There’s something seriously wrong with such an order itself. You cannot impose patriotism on people. It must come from within. There was a time when our hearts swelled with pride every time we saw the Jalur Gemilang wave or heard the national anthem play. That pride has gone out of our lives today. What remains is but a gaping void and a shining rage. We are angry with everything around us. But, above all, we are angry with ourselves. How could we have allowed the rot to set in so deep? Why were we blind for so long? Why did we not protest before protest itself became an ineffective tool?
“It’s like a gay marriage where one doesn’t know who is the father and who is the mother,” the deputy education minister told reporters at Parliament.
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Alternative title to this post is: Too many PACK Leaders or UMNO power struggle as elections loom.
Whilst all eyes are on GE-13, the stage is being set for the next UMNO general assembly, where the signal for Muhyiddin’s exit is being set.
The Mahathir camp is busy working out the strategy for this shift and the Muhyiddin camp is fully aware of this danger so both sides are preparing for battle – after the battle to wrest the government of this country.
Win or lose it is rumoured that BN will seize power, if they seize power after losing they reckon this process will be much easier in an emergency-like situation, where Najib will remove Muhyiddin in favour of his not so intelligent cousin Hishamuddin Hussein the stop gap deputy, and then get Mukhriz to step into his shoes by giving Hishamuddin a position outside the Federal Cabinet.
The recent talk about Mukhriz going for the position of Mentri Besar of Kedah was initiated by the Muhyiddin camp in an effort to force Mukhriz into accepting it to take Kedah out of PR’s control, and then neutralise Mukhriz’ ambitions for Muhyiddin’s position, the plan seems to have backfired, because according to our sources Mahathir smelt the rat as soon as he got the news and got UMNO to immediately go into damage control and deny it before it got too big. Remember this item was reported in the government backed print media, both the suggestion and the denial.
There is talk about moving Muhyddin back to Johor as Mentri Besar, and the excuse will be that UMNO and BN is losing ground in this their strongest state. Muhyiddin will be touted as the right person to handle the job and the entire supreme council will be directed to back the plan, many of its members have already been approached.
The intrigue in UMNO today is greater than the intrigue in the forbidden city during the last days of Chinese Emperors, it is a sure sign of the decline of UMNO, it’s a ‘dog-eat-dog’ situation according to an UMNO veteran, “never before in the history of UMNO, not since Razak went for Tengku in 1969, nor in 1977 when Mahathir went for Hussein Onn in proxy be unleashing his pet Sulaiman Palestine – the then UMNO information chief has UMNO gone into such dirty politics,” said this UMNO veteran whose son is a very successful Malay and UMNO sponsored businessman.
“This will be played dirtier than when Mahathir cheated in the 1987 UMNO elections and supposedly won the elections, he knew he lost so he got the judiciary into a mess, if the appeal then had gone through unhindered and without government intervention, it would have been a totally different Malaysia today, totally different, maybe not so many foreigners in our country,” said this gentleman who now resides in Penang.
“Probably we will not be sitting here for a drink it could have well been in a hotel in town this may not even have been built, and I would have been able to enjoy my scotch in the open like we used to before,” he said in between sips after dinner in a place at the Straits Quay.
On the other front, Muhyiddin has asked his camp to play low key, if anything has to be unleashed against Najib and his “mentor” it has to be sudden and at a crucial time in UMNO that there will not be an opportunity for the Mahathirian camp to fight back, “it should be swift and decisive, there will be no turning back, ” Muhyiddin was quoted as having said.
Muhyiddin is very uncomfortable with Mahathir, and he has to watch every step he takes, he can’t have his plans leaked, he seems to be doing fine on that score, but you can never tell in UMNO as Mahathir is famous for buying out UMNO boys to get what he wants, and there are people in Johor UMNO who are willing to align with Mahathir in this war.
