Unity, alliances, tactical partnerships, coalitions etc have always been part and parcel of politics. We see this all over the world and Malaysia has always been ruled by a coalition all these years.
The fundamental basis of coming together is that all parties to the arrangement must be able to bring something to the table. It is no different to attending a private poker session where all participants are expected to bring their own money to gamble.
SDP has very little to bring to the table. They started to raise the unity flag when they were shafted during the opposition horse trading talks prior to GE2006. They made a mess of it when they sent a non-party member showing disrespect to the other parties. In addition, they were performing very badly in previous poll and had taken on an agenda of confronting the authorities, refusing to pay fines and playing the martyr. It was not well received by the public.
Surely all these have nothing to do with WP. Until SDP and its members accept that they erred, they are not going to go forward.
At Punggol BE, SDP days before the nomination clearly grabbed the local media and the online attention. They actually had it for days. Then they released the contents of their correspondence to the public. Near the end LTK responded. This is another case where SDP has no idea the consequences of their actions. You reap what you sow.
There is little or no intrigue behind the scenes. It was played in full glare of the Singapore public. Suggesting otherwise is an insult to the intelligence of ordinary citizens who watched the events unfold.
If Jufrie did not release the letters, I am sure LTK would not have responded. Its no different to getting stabbed with your own knife and you are the only one that brought a weapon.
Someday, when I have the nerve and the energy, I will write a post about why, in MY personal opinion, LTK has intentionally, or unintentionally, caused the division in the opposition supporters. I have NEVER been anti-WP until that incident when he made a public announcement about "opposition disunity" at the Punggol East By-election Rally. In my language, he did a totally insensitive and inelegant thing. But I will share those thoughts on another day, and another time, if I choose to do it at all. For now, I just want to say I have always enjoyed reading your posts. Thanks