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 .....