Mahathir has the funds or at least the sources from which he can squeeze it out, Muhyiddin has his back against the wall, normally an UMNO deputy will be able to muster funds at will, but now after the Sharizat affair it has been made very difficult for him and in UMNO today as it was during the good old days of Mike Tyson it’s money that talks, not Bahasa Melayu, but money talk, in UMNO Bahasa Melayu is for showtime at the assembly, it is not understood; only money is understood loud and clear in that party.
Others may support you only on condition that they’ll be given a significant part in government and money machines if he wins, so it is an uphill task for Muhyiddin, but sources say he has a good following and can turn the tables-money politics or not.
The not so intelligent Hishamuddin does not have enough money to spend so lavishly to win any position, he does not have the support of the grassroots to make himself invulnerable, so he goes the way of Mukhriz, whose father and siblings together with their cronies will outbid anyone on the scene, so Hisham will play the Mahathirian plan although he hates it, like his father he will be used by Mahathir as a stop gap premier and then moved out ungraciously.
Mukhriz has been rather quiet, he is said to be actually learning the ropes, and he is rather sure of himself in the seat of the prime minister in the next five years.
Mahathir is rushing for Najib to call for the next elections and Najib is in no hurry, if he loses he will be out sooner rather than later, but Mahathir is sure to secure the government by hook or by crook and Najib knows that, if he wins he will remain for another five year term.
On the other hand Najib is banking on the possibility that Mahathir may not live till then and Rosmah may do a number on Mukhriz and get him out so there is no real hurry on the part of Najib.
What is cooking in the Mahathirian camp is so secretive that even Najib who is being directed by it does not know the real details, all he has to do is follow instructions, and for the time being he is not, not all instructions at least, this has given Muhyiddin some breathing room, with a divided Mahathirian camp he is finding it easier to move as both Najib and Mukhriz look over their shoulders.
Trying to shut Anwar out is a Mahathirian plan through and through which has the tacit support of all camps in UMNO, with Anwar out they feel they can sweep the next elections and live to fight out their own battles another day, but in politics you can never say, will Muhyiddin look at the other side in desperation. In politics as we all know, “there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends.”
So whilst they are worried about Anwar they are busy at the same time planning their own strategies in this huge UMNO power struggle.
If UMNO wins we will have another government fighting shadows and not governing, so please cast your vote wisely, PR has proven in all states they have controlled that they are capable of serving the people, so there is no alternative.
Whilst all eyes are on GE-13, the stage is being set for the next UMNO general assembly, where the signal for Muhyiddin’s exit is being set.
The Mahathir camp is busy working out the strategy for this shift and the Muhyiddin camp is fully aware of this danger so both sides are preparing for battle – after the battle to wrest the government of this country.
Win or lose it is rumoured that BN will seize power, if they seize power after losing they reckon this process will be much easier in an emergency-like situation, where Najib will remove Muhyiddin in favour of his not so intelligent cousin Hishamuddin Hussein the stop gap deputy, and then get Mukhriz to step into his shoes by giving Hishamuddin a position outside the Federal Cabinet.
The recent talk about Mukhriz going for the position of Mentri Besar of Kedah was initiated by the Muhyiddin camp in an effort to force Mukhriz into accepting it to take Kedah out of PR’s control, and then neutralise Mukhriz’ ambitions for Muhyiddin’s position, the plan seems to have backfired, because according to our sources Mahathir smelt the rat as soon as he got the news and got UMNO to immediately go into damage control and deny it before it got too big. Remember this item was reported in the government backed print media, both the suggestion and the denial.
There is talk about moving Muhyddin back to Johor as Mentri Besar, and the excuse will be that UMNO and BN is losing ground in this their strongest state. Muhyiddin will be touted as the right person to handle the job and the entire supreme council will be directed to back the plan, many of its members have already been approached.
