WHEN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi six days ago said he was aware that the rakyat were fed up with the political bickering going
on in the country, it was stating the obvious.

WHEN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi six days ago said he was aware that the rakyat were fed up with the political bickering going
on in the country, it was stating the obvious.
He was, however, spot on when he pledged to give priority to the needs
of the people.
Definitely, Malaysians should hold him to his vow that our needs will be
met.
And no better persons to take heed of the Prime Minister’s call than our respective MPs and ADUN (State assemblypersons), regardless the political
party they serve.
The focus of all efforts must now centre on concrete deliverable policies
and programmes towards looking into these needs and thereby, improving the
lives of the masses – not wasting time and energy in searching for a missing adult male, of sound mind or unsound mind, private investigator.
Neither should the state of the nation be dependent on the highly classified findings of highly qualified medical personnel probing
the rectum of a, regardless any which way you see it, victim of societal pressures.
(I, in all sincerity, hope the young man’s state of mind has the services of a highly qualified professional psychologist.)
By locating the whereabouts of the missing Magnum, the price of essential
goods will not shrink.
Squeezing the whole truth and nothing but the truth from a 23-year-old will not lift a sen off our financial burden.
As for those in my community, whether or not VVIPs are directly involved
in all the accusations being hurled, the Disabled Worker’s monthly allowance will still need to be lobbied to be raised from RM300 to at least
RM500.
Simply put, the rakyat are the bosses here and not the other way round as is the popular notion among many, including our MPs and ADUN. Now that they
have been voted into Parliament and the State assemblies, their party leaders should, rightfully, rank below their other superiors – us.
They are not called the people’s representatives for nothing.
It is also quite unfortunate sometimes for residents of a certain constituency to have a parliamentary rep who by profession is a lawyer of high profile cases. Not that his presence is required in the vicinity all the time, but neither should issues the rakyat have no direct involvement
with take precedence.
Should our needs be sacrificed for what, this ‘greater good’?
Our representatives must be prepared to deal with their constituents’
high expectations, which is why they were elected in the first place. Their priorities are to be the voice of the thousands of people inside of Parliament and the State assemblies. (Not the shameful cacophony of voices which seems the order of the day at these sittings).
Primarily, they are the honorable chosen ones – and they must honour
the very same people responsible for putting them there. Once that’s
been well taken care of, only then ought they to represent the voice of any
individual they chose in their now secondary professions.
Leave the legal cases to other lawyers and the relevant authorities to
handle.
While the political conspirators are digging up the dirt, we should not
be blinded by the dust churned-up. We should just put on our fog lights to
clearly see things for what they are, drive off and avoid hogging the road.
Everyone can do with a smooth journey nowadays.
In the meantime, don’t forget to tell your daddy who’s the VIP. It’s us, in
case some have long forgotten.
Of course, the VVIPs are the green-card holders, courtesy of the Welfare Services Department – Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, JKM for short. Hold on a second – shouldn’t it be Jaga Kebajikan Malaysia?

• Ahmad Daniel Sharani (kerplunk94@gmail.com) is a committee member
of Perwira K9, a support group for people with spinal cord injuries. K9
is the designated ward at Hospital Kuala Lumpur to treat and assist patients in rehabilitation.

Source: Malay Mail – July 11, 2008