There was a time some time back when "Mr. 1-Malaysia" lamented how his party "didn't know how to give their side of the story ...... But I have to hand it to him - he's managed to convince smarter people to help him out, where his party was sorely lacking. As such, he appears to have added a battalion of "intellectual spinmeister" mercenaries to his propaganda arsenal. As such, the propaganda blitz has intensified with a touch of sophistication & finesse, these days.
No it isn't the breed of crude & uncouth airheads like Awang Selamat or Abdullah Tee - those I speak of are much more polished and sophisticated, and are worthy "opponents" - to those who clamour for change from the usual Umno garbage. These breed do not make their allegiences obvious to those who are less discerning. Their mission is to deflect criticism from Mr 1-Malaysia, and get people to focus on apparently sensational issues and factors other than that caused by Umno's hegemony.
There is a current trend among "certain quarters", is to look for "ghosts under the bed" - so much so that parties like Umno & Perkasa are absolved of their mortal sins. Not just that - these sins are justified in any manner possible, using any religion, twisted logic, "intellectual discourse"/philosophy, public relations, advertisement or slogan to hoodwink the masses.
The issues have to be spun in any way possible to deflect culpability of these parties - "we cannot play the blame game"/ stop being "addicted"/ "it's larger than Umno"/ "don't politicize it" etc etc etc - are the catch phrases in these endeavor.
Going by the logic of these people, the only problem is that people don't understand the "pure & holy" intentions of Umno/ 1-Malaysia - becos the people are resistant to it, it isn't marketed well, they don't understand it (you can add the earlier spin to these ...).
You'll be surprised to hear these spin from the quarters that claim to be fighting for "the middle ground" but at the same time wouldn't fight for a more equitable Malaysia when push comes to shove.
Just like you - I too have been convinced for some time now that all the ills of our society have their genesis in our "Avatar" - Mahathir. To those who will not accept that - they'd say that I have a Mahathir fetish or that I'm am simply "addicted to him - while neglecting the fact that it is they who suck up to him, by justifying his persona & actions.
You'll see many of them around .... Let's leave the "Avatar" who ruled for 22yrs out of the equation for now - there are others who are more subtle. As erudite as he may be, going by his articles in The Star - I would guess that Shad Faruqi is one of them (at least where the social contract, Perak & "Allah" issues were concerned). There are a few others whom I wouldn't want to mention - because they have disguised their pseudo-intellectual hogwash very well in the name of "seeking the middle ground" (don't confuse this with DAPs recent sloganeering of "middle malaysia" please) - while subtly spinning to subvert the Federal Constitution and absolving Umno of blame, in the blinded eyes of a public rendered confused and submissive through intellectual gobbledygook.
Indeed - as some say, the problem is bigger than "Umno" - for the cancer of immorality, hypocrisy, decadence and corruption has spread into every facet of life as we know it in Malaysia. Among all these elements, these "intellectual spinmeisters" (whether they do it by design or simply unwittingly) I speak of are by far, the most dangerous of all "elements" in our society today.
Until and unless we have identified, discredited & weeded out these subversives, Malaysian politics and economy will be in doldrums - no matter what the demographics may be.
