Winning the War

It's been a long time since I've posted.

Life and work in general has gotten in the way. My apologies. Laziness too.

But today, I just couldn't contain myself.

My beloved state was not able to deny the coalition of thieves and liars this time around. And it was extremely disheartening and disappointing for me.

I need to remind myself, however, that Rome wasn't built in a day. There are many take-aways from this episode.

Firstly, that although the majority given to the ruling coalition has been reduced by more than 5%, it isn't enough. That we need to do so much more. How? We will need to look at this from many angles.

1. Who helped the ruling coalition win this? The inlanders.
2. Where did they get the winning votes? Possibly postal votes, ghost voters, etc.
3. What could have helped them achieve this? Many things, but of course, what was most effective was money.
4. Why did we lose in the inlands? Lack of awareness/ education/ relevance of campaign.
5. When do we start with a new campaign, then? NOW. We start NOW. That's how we will win in the GEs. If we're going to be serious.
6. How do we win? I will elaborate below. In summary, we need to start the new campaign now. Do the groundwork. We need to identify candidates whom the inlanders can identify with. We need to find issues that are relevant to them and find workable solutions for them. Most of all, we need to educate and create awareness.

RFS helped us make inroads into some of the inlands of Sarawak. But we shouldn't rely on RFS alone to assist us in making efforts into the inlands. We need to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each constituency, as well as their needs, and move on from there. A one-size-fits-all solution is not suitable for a state like Sarawak. Not when there are major differences in geography and socio-economic conditions. What appeals to the urban voters may not be relevant for the rural voters at all. They can't identify, especially, with politics from the peninsula. It is foreign to them, as foreign as politics in UK or USA or Australia. Therefore, solutions would need to be customized according to constituency.

And we need to start the next campaign right NOW. We cannot be discouraged. We need to find suitable candidates and send them to talk to the rural folks quickly. This is in order for us to find out what we can do to relieve their burden, what the ruling coalition did right, how we are able to overturn the loyalty, and to gain their trust. It's psychological warfare. In order to beat the ruling coalitions system's of bullying, buying out and postal votes, we cannot afford to win by just a slim margin, but we need to have a buffer of another possible n=5000 votes (if possible, dependent on constituency, of course). This would mean that every blue we can turn red is worth the effort.

Our friends from across the sea does not understand. What is so obvious to them is, in truth, completely irrelevant to the inlanders. They don't have internet to be able to read up on alternative media. You see, they don't even have electricity. They have no toilets. They use outhouses instead. They have no clean running water. How would I know? I've seen it. With my own eyes. So please don't be condescending. They can't afford to think too far into the future when they live from day to day. They are even unsure of where tomorrow's food is going to come from. RM1000 is a LOT of money for them. As for NCR? Some don't even know they've signed off their lands until tractors come to clear their land. Because they are illiterate. They rely on the spoken language. That is why they were so easily lied to by the ruling coalition's empty promises.

So how do we become relevant? By getting someone from the area. Who knows. By having people go in there to find out about their plight. Ask to see their land leases. Investigate the situation. Do it NOW. While the ruling coalition is still celebrating. While they are complacent. That's how you build trust. By not just visiting once every 5 years.

If you do it while the ruling coalition does it as well, of course you would not be able to shine as brightly. You don't have the money. You can't compete.

So buy your way in through their heart, not their wallets. Make yourselves relevant in their day to day lives. Send in short wave radios so that they can hear about the evils of the current situation. So that they know. Talk to them and explain how they are at disadvantage. Speak their local language. Know their local customs. Make yourselves relevant.

Speak their language. Create a candidate that is a local hero. Rebrand yourselves as a coalition that is relevant, caring, able to help. Who will always be there for them, not just during election times.

Change is scary for these rural folks. That's why you move in now. Once they are familiar with you, once they are loyal, once you become a friend, they stay loyal, they stay your friend. As you can see from the current results. Make their loyalty yours. Turn these liabilities to your favour.

You find the root and then make a focussed, targeted, and most importantly, CUSTOMIZED effort that would turn the tides around. Hopefully the next time around, would be a major red tide.

We may have lost the battle, but not the war.