– Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 02, 2011
JUNE 2 — This is a serious question. Will we vote for Ibrahim Ali?
I believe this is a relevant question for Malaysians to ponder because with each passing day this Perkasa mouthpiece seems to have pushed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and other Cabinet ministers from the mainstage of decision-making and politics.
After watching the local political scene for a few months, we can conclude a few things: Ibrahim is Umno and Umno loves Ibrahim.
Najib is scared of upsetting Ibrahim and Perkasa, probably out of some fear that the right-wing group can influence the outcome of how Malays vote and/or concern that not bowing to Ibrahim’s wishes will upset Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, supporter and patron of Perkasa.
Ibrahim has an inordinate influence in government, not proportionate to his intelligence or his standing as a so-called “independent” MP.
In recent weeks, Perkasa has forced Najib to change the pre-qualification criteria for the MRT contract and allow untested and probably politically-connected contractors to be able to bid for the lucrative contracts. Just imagine, this is like the office peon telling the company CEO who should be allowed to bid for a project.
And now Ibrahim is warning Najib against allowing UDA to go ahead and develop the former Pudu Jail land.
This is coming in the wake of Ibrahim threatening a crusade against Christians for a non-existent plot to take over the country. (Incidentally, are the police still investigating the case or have they decided to give Utusan Malaysia/Perkasa/Umno bloggers a free pass).
Then there was the threat by Ibrahim to hammer MCA for speaking out on the scholarship fiasco.
In every one of the episodes listed, Ibrahim either has been supported by Umno openly or has been allowed to molest the constitution and the decency of Malaysians by the inaction of Najib.
So in the final analysis I have to surmise that Ibrahim represents Umno and the party’s worldview.
So by extention, a vote for Ibrahim is a vote for Umno and a vote for Umno is a vote for Ibrahim.
Will you vote for Ibrahim Ali?