Malay mindset to blame UMNO lacks competent leader to change its destiny:

COMMENT It was easy to forget that the first casualty of the UMNO General Assembly was its own President Najib Razak’s cautionary advice.

After the deluge of vitriol unleashed at the annual meeting against UMNO’s enemies by selected speakers, the fact of the Prime Minister’s self-inflicted wound was easily elided.

The caution the party president aired on the eve of the meeting was that speakers to the assembly ought to be careful about what they say because 28 million Malaysians would be listening in.

No doubt, the admonition had its source in the episode of then UMNO Youth Chief Hishamuddin Hussein’s waving a keris at the 2006 party assembly.

It was a provocative act, a martial gesture more fitted to a warrior caste than to a leading political party purporting to guide citizens to face the challenges of the times.

When Hishamuddin repeated the gesture, against better advice, at the following year’s assembly, both the person and act was viewed as incorrigible and as inviting retaliatory response.

UMNO-BN’s electoral setbacks of a few months later were attributed, among other factors, to insolent behavior such as Hishamuddin’s keris-waving. His public apology in the tsunami’s aftermath was contrition that was too little, too late.

Annual assemblies of popular political parties are occasions to fly the flag, pump up the adrenalin, talk frothily on a host of issues, and generally feel good about the whole thing.

The address of the party’s President has acquired the status of holy writ that delegates latch on to for definition of what the future challenges are and the policies to adopt to face them.

So when Najib warned before the start of this year’s UMNO assembly that unseemly speech was inadvisable because a watching nation would react negatively at fast-approaching polls, the caution must have been prompted by the chastening experiences of the recent past.

In other words, a party of sliding popularity should avoid giving undue offence. Thus caution was the party president’s watchword going into the annual assembly.

The Deputy fails to follow the script

But before Najib’s turn at the lectern, his Deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, not known to follow scripts laid down by his chief, opened the floodgates to unbridled rhetoric by reviving a base canard.

The DAP, he contended, was anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-royals. That was the cue for assorted speakers to uncork a fusillade of denunciations at opposition parties DAP, PAS and PKR, reducing each to caricature, the easier to hold them up to odium.

A certain amount of bile, bubbling and loosely corked, must necessarily exist between rival political parties. You could say the spite is a byproduct of the competition for power.

But opprobrium of the sort heaped, especially on the DAP at the UMNO assembly, is a symptom of warped hatreds that curdle democratic politics.

Much of the antagonism between UMNO and DAP revolves around a wound that suppurates in the Malaysian political subconscious: who started the May 13th race riots?

The question over the years has become encrusted by so much recrimination that the core of it is by now lost in the mists of mutual loathing.

But like all unhealed wounds, there is the temptation to peel back the frayed scab and expose the rent.

Until the May 13 issue is exhumed, in all its sordid detail, by a truth and reconciliation commission, it will rattle in the attic of national memory. Like Banquo’s ghost in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it will return to haunt not only the parties that were players in the national drama of the late 1960s but also their legatees in succeeding ears.

Orgy of mutual recrimination

There are antithetical positions to the entire controversy: you either keep the episode in mind while ignoring it in speech, or you dwell on it in a non-partisan way, without apportioning blame on anyone.

Any other way is untenable unless one brings the matter up to submit it to exhumation by a truth and reconciliation commission.

When Najib brought the matter up in his presidential address, it was in an inquisitorial way, as if placing the blame for the causes of May 13 on a political party.

This necessarily gave rise to a wider spectacle of who would be the quicker to fix the blame. The resulting orgy of mutual recrimination and antagonism was predictable for reason that the entire episode’s noxious fumes are still potent enough, more than four decades after its incidence, to befoul thinking.

This is why exhumation or avoidance is the only response to May 13 as an issue.

Hence when Najib brought the issue up in an inquisitorial way, he disregarded the very restraint he had decreed as de rigueur for speakers to the UMNO assembly. Ironically, the presidential physician was in need of ministration himself.

