It is now a guessing game as to when the 13th GE is going to be held. The PM who is responsible in determining the date as to when the dissolution of Parliament will take place [which is to be followed by the General Election ] continues to keep the date close to his chest.He does this as a matter of strategy.A strategy that will keep the opposition parties anxious and nervous and drain them of their stamina. The Opposition's anxiety and nervousness are fairly obvious going by the reports that rifts are beginning to show up between their leaders .In Selangor for instance, a senior party leader is said to have resigned from a government post .
To unseat a government is not an easy matter .In many countries it involves violent means of social .political and cultural change .
The opposition leaders are working hard to keep the pace of their campaigns going . There must have been a lot of sacrifices made to.their businesses and families. . So the question is how long can they last .?The Siri Jelajah Anwar Ibrahim,alone,for instance requires tremendous amount of work.Look at the party leaders involved .They are not society's small fries.How much time ,energy and money are involved ,one cannot easily imagine.
.When one looks at the manner the campaigns are being conducted and what it takes, one is reminded of the 'the rope a dope' tactic used by Mohammad Ali in his bout with George Foreman in Harare where Mohammad Ali allowed Foreman to throw punches at him until Foreman completely worn himself out and then became an easy prey .
To cut it short in determining the date of the 13th GE.the ruling party has time on its side,relatively speaking. .There is no need to rush .An untimely call or a miscalculation of the strength and weaknesses of the opposition and of themselves can be a costly affair .Because of that they continue to go on with the attitude of wait and see . The opposition's campaigns through the holding of ceramahs are done at great expense.They are costly and requires tremendous amount of energy . How deep their pockets are and how fit and healthy the personalities are must be relevant questions .
. The wait and see is therefore basically to wait until the opposition tires themselves out ,just like George Foreman in the ring with Mohammad Ali and to see the moment the voters begin to get fed up of listening to the ceramahs.
To say the least, therefore ,this delay in the announcement of the the date of the GE is worrying the opposition .They are indeed running out of subjects in their campaigns. The issues touted at the ceramahs are beginning to be repetitious. . Corruption , misuse of power , economic mismanagement and misconduct of leaders remain the core of the speeches. .These subjects are getting stale by the day . A lot of people now throng the ceramahs grounds not so much to hear what is being said but for the sake of being there as one among the crowd . .This is all discomforting and the opposition leaders knew this new phenomenon and all that they can do is to go on irrespective of the risk of diminishing returns .
A stamina is not an unending element .Sooner or later it will dry up .The signs of this process are already showing in the emergence of dissent and inter party squabbles among the opposition ,however trivial they may be.
The government party knows that they are the ones calling the shots .The opposition can move the heaven and the earth in crying out for an early election but for as long as the time is not right for the party in power to call the shots they will continue to remain in the wait and see module.
Given this scenario ,it is not too late for the opposition to change mode .
