I think that it is fair to call the following four groups (and there may be still others or more to come!) a THIRD FORCE.
1) THE HUMAN RIGHTS’ PARTY
This party is the daughter of HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force). It will be contesting 15 parliamentary and 38 state constituencies in the next general election. They have the audacity to say “we sincerely hope PR will not field candidates in these 15/38 constituencies to become the spoiler and cause three-cornered fights against our common political enemy”.
2) KITA
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s newly-named party, Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) is due to be launched on 19th January 2011. It is learnt that it is poised to form an alliance with the United Borneo Front. Datuk Zaid has moved from UMNO to PKR to KITA. This party will be joining the fray at the next general election.
3) MALAYSIAN CIVIL LIBERTIES MOVEMENT (MCLM)
MCLM is a legal entity with Raja Petra Kamarudin as its Chairman and Haris Ibrahim as its president. Its objectives are:
- To promote and propagate the people’s voice and the people’s declaration to all political parties contesting the coming general election
- To offer non-political party candidates from amongst the professionals/lawyers to all the political parties contesting the general election that may either be short of candidates or not able to find ‘quality’ candidates to field in the elections.
Unfortunately, it does not stop there. When asked if no one is interested in the candidates, Haris Ibrahim said that the rakyat would be the guide as to whether they should contest as independents. ‘We will do a poll. If the constituents like us and say that we should run, then I guess that is what we will do.’
And so we may have even more three-cornered elections!
4) UNITED BORNEO FRONT
Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, a seasoned politician and a seasoned party-hopper, is in the process of setting up the United Borneo Front. Its demands include a fairer revenue sharing formula and a representation at the federal level, and restoration of Sabah and Sarawak’s status as equal partners in the federation. It is most likely that UBF will participate in the next general election.
Having re-read my article, perhaps a more suitable title might have been SPOILERS VS PR = BN VICTORY!
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