The intrigue in UMNO today is greater than the intrigue in the forbidden city during the last days of Chinese Emperors, it is a sure sign of the decline of UMNO, it’s a ‘dog-eat-dog’ situation according to an UMNO veteran, “never before in the history of UMNO, not since Razak went for Tengku in 1969, nor in 1977 when Mahathir went for Hussein Onn in proxy be unleashing his pet Sulaiman Palestine – the then UMNO information chief has UMNO gone into such dirty politics,” said this UMNO veteran whose son is a very successful Malay and UMNO sponsored businessman.
“This will be played dirtier than when Mahathir cheated in the 1987 UMNO elections and supposedly won the elections, he knew he lost so he got the judiciary into a mess, if the appeal then had gone through unhindered and without government intervention, it would have been a totally different Malaysia today, totally different, maybe not so many foreigners in our country,” said this gentleman who now resides in Penang.
“Probably we will not be sitting here for a drink it could have well been in a hotel in town this may not even have been built, and I would have been able to enjoy my scotch in the open like we used to before,” he said in between sips after dinner in a place at the Straits Quay.
On the other front, Muhyiddin has asked his camp to play low key, if anything has to be unleashed against Najib and his “mentor” it has to be sudden and at a crucial time in UMNO that there will not be an opportunity for the Mahathirian camp to fight back, “it should be swift and decisive, there will be no turning back, ” Muhyiddin was quoted as having said.
Muhyiddin is very uncomfortable with Mahathir, and he has to watch every step he takes, he can’t have his plans leaked, he seems to be doing fine on that score, but you can never tell in UMNO as Mahathir is famous for buying out UMNO boys to get what he wants, and there are people in Johor UMNO who are willing to align with Mahathir in this war.
Mahathir has the funds or at least the sources from which he can squeeze it out, Muhyiddin has his back against the wall, normally an UMNO deputy will be able to muster funds at will, but now after the Sharizat affair it has been made very difficult for him and in UMNO today as it was during the good old days of Mike Tyson it’s money that talks, not Bahasa Melayu, but money talk, in UMNO Bahasa Melayu is for showtime at the assembly, it is not understood; only money is understood loud and clear in that party.
Others may support you only on condition that they’ll be given a significant part in government and money machines if he wins, so it is an uphill task for Muhyiddin, but sources say he has a good following and can turn the tables-money politics or not.
The not so intelligent Hishamuddin does not have enough money to spend so lavishly to win any position, he does not have the support of the grassroots to make himself invulnerable, so he goes the way of Mukhriz, whose father and siblings together with their cronies will outbid anyone on the scene, so Hisham will play the Mahathirian plan although he hates it, like his father he will be used by Mahathir as a stop gap premier and then moved out ungraciously.
Mukhriz has been rather quiet, he is said to be actually learning the ropes, and he is rather sure of himself in the seat of the prime minister in the next five years.
Mahathir is rushing for Najib to call for the next elections and Najib is in no hurry, if he loses he will be out sooner rather than later, but Mahathir is sure to secure the government by hook or by crook and Najib knows that, if he wins he will remain for another five year term.
On the other hand Najib is banking on the possibility that Mahathir may not live till then and Rosmah may do a number on Mukhriz and get him out so there is no real hurry on the part of Najib.
What is cooking in the Mahathirian camp is so secretive that even Najib who is being directed by it does not know the real details, all he has to do is follow instructions, and for the time being he is not, not all instructions at least, this has given Muhyiddin some breathing room, with a divided Mahathirian camp he is finding it easier to move as both Najib and Mukhriz look over their shoulders.
Trying to shut Anwar out is a Mahathirian plan through and through which has the tacit support of all camps in UMNO, with Anwar out they feel they can sweep the next elections and live to fight out their own battles another day, but in politics you can never say, will Muhyiddin look at the other side in desperation. In politics as we all know, “there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends.”
So whilst they are worried about Anwar they are busy at the same time planning their own strategies in this huge UMNO power struggle.
If UMNO wins we will have another government fighting shadows and not governing, so please cast your vote wisely, PR has proven in all states they have controlled that they are capable of serving the people, so there is no alternative.
