The ideal candidate for by-elections

Now that the nomination and polling dates for the by-elections in the two bukits have been announced, the first issue of interest will be "who would be the candidate"?

In the Bukit Gantang by-election, the process of candidate selection should be pretty straightforward. At first glance, ousted Perak menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin seems like the ideal choice.

He has earned numerous accolades from the media for his composure, his steely resolve, his popularity with the people of Perak from all ethnic communities, and his sense of humour. He is the new face of PAS, one that is positive for the multi-racial and multi-religious thrust of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

Above all, he is the man in the eye of the storm in the recent crisis in Perak. His shameful treatment at the hands of state officials and state police must have earned him great sympathy among the Perak people.

With him as the candidate, the by-election will take on a symbolic dimension of whether to vindicate the injustices suffered by Pakatan and inflicted upon the people of Perak through the change of government by dubious means.

But we outsiders have to leave it to PAS and Pakatan to settle the issue.

Too many candidates

In the case of Bukit Selambau, the water is much more muddied for both BN and Pakatan Rakyat. In the case of BN, Umno would probably have the final and absolute say on the question of BN candidature.

On the opposition side, lobbying is much more intense and open. It is a test of how this newly formed political coalition can resolve their internal difference without coming apart at the seams. Their resolution of this problem over candidature will also determine their chances of winning this state constituency.

So far, PKR seems to have short-listed three names, while DAP has offered three Chinese and two Indian potential candidates. PAS on the other hand is keen to nominate a prominent lawyer who is a member of the Kedah PAS supporters club.

To make the matter worse, the outlawed Hindraf group also demands that one of their detained leading lights be considered. That is indeed a huge stable of possible candidates!

In the March 8 general election last year, even if you put the opposition symbol on a cow, the humble animal might have been elected; such was the swing of opposition sentiment throughout the peninsula.

Many Pakatan present day YBs must have been surprised beyond words on being elected!

This time around, during this run-up to the by-election, in the aftermath of the defections that brought down the Perak Pakatan state government, the choice of candidate is upper most in the mind of not only the Pakatan coalition, but also among the whole population of Malaysia. Before the actual nomination day, the Pakatan candidature in Bukit Selambau has to be the top political issue of the day.

Who cannot be candidate

We have to ask: what kind of persons would make a good election candidate?

Before I try to answer that question, I have to rule out the kind of persons who cannot be a party candidate. They are those loyal party grassroots who think that they have a god-given right to represent the party solely because they have made so much sacrifice working for the party for many years.

Party loyalty cannot be the sole criterion for candidature. Besides, the personal sacrifice made by party members must be unconditional, or else it becomes self-serving and mercenary!

The assemblywoman for Jelapang was supposed to have been an active grassroots leader of the DAP for 20 years, and at the end, she defected for very petty reasons.

The trouble with this type of party material is that if their desire to stand is thwarted, then they will sabotage the party election campaign, and cause no end of trouble to the party during internal election for years to come.

These characters exist in every political party of course. But from my personal knowledge, the DAP has a long history of this source of internal strife. I hope weakly that the Kedah DAP is an exception to the rule.

In short, before any person comes forth and offers himself as a candidate, he must take a long, hard, and honest look at his own face in the mirror. A good candidate must have a certain amount of true self-knowledge, and as Socrates would tell you, knowing oneself is the hardest thing in the world. Corruption of the soul begins with self-delusion.

With the national and the local limelight zeroed in on the candidate during a by-election, it is preferable that he be a well-known local person. This is partly how the PAS candidate finally delivered the goods during the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

The failure of the BN candidate in KT is a reminder to us that the candidate must be approachable and friendly to the people, including and especially to the humble farmers and the hawkers. He must be like Nizar.

A thoughtful person

The candidate must also be a thoughtful person, and not merely a simpleton who excel in shouting slogans or looking at blocked drains.

A thoughtful, critical, independent soul is more likely to think though his political commitment to the last logical conclusion. He would have asked himself what to do if he were offered bribe or threatened with harm in the event of being elected.

A thoughtful person is also more likely to have nurtured his personal integrity and the meaning of his active political participation on the frontline. Unfortunately, such thoughtful persons usually shun what they consider to be the arena of dirty politics, leaving the field to the greedy and the opportunistic.

Not all university graduates are thoughtful. Judging by the moribund state of our local universities these days, the reverse is very much the case. But a person exposed to the world of higher learning is more likely to see the big picture of politics. It also tends to make it easy for the party to package the candidate and sell him to the voters.

In the case of Bukit Selambau, given the backdrop of recent development, the Pakatan candidate must also be squeaky clean in all his public and personal life.

The Pakatan leadership must go through his entire life with a fine comb, and the slightest blemish cannot be tolerated. He must be as saintly as Tok Guru (right). This is a tall order, but then in Bukit Selambau, we are not facing an ordinary by-election.

Above all, an election is not merely a popularity contest. One has to think of what the candidate can and will do after he is elected.

An elected representative must also be a political leader for his party and his people. He must have a vision of a better Malaysia, and the ability to articulate his dream in the most persuasive and eloquent manner.

But he must also be pragmatic, a person who can identity and diagnose a problem and propose a solution before anybody else. By his words and deeds, he is able to inspire confidence among the rakyat. Barack Obama is a perfect role model here.

Stop scrambling

Frankly, I cannot help but worry for the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. They are a young political alliance born out of practical necessity. Many of their leaders still think and act in their feisty opposition mode. They do not always seem to communicate with one another well. Obviously, they have a lot to learn in the art of negotiation and compromise within a difficult political coalition.

I can understand why the component parties are all scrambling for a claim on the Bukit Selambau seat.

Another seat in their pocket is another chip in the balance of power within the opposition coalition. This sort of fighting over the right to contest seats exists in Barisan Nasional as well.

What the DAP, PAS, PKR, and Hindraf people should bear uppermost in their mind is the masses of Malaysian people outside the confine of their individual grouping. The country is now poised for meaningful change during this turbulent transitional stage, and the people's expectation of the opposition coalition is high.

They expect statesmanlike decision from the top Pakatan leadership. For them, a victory in Bukit Selambau is another step forward towards democratic liberation of the Malaysian polity from the clutches of corruption and abuse of power.

If the opposition politicians and their followers choose to engage themselves in public acrimonious fights over their right to contest in the Bukit Selambau seat in these early days before nomination on March 29, and if they fail to present a strong united front to prevail over the mighty BN juggernaut during the campaign period, then they shall commit nothing less than treason to the millions of Malaysians who have supported them in the past.

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SIM KWANG YANG was the MP for Bandar Kuching from 1982 to 1995. He can be reached at kenyalang578@hotmail.com.