Mahathir's Nationalism and the start of Umno’s inquisition.

Anwar attempts to offer a counterpoint and is perhaps the most fundamental challenge to an old Mahathir style of politics but it is as of now, devoid of a larger framework of ideology.to share some thoughts on a topic that has been at the back of my mind for some time .Najib government  needs to learn from previous Mahathir mistakes The original sin of bad government is arrogance , with complacency as a silent partner. The ministers of  Barisan began to believe that because they had got away with a lot, they could get away with anything. 

There is a visible and vocal sense of crisis in the present environment. The anger is not just about economic decline, inflation unchecked and corruption rampant — which affects everyone — but also about aspiration denied which is why the young are in the demographic vanguard of opposition to the establishment. Incidentally, this is not the first crisis that Malaysia has faced. While its intensity can hardly be denied, it might be the most easily remedied. 

It is Umno’s perversion of the idea of nationalism and the “Umnonisation” of Islam. The danger is this. If left unchecked, Umno will confer upon itself the right as final arbiter on who is a Malaysian or not Malaysian and eventually who is Islamic, less Islamic and so forth. In a bizarre twist, Umno has totally outflanked PAS in portraying itself as the religious zealots bent on “talibanisation” of Muslims in Malaysia and eventually over all Malaysians."We have seen with our own eyes how Mahathir killed democracy  in broad daylight," To a certain extent, we do see new experiments in the practice of democracy, but unfortunately these offer little by way of idealism. Honesty in politicians should be the least we should expect of them as is the notion that they would strive to deliver a responsive administration. By setting the bar so low on our expectations, we create room for other distortions. Democracy without idealism is merely the popular or the procedurally legitimate. The dilemma of choosing between a frozen idealism that would have to be imposed from above and an expedient assertion of the popular that would pander to majorities of various kinds is a real one. What is needed is a new kind of idealism cast in a new language of hope that can be realistically aspired to. The noise around us needs to abate a little for us to hear ourselves think. We need understanding and reconciliation, and an effort to locate our better selves. Till then, what we will see around us is a gradual descent into what we are calling democracy.

t is easy to remember good government , even if we tend to take it for granted when we get it. It works. Rotten governance is more complicated, for its consequences are more evident than its causes. 

Should inflation be considered an obvious manifestation of political mismanagement? A major reason for today’s street rage is certainly the fact that food inflation has averaged over 10% during the second UPA term, and that prices have risen more than 18% since the food insecurity Bill. But inflation is only the smallpox scar on the face of the body politic. The true illness of UPA2 is impotence. It did nothing, apart from making a few pious statements — not through the principal actors in charge of India’s economy — but through acolytes who hyperventilated at the prospect of a sound-bite . A government that reduces food on the tin plate of the poor is irresponsible. Why should the voter care for a government that does not care for the voter? 

We are all in danger. The country is crumbling under a fainéant leader. Mahathir  the madmen are on the loose. Umno’s nationalism.It may have gone unnoticed, but the government’s loose categorization of all those who questioned its conduct on handling the nation’s security for instance as unpatriotic, is an expression of this high-pedestalled self-conferred stature Among the many challenges that democracy is facing in the country, the most significant one is that the idealistic purpose within which it is meant to reside has been gradually dismantled, leaving a skeletal framework that has become an instrument of distributing power without assigning to it any larger intent. In this construct, power owes a responsibility only to itself- both in terms of seeking it and ensuring its perpetuation. Political competition does not translate into debating how power should be used but only in haggling about who gets to use it. Once acquired, power is used extractively and its rewards distributed selectively. The absence of a self-disciplining mechanism within political parties is a pointer to the fact that there is great satisfaction with the way things are, as well as a recognition that change is neither possible nor desirable. Parties may act against dissidents (increasingly with greater reluctance and for shorter durations) but rarely does it act against those that commit any serious misdemeanours. So far, promises of a new kind of politics have regularly been belied- the great Mandal experiment might have increased the representativeness of democracy in the country, but otherwise merely ensured that power would be exercised by a different social constituency, for similar purposes. By legitimising the ability of the state to offer patronage to specific groups based on identity, it strengthened the hands of a political system that found a way of separating the act of governing from that of winning elections.  Mahathir model restores to democracy the idea of power with some purpose, but locates the assignment of purpose within himself, making him synonymous with what is legitimate Rare Umno lawmaker Johari, who is also member of Parliament for Titiwangs

You probably have heard this before “Nice people finish last” and perhaps have experienced it as well – watching pushy, inconsiderate individuals get the job you wanted or have received the romantic attention of someone you have been pining for. It didn’t seem fair, did it?

If you have observed this rare breed, called ‘nice people’, closely and understood what they had to offer –integrity, compassion, protection, support, passion, & possibly lots more, you’d be confused; why, despite having these attributes, are they simply walked over and cast aside in everyday relationships!

Look inside an office and you’ll see that you don’t have to be ‘the boss’ to take on a leadership role. If you are one with the most experience in a certain skill, you’ll have, at least in a few key moments, the opportunity to become the ‘leader’ and guide your team. That’s a no brainer right there, isn’t it?

Rare Umno lawmaker Johari, who is also member of Parliament for Titiwangs said the frivolous musing of a pro-Pakatan Rakyat anti-UMNO/BN activist whose main preoccupation is finding fault with Najib.
Rare Umno lawmaker in KL, Johari offers chance to rejuvenate UMNO in the Federal Territories keep talking to grassroots rejuvenation of urban Malays
The best New Year greeting has come to me from a friend. It consists of two lines from T S Eliot’s Four Quartets: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, And next year’s words await another voice.” We shall see which voice prevails. become the last hope of in its bitter struggle against the rise Brain dead FT Umno chief Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and FT Umno deputy chief Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin  leaders no longer believe they can win in 2018  they never pursued Pakatan with the ferocity it displays against DAP. This is not merely desire for retribution; it is also evidence of worry. The past few days have been particularly depressing to  UMNO, but Johari  hope that DAP can still be stopped in FT seats  will be a  small change in the larger game.In theory, this strategy has its merits.  Johari has one asset in common. DAP are outsiders who promise to cleanse the gutters of   DBKL corruption would have no answers on electricity rates, water or crime. electricity from corporations, who are even less generous; and the police is run by the Centre. Some battles are better lost.. If  Johari  with an energized urban Malays cadre in support, remains the only claimant to honesty’s mantle,Pakatan could face electoral upheaval. But if  his mantle can be shared with other BN parties, voter focus will not split.

Street philosopher, social analyst and political commentator

,Mahathir and Celebrating the old masters and the Renaissance Man stares at a four-gone conclusion
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak needs to change his ways and start doing the right things to ease the burden of the people, otherwise BN will risk losing the next general election, former journalist and prominent blogger Abdul Kadir Jasin said readmore http://themalaybusinesstribune.blogspot.com/2014/02/mahathi-s-nationalism-and-start-of.html