It is becoming very frequent now as Malaysia heads into the last lap before the people are called upon to make a crucial landmark vote. Over and over again, we hear Prime Minister Najib Razak literally 'begging' the people to give him and his UMNO party another chance to rule the country.

Yes, it is crucial indeed for Najib and UMNO to stay in power or the boil that they have been growing and allowing to fester through the decades will finally explode and all their shameful wrongdoings against the people will be exposed. They will be forced to take responsibility for their misdeeds - at last.

Since assuming office in 2009, Najib Razak has not garnered the mandate of the people. He is merely the president of the biggest party in Barisan Nasional, and by virtue of that, assumed the role of prime minister until a clear mandate is delivered at a general election. And this is why, to Najib the coming GE-13 is crucial and all important. It grants him the right to say that the people of Malaysia want him to lead the country as prime minister.

“We have to cross the bridge of the general election, it is very important to be re-elected for us to deliver real transformation, we need to get support from the people,” he said in a speech at an international forum organized by UMNO earlier this week.

Does not have the discipline to bear the pain of reforms

Yes, the prime minister is playing peace-maker now and turning to the people to gain much needed support. Yet, be warned, when UMNO reforms; Malaysia will deform. The transformation promised by Najib Razak, as president of UMNO, will only come about if and only if UMNO benefits from it. And the way UMNO - known for its greed and corruption - benefits from it, Malaysia will suffer for it!

The much-heralded reforms Najib announced during Malaysia Day are merely illusions. The ISA has yet to abolished and we have a repressive Peaceful Assembly Bill heading towards approval in Parliament. Overall, 2011 has been a year where the very fabric of Malaysian society has been torn apart by none other than UMNO and its sister organizations such as Perkasa.

In July we had the demonising of civil society at its worse. But even so, the July 9 Bersih rally for free and fair elections triumphed, a fantastic victory of light over darkness. We also had the fabled conspiracy to install a Christian prime minister, and along with this was the story that Communism was being resurrected by some of the Bersih marchers seeking critically-needed reforms.

Obstacle to change, not catalyst

It is clear UMNO is not the catalyst for reforms in Malaysia but UMNO is the greatest obstacle for reforms.  Reforms did not come about because of Najib Razak. Instead, the reforms he and his establishment are now trumpeting were knee-jerk reactions to growing demands from the people of Malaysia. Reforms come from the people and it is due to their strength that real change will eventually come about in Malaysia. Not from the likes of UMNO nor the fabled promises of Najib.

UMNO will never be capable of reforms as long as it holds the post of prime minister because true reforms in Malaysia would mean UMNO losing out on a host of goodies. It will mean the liberalization of Malaysia’s economy where only open tenders based on meritocracy and best pricing will qualify. It would also mean a free media to report matters as they are and not what UMNO perceives them to be. Freedom of expression and collaborative effort with the people as opposed to “we know best” government, would also be the order of the day.

To claim that only via UMNO, will transformation come is the complete opposite of the truth. But Najib is either oblivious or sees nothing wrong in lying through his teeth.

For example, UMNO has yet to explain, conclusively, the nature of the NFC scandal that involves its Wanita Chief. Although Shahrizat Jalil has fallen back on calling her detractors names and diverting attention away from the issue, the public remains convinced something is afoot while the entire UMNO elite is scrambling to cover up the scandal. The use of public money meant to be a catalyst to launch a self-sustaining meat industry in Malaysia has instead been used to buy luxury condos, land in Putrajaya, high-end cars and to fund lavish trips overseas.

Surprised? But this is UMNO, whose leaders are experts at spending public money without compunction, whilst being unable to add income to the nation’s coffers. And to further add salt to the injury, UMNO seems bent on protecting the likes of Shahrizat and those like her, including Najib himself, whose profligacy is just as famed.

