Umno Baru - Unity in Cupidity (UPDATED)

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"When cupidity is the motive,
Unity is at once catastrophic and devastating"
- Ravi Zacharias
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Just as we come to the close of the 20th (60th if you fall for propaganda) Mahathirist Umno Baru general assembly, and start a new chapter in the political evolution of our nation, it is time we take stock of the message that has been conveyed by the the whole circus and drama.
Despite his shameless whining, culpable or not, Pak lah did mention one big truth -
"Materialism has seeped into the party, making a number of party members greedy and avaricious, hence creating the negative perception that Umno is a corrupt party."

The "Real General Elections" is now over - The Malaysian/ Mahathirist "Demo(n)cracy" has been played out in all its glory, all the choice of leaders have been (apparently) decided by 2500 individuals. As usual, it was an orchestrated scam par excellence, and in the truly Umno tradition, the posts will be tied to Government/Cabinet posts with no regard for competency.

As expected, Muhyiddin has made it past the finish line, while Hishamuddin gets a stab at the vice president post (with his beloved Kris, which the Youth have rejected, told him to shove where the sun don't shine) along with Shafie Afdal & Zahid Hamidi.
This now, assures that the window of opportunity to keep the dynasties of Aristocrats alive.
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====>>>>He's OUT....................But......................He's IN......................and.......................He's IN too!!
The whole circus was quite obviously a big charade of a "democracy" and scam of astronomical proportions. How does one justify it all, when we see Sabahans with absolutely no appeal among the vast majority non-"bahasa baku" speaking West Malaysian Umno-ites, being a VP? And two other Sabahans who aren't known for anything positive being in the new "exco"?
With these clowns as reps for Sabah in the exco, it's quite a cheap pay-off for keeping BN in power, if you ask me .....

Many "big guns" like Rais Yatim, Shahrir, Azalina, Adnan Yaakob, Ghani Othman, Isa Sabu & Mohd Hassan have got the chop. The delegates weren't let down though - note that in keeping with Umno culture and image, the bumbling and irrationally barking MPs - Bung Mokhtar of Kinabatngan & Tajuddin of Pasir Salak have made it to the Supreme Council.(Knowing Umno's "genius" for traditions & "culture", it cannot be ruled out that the infamous Bung might just be appointed as a Minister holding the Culture & Tourism portfolio, while Tajuddin holds the Information portfolio!!).

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The trade-off & tussle for the Youth post led to much accusations of rigging, based on insinuations of the loser and the post announcement clash between supporters. The discussion and video on this blog (Depa Kata) at least can attest to that. Of course - there had to be denials from the "in-your-face" victor (just as in Rembau) - leaving a bad taste. The winner of course made a pretense of being overwhelmed by the results after being written-off repeatedly. Despite being foreign born, bred and educated (also the most articulate and "sophisticated") Khairy has managed to "win" this coveted post - and all the talk about "closing ranks" will remain just that, while the stage is set for a cold war between the scions (and KJ risks being left out in the cold).

Battle Royale?

So there you have it - a spanking new "leadership", unblushingly screaming out accountability, righteousness and justice. Of one which receives much accolade from its minions/ adulation for its pledges of reform. One which claims to be whiter than white - despite allegations heartlessness & "cold blood on their hands".

Sadly though, in actual fact, not one of the candidates to any significant post can lay claim to being truly an advocate of integrity. It is a leadership which scorns Democracy, a free media, the rule of law, and despises accountability in a court of law . The "election of the team" however was preceded by plenty of hypocritical dramatics, wherein those guilty of "unethical conduct" were prevented from contesting or just reprimanded.
Yes - it was simply, plenty of horse-trading & "wayang kulit", with the "tok dalang" justifying and consolidating his position.
To make matters worse, the guilty were allowed to retain other political posts as a consolation prize for their "cooperation".
Much talk about "unity" & "reform" was made on all fronts ad nauseaum, without really knowing the motive for it (beyond greed, that is). To those peddling this idea, though clueless, it simply meant knowing which side their bread was buttered.
Beyond all the high flung ideals, in essence, none of them had any clue as what they needed to do towards nation building or achieving nationhood (which is the least of their concerns anyway). All of them were simply peddling racist ideals, with some proposing fascistic ideas of repression. Those who spoke of reforms were simply posturing, without really giving a fig about it.

Mahathir has definitely left a permanant legacy and stamped his mark in Umno Baru, which is virtually impossible to wipe out. The only thing is, it hasn't worked out according to his grand design (or "vision", as he calls it). This only further reinforces the idea that Umno is still needed, it can only reform when it is out of Federal power - despite all the pseudo-intellectual "analysis" from their mouthpieces in the MSM/Astro Awani.
In the end, all we got was a rehash of nauseating platitudes and stale exhortations of "cleanliness, integrity, ketuanan melayu, loyalty", while the party remains mired in what it has been for the past 20 Mahathirist years. We had in the past, the sleeping face of Umno in Abdullah. However, in line with the mantra of "change", the new leader does give a very fitting new image - Cupidity.

After all the "intrigue" and drama, there is but one message that rang loud and clear for all Malaysians -

"There is no Message. There is nothing new.

This Is Mahathir's covetous baby - just get used to it."

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NOTE
What does "salam" mean to you?
Whatever it may mean to you, it definitely doesn't mean "peace" in Umno. To Umno-ites, it means something else altogether - something more sinister. It is a culture which is so deeply entrenched, that it is boldly promoted and advocated by all and sundry within the "network".

Strangely, it was the MSM, NST online, which came out with an interesting piece on the "Salam" culture in Umno!! - "Umno General Assembly: Umno delegates “salam-ed” themselves to dubious largesse"
Here's an excerpt:

A conversation was overheard in the hall before the president’s pre-assembly address. “Have you salam-ed with all my division delegates?” asked a division chief to a Umno leader contesting in the party’s elections.
“I have salam-ed all of them except for two of them. Ask them to come to my hotel room tonight,” replied the contestant. I’m not too sure they’ll go. We’re worried about the MACC (the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency tasked with eliminating money politics). We feel their eyes on us everywhere,” said the worried division chief. “It is ok, just come to my friend’s room,” said the mollifying contestant.
It does not take an expert to guess what these two were talking about. For the uninitiated, ‘salam’ in Umno election refers to the act of giving bribes.

Do click on the link above for more .....