One heart, mind and soul

0

AT his Gawai Open House in June 2014, Parti Raykat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing first talked of the possible merger of the minds between three Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and his own party (PRS) to show their unity and solidarity.

“SPDP, SUPP and PRS will have a merger of minds in defence of the 36 seats allocated to them come the State Elections in 2016,” he said at the time, adding that physical merger of the three parties may be difficult but merging of wills among them to strengthen and reclaim BN seats was possible.

Eighteen months down the road, Masing expanded his template by articulating that a merger of the minds must include a merger of the hearts to ensure those wishing to run for public office would have the welfare of the people foremost at heart.

Admittedly, I was wrong to assume Masing had through his meeting of minds recipe – proposed that SPDP, SUPP and PRS leaders and members should be united in hearts and minds. Period. Apparently, he meant other things.

Suddenly, he seemed to realise that the merger of the minds – a phrase he coined – did not necessarily include the importance of having the heart to serve the people or community. Moreover, his analogy that admiring a beautiful lady in the mind without the heart will not be fruitful is too profound for me to fathom and understand.

I venture to guess that he was saying SUPP and United Peoples’ Party (UPP), and SPDP and Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) should have a merger of hearts by trashing out their differences so that they could choose and field the most winnable candidates for the coming State Election.

On the flipside, as I gathered, the merger of the minds was conceived in the hope of preventing UPP and Teras from becoming a part of the BN family – obviously. Now, ironically, Masing is asking SUPP to work with UPP and SPDP with Teras. In essence, start dating and eventually get married.

“Merger of the minds without the hearts is not enough. It’s like admiring a beautiful lady where the merger of the hearts will bring to fruition the merger of the minds,” he analogised.

This is really confusing. First, it was the call for SPDP, SUPP and PRS to merge their minds to collectively defend the 36 seats allocated to them.

Then 18 months later, it was a whole new ball game whereby SPDP and Teras, and SUPP and UPP are asked to merge their hearts while merging of the minds between SPDP, SUPP and PRS is still on.

“As I have always emphasised, I’m all for Chinese unity. And as we are going to face the State Election, its best for both SUPP and UPP as well as Teras and SPDP to come together. By doing this, there will be just one entity to represent the Chinese for BN. Likewise, just one entity to represent both SPDP and Teras,” Masing said.

While I was still trying to decipher the entangled relationships, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the backbone of the State BN, entered the fray and held a dinner to commemorate the “Merger of Minds and Hearts.”

Evidently, the ‘big brother’party at the dinner, led by its deputy president Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, was not sure whether Masing’s formula was for a merger of the minds between PRS, SPDP and SUPP or a merger of the hearts between SPDP and Teras, and between UPP and SUPP.

With the State Election probably a hundred days from now, this is quite disconcerting. Here, we have a situation of BN component parties (excluding PBB) being asked to come together to face the imminent polls. While two of the three parties involved are asked to merge their hearts with the BN-Plus parties on the one hand, the leader concerned does not know whose minds and whose hearts are with these parties, on the other hand.

The opposition front is no better with seemingly no

co-operation between Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

DAP is working with Amanah, a PAS breakaway splinter, while PKR by their lack of enthusiasm reveals that they see that as a crowd.

The essence of relationships is genuineness. And this, in the political context, means the interests of political parties must be in serving the rakyat and the rakyat alone. Otherwise voters will have a horrendous time choosing YBs to look after their welfare and work for the progress of the state.

Lest it’s overlooked, in casting their ballots, voters too face a dilemma – to choose party or personality? You may like the former but not the latter and vice versa. It is akin to being caught between the rock and a hard place. But for most politically savvy voters, metaphorically at least, better the devil you know than the angel you don’t.

To digress, when one of the most acclaimed and famous religious writers Philip Yancey was here recently, he gave a sermon titled “A King and a Prostitute.”

Honesty, I took a long stare at the title, wondering whether there is actually a story about a King and a Prostitute in the Good Book? Well, I had to find out. It turned out that there are two stories – one about King David and the other about a nameless woman in the oldest profession.

So, what lesson have I learnt from Yancey on “A King and a Prostitute? They both lived for one audience alone. They don’t care what others think. They only care what their Master thinks.

As Yancy explained: “It simplifies life to live for the audience of one. So many people live and judge their success by what other people think about them. But there are so many people you have to please.  Surrendering to God, living for God is never a defeat. It is a beginning.”

The Christmas carol tells us to “Deck the halls with boughs of holly …. ’tis the season to be jolly.”

I know most of us feel the somberness of events of late – with chilling stories of cruel and ruthless killings and bombings all over the world and of course, allegations of corruption in politics still hog the front pages  of newspapers and electronic media.

But fear not, stay focused and keep watch. Since the first Christmas, it has always been this scene – watching the sheep, watching a star, watching and waiting with singular focus with all our hearts, minds and souls for the advent of the greatest happening in the history of mankind.

I will be taking a break – have a blessed Christmas.