A dearth of talent

The ineffectual UMNO Youth have been authorized to support their embattled Wanita Chief, which clearly shows UMNO is never ever shy about covering up their own misdeeds and scandals. On the other hand, they are hell-bent on demonizing the Chinese, Christians and anyone they so choose. The opposition has borne the brunt of their claims that the Malays stand to lose out if Pakatan wins the next general election. Yet, what has UMNO really done for the Malays, except to siphon out huge, gargantuan sums for themselves? After 54 years of affirmative action and 40 years of the New Economic Policy, Malays sadly still form the bulk of the poor in the country.

The blatant use of profanity in the UMNO Youth speeches points to to the very thing UMNO cannot do. And this is to transform their mindsets to meet the current scenario in Malaysia. Whilst the public expects intellectual discourse and presentation of nation-building policies, we are served up with rhetoric that is akin to a cheer-leading chant spiced up with vocabulary that would make a brothel-keeper blush. By verbally attacking the opposition, UMNO has contradicted their own words. Both Najib and Muhyiddin have advised their party members to be civilized in their speeches. Yet, neither men followed their own advice. No wonder, the others did not then.

For transformation to be evident under UMNO, UMNO itself must transform and be attractive to every citizen in Malaysia. Instead, the transformation UMNO has brought upon itself has been more decremental to Malaysia than good. The leadership line-up has a problem with confidence in themselves and their own Malay brothers. It seems after more than 5 decades of rule, UMNO is more insecure than ever. Its fear of losing the confidence of the Malays is most evident now than in its entire history, while the efforts to transform Malaysia has long ago lost the confidence of the non-Malays.

But the nation has intuitively been shifting away from Umno

With the nation slowly moving forward on its own steam away from depending on UMNO, real transformation will happen eventually. Malaysia is reforming on its own initiative, driven by the people themselves who are demanding a clean-up of the governmental system so badly compromised and ravaged by UMNO.

In a reformed Malaysia, UMNO stands to lose the most and this will stump any efforts by an UMNO prime minister to implement change. Najib’s moves towards liberalising the economy has been met with resistance from within Umno as well as Malay rights group Perkasa. Najib may speak all the right words when it comes to reforms, but he definitely lacks the political will to bring about any measure of change or reform in Malaysia.

So far the only reforms that we have seen are merely cosmetic in nature. We have merely swapped an evil for greater evil. This is not the path Malaysia should take if is to be a progressive nation. To coin a phrase often used by the arrogant BN parliamentarians; “if you don’t like it, then vote”.

Yes, the people of Malaysia are sick of lies and mere talk. After so many decades in power, it is still saying that it needs more time. But the resources are gone, the lands have been grabbed, the Petronas 'black gold' has been diverted to many private overseas bank accounts. For sure, Malaysians must make a timely decision. They must vote out the inefficient, dishonest, spendthrift, irresponsible and corrupt. In other words, avoid UMNO unless you want to get plague and die a long, slow and extremely painful death.

If the Republican presidential nominating race wasn't actually intended as a serious endeavor, it could be mistaken for a comedy routine. As one more woman makes up another story about Herman Cain's sexual proclivities, Rick Perry struggles to understand who is eligible to vote in the democracy he wants to lead. Mitt Romney changes positions as often as a light-hitting utility infielder; Michele Bachmann prompts questions about what is required to become a member of the House Intelligence Committee; Ron Paul makes enough sense to scare the electorate; Newt Gingrich has reached the fifth level of hypocrisy and thinks his contradictions are invisible or meaningless, while Jon Huntsman, who has been far too rational and informed to be riding in the GOP clown car, stands off to the side and wonders how he is not even qualified to be considered for the Iowa debate on December 10.

The departure of Mr. Cain, who is apparently being besieged by lying women who are puppets of Democratic operatives afraid he will win the White House, will not make things any simpler for GOP primary voters. Cain's surge happened after Perry mentioned that he supported in-state tuition for the children of undocumented workers. As Cain has been hammered by revelations involving his personal life, Gingrich has acquired enough support to lead the race, most of which likely came from Cain. Perry's numbers did not tick back up and Romney's stayed frozen in the high teens and low twenties. All of those voters who began dating other people when Perry faltered ended up also leaving Cain but still hadn't forgiven Romney for being Romney or Perry for being a dumbass.

