indera Kayangan is: Never, never try to woo a BN man to be your candidate and worse, publicise it. That is fatal.

It is also a fait accompli that former BN leaders do not make good opposition material. Look around the country today. How many former BN men are successful opposition leaders? None.

Many tried but were unable to last the pace. Either they faded into political oblivion or quickly returned to the safe haven of the ruling party. The handful who are still outside are mere generals without soldiers.

Bad timing

DAP's declaration that it would not assist Keadilan in Indera Kayangan dealt another blow to the opposition campaign. It proved to Malaysians yet again that the opposition groups in the country are indeed a disunited and fragmented lot.

It would not be wrong to conclude that Keadilan's heavy loss in the by-election was partly due to the behaviour of the DAP, or rather a handful of its top leaders.

If they didn't wish to help, why didn't they just keep quiet at least?

Whatever differences DAP has with PAS, there is no justification for DAP to be negative towards Keadilan just as the latter was preparing to fight an election. DAP's timing also smacks of sabotage.

On the other side, BN tried its utmost to project a united front in Indera Kayangan. Leaders of MCA's Team A and Team B called an uneasy truce and they campaigned together, rather awkwardly at times.

Perlis Mentri Besar Shahidan Kassim, whose head was said to be on the chopping block after the Arau debacle, also campaigned furiously alongside his Umno 'enemies' in Perlis.

The BN leaders were able to swallow their pride, at least for the campaign period. The voters saw this unity and they appreciated it.

This is what makes BN different from the opposition. It is serious about winning an election. At the end of the day, nobody cares about allegations of unfair and dirty tactics.

Dampening finale

Shockingly, the DAP continued to pour cold water on Keadilan even after the by-election.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang claimed that Keadilan's defeat was due to the party misreading the issues at the by-election. To Lim, Sept 11 and Islamic state were paramount, other issues were irrelevant. And Lim Kit Siang being Lim Kit Siang thinks he is always right.

Then, on Keadilan's claim that it secured 620 Chinese votes against 152 in 1999, Lim again lashed out at the party, dismissing its claim as a fallacy.

Really, is there any necessity for the DAP to add salt to the wound of an already badly bruised opposition ally? What is Lim trying to prove? Words of comfort and consolation should have been the order of the day.

My conclusion is that DAP will never allow Keadilan or any other opposition party to make inroads among the Chinese Malaysian community. The party is envious, even jealous, of whatever little support Keadilan is able to draw from the Chinese Malaysian.

Since Lim and DAP need the anti-establishment Chinese Malaysian votes to ensure their own political survival, others must never be allowed to touch this base.

I do agree, however, with Lim on one thing. He rightly pointed out that "Keadilan's defeat would be a prelude to a landslide victory by BN in the next general election".

With such a loose and divided opposition that we see today, is anyone really surprised at all that BN will win hands down in the next polls?

FRANCIS SIAH is a former Sarawak newspaper editor and is now a columnist for several publications. He was also the former secretary-general of State Reform Party of Sarawak (Star).