Category: UMNO

The only relief in the dreary 2014 UMNO General Assembly politics of fear, hate and lies is the admission by the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that it will only take 2% shift in voter support to end six decades of UMNO rule in the country.

It is a reminder as to how close the UMNO/BN government would have been voted out in the 13th General Election in May last year, if the electoral process had been really clean, free and fair, minus all the constituency gerrymandering and the undemocratic abuses and malpractices in the country.

As Muhyiddin admitted, a loss of two per cent voter support will translate to Barisan Nasional being reduced from its 133 seats won in the 13GE to 103 federal states, less than half of the 222-seat Parliament – comprising 68 UMNO seats and 35 non-UMNO seats.

A loss of five per cent voter support would have slashed the total BN seats to 81, comprising 53 UMNO and 28 non-UMNO seats.
It is precisely because of this fear of losing Federal power which explains why the 2014 General Assembly is such a disappointment to Malaysians who had hoped that UMNO leadership would rise to the occasion to establish its claim to continued rule in Malaysia by articulating a vision for a better tomorrow for all Malaysians.

Instead, moderate, rational and patriotic Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli, were subjected to a week-long torture of the politics of fear, hate and lies – holding out no uplifting vision for the future, whether for Malays or Malaysians. Continue reading “Only relief of the dreary 2014 UMNO General Assembly politics of fear, hate and lies is admission by Muhyddin that it will only take 2% shift in voter support to end six decades of UMNO rule”

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
29 November 2014

Umno was the party that moved for Malaya’s independence and later the formation of Malaysia together with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

Back then, Umno was a party of civil servants and intellectuals that advanced the cause of the Malays.

But if after the first couple of days of the Umno general assembly, Malaysians still believe in this party that gave us giants such as Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Tun Hussein Onn and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, they must be: a) suffering from permanent brain damage b) illiterate c) recent “citizens” d) Umno members e) all of the above.

It is not only the ridiculous fighting talk that has been nauseating, but the sheer obtuse nature of the debate and for want of a more palatable word, stupidity at display.

It is the ruling party since Merdeka, that is some 57 years ago, and yet it talks of an economic jihad for the Malays and Bumiputera as if the government it controls has done nothing.

It is the ruling party with access to all security information and yet one leader can brazenly say a Quran has been burnt in Kedah without any proof, and with a denial from no one less than the Kedah menteri besar. Continue reading “Is this the party that gave us the Tunku, Dr M?”

The UMNO General Assemblies this week have been a disastrous demonstration of the triple divisive and dirty politics of fear, hate and lies.

The underlying theme of the UMNO General Assemblies was to propagate the siege mentality that the Malays and Islam are under attack, but not to allow any critical or rational thinking and inquiry as to whether and how after 57 years of UMNO rule under six UMNO Prime Ministers, the Malays and Islam are under siege in 2014.

If Malays and Islam are indeed under siege today, then UMNO which has ruled the country for 57 years with six UMNO Prime Ministers, must bear the fullest responsibility and blame.

Are the present UMNO leaders, led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as UMNO President and Deputy President as well as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister respectively, prepared to admit that the 57 years of UMNO rule and the six UMNO Prime Ministers since 1957 had been such dismal failures as to result in Malays and Islam facing unprecedented siege in the nation’s history?

If 57-year UMNO rule under six UMNO Prime Ministers have brought such disastrous results to the Malays and Islam, then the answer must be found in removing UMNO from Putrajaya and not in perpetuating UMNO rule at the national level! Continue reading “Triple politics of fear, hate and lies at the UMNO General Assembly”

The Malaysian Insider
28 November 2014

Umno is losing its appeal among more Malaysians, and its president Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been the cause of this with new approaches that pushed the party out of the political spotlight, effectively making it less relevant to the people, The Edge Review columnist, Bridget Welsh, wrote.

Among these were the “outsourcing” of Umno’s traditional role as defender of the Malays to right-wing groups like Perkasa, competing with PAS to be the defender of Islam, use of government resources and machinery to dispense patronage, and relegating the party to the sidelines in the making of government policy.

Writing in this week’s edition of the digital magazine, Welsh, a political analyst, said Najib had changed Umno’s role and in so doing, made the party “less politically relevant”.

She noted that Umno has long relied on the “racial insecurity” of Malays to maintain power but outsourcing its role as defender of the Malays to other groups had “marked the start of Umno’s slide to the sidelines”.

Although these groups received government funding and were closely linked to Umno, holding memberships in both, they had come to take over Umno’s position in spearheading calls to protect Malay interests.

The next approach, competing with PAS to “position Umno as the defender of Islam in Malaysia” effectively moved Umno further from its “moderate roots”, causing it to be perceived by the public as becoming more zealous and hardline. Continue reading “Najib making Umno less relevant, says columnist”