What do they do with Cain gone?

The Gingrich team wants everyone to believe he is now inevitable. But there are two forces in control of most of the GOP primary and they have issues with Newt. What will the values voters and evangelicals make of a man who has had mistresses and three marriages? The Tea Party certainly can't be very excited about a candidate who has made millions advising participants in the scam that fueled Wall Street's mortgage collapse, and even though he claims he's never been a lobbyist and has only sold access to his inordinately large brain, Gingrich has made millions more getting his clients in front of members of congress. The Tea Party is not likely to favor his full résumé. Gingrich's baggage fills up three boxcars on the campaign train, and one of them is for Tiffany jewelry containers.

Mitt Romney is probably one of the leading GOP candidates with an actual statistical chance of beating President Obama but he seemingly cannot win his party's nomination. Romney is moderate enough to do well in the general election but not sufficiently right wing to win the primary. His problems, already deconstructed a million times, center around convincing GOP voters that just because he approved a state health care plan in Massachusetts doesn't mean he wants one for the rest of the country, and just because he said he'd be stronger on gay rights than Teddy Kennedy when he ran against him for the U.S. Senate doesn't mean he believes in gay marriage now, and just because he refused to sign the pledge to end federal funding to hospitals that provide abortions doesn't mean he supports woman's right to choose, and just because he said he thinks global warming is real doesn't mean he thinks humans are the cause. Romney's political cravenness approaches Senator John McCain's, who pegged the needle when he called Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance" in one election and then ran to seek their endorsements the next time he chased after the presidency.

Romney's other problem, of course, is his religion. He doesn't talk about it, except for a speech he gave in Texas four years ago, which he hoped had put the matter to perpetual rest. But it hasn't. Various surveys show that white, southern, Christian evangelicals will not vote for a Mormon because the overwhelming majority does not view the religion as part of Christendom. The hypocrisy in this position is both entertaining and harmful to Republican presidential aspirations; apparently Moses tablet(s) brought down from the mountain are more believable than the Angel Moroni's golden tablets delivered to Joseph Smith. Regardless, no Republican will win the White House without successfully sweeping the south in the general election in 2012 and a Mormon candidate will apparently reduce enthusiasm and turnout among white, Christian voters. Mitt will stay stuck at about twenty percent regardless of how many GOP power brokers urge the voters to rally around his flag.

Which brings us to the wretched remainders.

Bachmann and Paul have undeniable electability issues, Rick Santorum is barely worth mentioning, and Jon Huntsman is too sane, considerate, well informed, capable on the issues, rational, analytical, thoughtful, and Mormon to have a chance within his chosen political party.

That leaves only the dumb one.

When the bright lights reveal more of Newt's warts than voters want to see, there will be no place left for GOP voters to seek sanctuary. The unfaithful and undecideds will have to reconsider Rick Perry. The values voters will realize again that he is with them on gay marriage and Jesus and global warming and abortion and government health care. TP-ers will conclude he's their best chance to show they have the power to destroy government. These voters don't care that Perry is a bit of a dolt on issues; they love him because he thinks like they do and there is no one else on the GOP primary ballot who completely fits that description. Unfortunately, every time a reporter considers writing a comeback narrative for Perry, the Texas governor begins talking and prompts second thoughts about how convincing such an article might ever be for readers.

Republicans must be frustrated as hell. They are facing an incumbent president who most polls show is mortally wounded and yet the GOP cannot find an acceptable, unifying candidate with prospects of victory. The fact that Herman Cain and Rick Perry have survived this long is an indication of the desperation of Republicans. They ought not to worry, though. Sarah Palin has taken up residence in Arizona.

And word is that she is tanned, rested, and ready.