The way PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang has straddled the obvious divide in his party between those who are untroubled about their participation in Pakatan Rakyat and those who are uncomfortable with it compels attention.
It’s a divide that has the potential to break up the party, with both sides acutely conscious of the possibility a consideration that has the salutary effect of restraining them from taking their claims too far.
Thus PAS has emerged from its annual general assembly last week in Kota Baru with the fissures between its Pakatan enthusiasts and its doubters self-evident, but not self-immolating.
Credit for that belongs to the PAS President. Like a canoeist paddling on both sides of the craft as it negotiates rapids, Hadi has managed with a certain amount of panache to keep both factions within the fold while leaving everyone guessing as to where he actually stands.
This has been a balancing act of some shrewdness which he has been brought off by a blend of the preemptive and the proactive. The manoeuvres by which he achieved his purpose of balancing the two sides began a few months ago when he publicly intimated that he wanted his party to relieve him of the need to contest both state and parliamentary seats.
He said he preferred instead to campaign for the party in general rather than be lumbered with the added tasks of concentrating on the Rhu Rendang state and Marang parliamentary wards, of which he is the elected representative.
In Malay political culture, a candidate must seem to be retiring rather than pert, the better he embellishes his credentials for elevation within the hierarchy.
Moreover, in a specifically Muslim political culture, it is the done thing to appear otherworldly which Hadi managed to convey by saying he actually preferred to go fishing off the coast of Terengganu rather than mind the electoral waters that work the Rhu Rendang and Marang legislative turbines.
This blend of self-effacement and otherworldliness had the desired effect in that not only did luminaries from both sides of the divide in the party clamour for Hadi to stay put, but also Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim was on record as saying that Hadi’s services were essential to the opposition coalition.
Sticking point
After that, it was time for him to doff his cap to the pro-Pakatan side, which he did by claiming that PAS gains by cooperating with the DAP within the Pakatan fold.
This collaboration is a sticking point with orthodox elements in PAS to whom Karpal Singh’s “over my dead body” stance on the Islamic state of several years ago – from which the DAP chairperson recanted – rattles like an intruder in the attic of the party’s collective memory.
Hadi’s limning of the benefits of PAS’ working together with the DAP went some way in reminding hardliners that no party can govern a racially and religious diverse country like Malaysia alone.
Hadi’s stance here was a salutary reminder that for a party to govern Malaysia at the federal level, it has to have the cooperation of non-Muslims to do that effectively. He also reminded his listeners that PAS had elected to cooperate with DAP and PKR to save the country from the depredations inflicted by a half-century of BN misrule.
This was a deft touch because in their ardour for an ideological purity that would frown on cooperation with adamant secularists like the DAP, PAS hardliners are apt to forget the advanced decay in which BN rule has left the country.
An Islamic party would be derelict in its obligations to the ummah if it disdained to cooperate with non-Muslims from pristine considerations.
Praise for the benefits of cooperation with DAP was followed by a proactive foray by Hadi when a fortnight before the PAS annual general assembly, he said that he would be willing to contest the Pekan parliamentary seat occupied by Prime Minister and BN chief Najib Abdul Razak.
This was a startling offer. It smacked of a game of one-upmanship in which Hadi was seen to want to have the better of his peers in the top tier of the Pakatan leadership cohort.
It was also calculated to appease those elements in PAS who are distinctly discomfited with the notion of Anwar Ibrahim, whom they view as an exponent of religious pluralism, as Prime Minister-designate of Pakatan.
By offering to contest against Najib in his Pekan bastion, Hadi was subtly signalling these elements that he is not exactly content to play second fiddle to Anwar in Pakatan.
The offer to contest was more symbolic than substantive and was preemptive in that it placed Hadi in the enviable situation where when, at the party assembly, a member of the ulama wing said that he ought to be Pakatan’s PM-designate, Hadi could demure on the grounds that he was more interested in ensuring a victory for Pakatan than in lofty spoils.
