I learnt a new word today - "opprobrium", after reading
a Straits Times article on The Malaysian Insider entitled "Call for fresh Perak elections hard to ignore".
... There is also the question of personal pride. Najib personally led the campaign to wrest power in Perak in early February, just weeks before being installed as premier.
To back down now could be interpreted as political weakness by his followers in his embattled party.
But as the crisis worsens, many analysts and senior politicians say that his government's determination to cling on to power amid growing public opprobrium will only enhance the franchise of the opposition coalition.
According to Dictionary.com, opprobrium isn't an element of the Periodic Table we learnt during chemistry classes:
op⋅pro⋅bri⋅um [uh-proh-bree-uhm]
–noun
- the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.
- a cause or object of such disgrace or reproach.
Origin:
1650–60; < L: reproach, equiv. to op- op- + probr(um) infamy, disgrace + -ium -ium
Well, we learn something new everyday ;-)
7 comments:
This political stalemate can only be resolved with creative, new solutions which are rakyat friendly. Otherwise, the reluctance by Najib to agree to fresh elections will see the issue go back and forth between the courts and counter appeals, etc.
Barring a fresh election, both PR and BN should work together to prove to Perakians that the people's welfare is a higher priority than partisanship.
The rakyat should and is the final employer assessing which candidate to employ.
But if two rival candidates refuse to work together, the employer should give them a choice: either you work together or you both don't get the job. In such a stalemeate, Perakians can bear the loss of being ungoverned and wait for the next GE to decide.
Of course, the ideal solution is snap elections but that option is a roadblock for BN.
And please, in your talks with BN, do not reject proposals for power-sharing if it is the second best solution to serve the people's interests.
Also, an internet poll should be done to get feedback from the people of Perak on this second best solution. Either way, the people will have a decisive say about their state and how it is governed.
I heard one of the panelist of the May 13 Forum at Dewan Sivik said that word.
I thought it was 'equilibrium'...
tyvm for highlighting it!
Dear YB Tony,
U should also learn the term "Machiavellian" . If not sure, check it out in Wikipedia. The Perak crisis , even whole country , even the rest of the world are prime example of this being practised !
I wonder whether if Sivakumar is still the speaker, will he let a motion of no confidence be carried out?
I think that's also a part of the speaker's power that should be curb as it provide a mean to reject a legitimate motion. Just like the Sultan's prerogative to agree to a snap election request by the MB.
These flaws in the constitution should be amended to as clear as possible. Otherwise we can argue till the cows come home & the mosquito goes to sleep.
I am surprised that somone who has graduated from Oxford has not seen this word before.
Yes we always learn something new everyday. TQVM
The problem for BN is a "Morton's Fork" dilemma:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton%27s_Fork
"A Morton's Fork is a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives (in other words, a dilemma), or two lines of reasoning that lead to the same unpleasant conclusion. It is analogous to the expressions "between the devil and the deep blue sea" or "between a rock and a hard place.""
Ignoring the people's will and continuing to cling to power is one choice.
Calling for a snap or partial election is another.
Post a Comment