The Death Knell For All Future UMNO / BN Leaders - By Matthias Chang (12/1/11)

Mathias Chang- the lawyer, political analyst, economist, activist, doomsday phophet, writer etc etc etc all rolled into one) - once (maybe still) privy to the "inner-circle" at the "corridors of Putrajaya" now makes a very realistic assessment of the state of affairs in Malaysian politics.... for once!

In a nutshell - Umno has very much created a "catch-22" situation for themselves due to their short-sighted & selfish policies (the foundations of which were laid by Mathias Chang's idol- Mahathir Mohamed). Strangely, Mathias doesn't seem to "give credit where it is due" ....

The primitive & fascist methods employed by Mahathir doesn't seem to work anymore in the era of the internet- and the people are beginning to see what Umno and MCA (forget the other lapdogs for now) really are ....
As a result, Najib's "1-Malaysia" is now viewed as "1-Big Fat Lie" & a spectacular failure of titanic proportions even by his own apologists & sycophants.
It is just a matter of time before the we achieve the "critical mass" required to turn the tide against Umno's corruption, decadence, deceit and manipulation of the people .....

Here is what Mathias had to say (other than the many "Catch-22" situations Umno has created for itself):-

"The perception of unchallenged Federal Power was and is pivotal in Malaysian

politics.

UMNO has been so dominant in government and past General Elections that

commanding a two-third majority in Parliament was synonymous with UMNO’s

unchallengeable power and authority. That is why till today, UMNO is shaken to

its very core when it could not retain the two-third majority in Parliament in the

2008 General Election. The delineation of the parliamentary constituencies in

Peninsular Malaysia is such that most of the constituencies have Malay /

Bumiputera majority which in the past literally guaranteed its dominance and

hence the ability to seize a two-third majority in Parliament.

Since independence, the Prime Minister must be the undisputed leader of UMNO

who is also the leader of the governing coalition (first the Alliance which was

subsequently succeeded by the Barisan Nasional). No UMNO politician can

claim the coveted prize of Prime-Ministership unless he can establish that he

commands the support of the Malay majority. And since UMNO in the past can

lay claim to represent the Malay majority, no one in UMNO can challenge the

right of the leader of UMNO to be the Prime Minister. To buttress the perceived

“inalienable right”, the attainment of two-third majority in Parliament was

paramount. Two-third majority = UMNO dominated coalition!

That fundamental equation can no longer be taken for granted post the 2008

General Election. This was the unpardonable sin committed by the Badawi-led

administration when they failed to retain the two-third majority in Parliament. The

Genie is out of the bottle, the Pandora Box has been opened!

This was a shattering blow to the confidence of the ruling coalition from which

they have yet to recover fully.

Another shock came in the form of the strategic alliance between previous

irreconcilable political foes – that of PAS and DAP and the psychological break through by PAS in winning the hearts and minds of the non-Muslim communities.

The psychological strangle-hold of UMNO over the non-Muslim communities that

PAS was synonymous with Islamic extremism was broken irreparably when

Malay extremism was perceived as the greater threat to peace and harmony.

This was in no small part the result of the blowback of the Bush regime’s crude

demonisation of Islam and the brutal torture of Muslim inmates in Guantanamo

Bay and other prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. The crass labeling of Muslims as

religious fanatics was broadly viewed as Zionist Anglo-American propaganda.

The stoic and courageous resistance of Muslim inmates to brutal torture aroused

global sympathy. PAS members were generally perceived as not corrupt or less

corrupt than their counterparts in the ruling coalition and were more steadfast

ideologically and were not or less motivated by the pursuit of wealth or power.

This was remarkable considering that in the past similar attempts by Tengku

Razaleigh, the then leader of Semangat 46, to forge a broad opposition coalition

comprising of Semangat 46-PAS-DAP failed miserably.

This is the strategic dilemma facing the present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib

Razak. In the event that he fails to reclaim the two-third majority in Parliament in

the next General Election (which many have speculated would be held soon, in

the first half of 2011), can he claim legitimacy as the undisputed leader, firstly of

the Malay majority and secondly of the ruling coalition?

Would Datuk Seri Najib Razak be ousted in like manner as Badawi in 2009? ....

..... Hence, the noble effort of the Prime Minister in promoting the concept

of 1Malaysia will be an exercise in futility when history is blurred,

misperceptions are allowed to linger and bigotry formented by vested

interests across the political divided.

There are much more “realities” to be addressed, but if we fail to resolve the

above “perceived realities” as well as “entrenched realities”, it will be a hard

slog for the Barisan Nasional to reclaim the two-third majority. Already, there are

forces within the ruling party courted by foreign powers to step in place of the

current leader should he fail to reclaim the two-third majority.

In any event, should the two-third majority in Parliament be a sacrosanct

benchmark of future electoral success by a leader from UMNO, when the

premise for such a benchmark may no longer be relevant for the future of

Malaysia?

I appeal to all political leaders from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to

re-examine the premise of their political struggles if we are to succeed as a

united nation and avoid the path of national suicide taken by the leaders of what

was once a united Yugoslavia!"

- Matthias Chang (12/1/11), Two-Third Majority – The Death Knell For All Future UMNO / Barisan Nasional Leaders



PS
Well Said, Mathias .....