Often in politics, preemptive positioning matters more than one’s real stance in the crunch and here Hadi, in golfing parlance, had himself nicely pre-positioned to finesse a difficult lie.
A two-hour presidential speech at the PAS assembly without touching on the controversial hudud issue while plugging the concept of Islamic welfare was another instance of Hadi’s shrewd paddling which he followed up nicely by discounting Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s challenge that PAS should want to impose hudud laws on everyone, and not just Muslims.
The PAS President reiterated that if his party were to impose hudud, it would be for Muslims only.The political straddle is not an elevated art but in Hadi Awang’s hands these last months, he has given it a deft touch which reminds observers anew that politics is indeed the arena of the possible.
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To hear some Republicans tell it, the Grand Old Party needs to get with the times. Some of the early prescriptions offered by officials and operatives to rebuild after devastating elections: retool the party message to appeal to Latinos, women and working-class people; upgrade antiquated get-out-the-vote systems with the latest technology. Teach candidates how to … Read more A KIND ADVICE TO PAS IN MALAYSIAN POLITICS EITHER YOU LEARN AND GROW OR YOU DIE
to fight the rot, we must stand up, each one of us, and try to reclaim our Malaysia . We must reclaim our pride as Malaysians from the politicians. We must reclaim our Moral from those businessmen who have brought it shame and disrepute. And yes, we must also reclaim our Ethics from the media. We must reclaim it from the prophets of doom who constantly declaim that our dreams are dead. We must rediscover hope. We must find our dreams again. We must look in every nook and cranny where beauty, talent, faith and hope lie. We must reclaim our imagination. We must challenge ourselves to rise above the faithlessness around us and seek that courage which we have ignored while drooling over instant success.
Life is not Maggie noodles. There are no quick fixes to the problems around us. But there are ways to rise above them and, hopefully, beat them. Those ways do not lie in blind outrage. They lie in our capacity to rise above our disappointments, our rage and seek real solutions. How do we do it? It’s easy. The first step is: Do not keep quiet. Do not tolerate injustice. Do not look away when you see people doing wrong. Seek the courage within yourself to stand up to it. That’s the first step towards feeling proud as an Malaysian.let be kurang ajar. a little
The next important step derives from this. Reclaim your freedoms. Over recent years, we have steadily lost them. To a Government trying to nervously cover its tracks after every scam. To radical fringe police terrorising us. To crackpots and vandals. To moral brigades who want to dictate to us what we can say, read, watch, listen to, wear, eat and drink. to MCA that has lost its moral compass. To pressure groups that want to keep us in the 18th century by proudly endorsing sex crimes and honour killings. To a media that often loses its courage and caves in. It’s time we stood up and reclaimed our freedoms. For only a free nation is a strong one.
Remember, every time someone is arrested for a cartoon or a tweet or a Facebook post, a book or a song or a blog or a painting, every time a scene is cut out from a film because it can hurt someone’s feelings, a part of us dies. For Malaysia is the sum total of all that we believe in, however conflicting our views may be.
The next important step derives from this. Reclaim your freedoms. Over recent years, we have steadily lost them. To a Government trying to nervously cover its tracks after every scam. To radical fringe police terrorising us. To crackpots and vandals. To moral brigades who want to dictate to us what we can say, read, watch, listen to, wear, eat and drink. to MCA that has lost its moral compass. To pressure groups that want to keep us in the 18th century by proudly endorsing sex crimes and honour killings. To a media that often loses its courage and caves in. It’s time we stood up and reclaimed our freedoms. For only a free nation is a strong one.
Remember, every time someone is arrested for a cartoon or a tweet or a Facebook post, a book or a song or a blog or a painting, every time a scene is cut out from a film because it can hurt someone’s feelings, a part of us dies. For Malaysia is the sum total of all that we believe in, however conflicting our views may be.
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