Mahathir
was an imperial Prime Minister who studiously overlooked ethical and legal
issues and caused the collapse of integrity in the manner our country was
governed. He was and still is an evil man who went after those that disagreed
with him with a vengeance bordering on lunacy.
How
else do you explain Ops Lallang carried out in October 27, 1987 that saw the
arrest of 106 persons under the insidious Internal Security Act? And then the
revoking of the publishing licenses of The Star and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and
two weeklies The Sunday Star and Watan?
There
was also his relentless prosecution of DSAI sans legal or civil niceties and
his deliberate use of naked political power to advance nepotism and greed
amongst UMNO, BN and preferred cronies.
What
we saw on the surface hid the realities of a Prime Minister who used any means
to consolidate his personal hold over party and nation. He brooks no
interference or dissent from within his own party or from without. There were
three DPM’s that never succeeded him. He used public funds to enrich his own
extended family and cronies. And most evil of all, he used race and religion to
divide and rule the people of Malaysia. During his time in power Mahathir had our
attention and grudging respect simply because power in Malaysia was totally his
purview. He was an imperial Prime minister in the worse sense of the word.
Eight
years after Mahathir left office we now have a ringside seat to be witness to
the dismantling of UMNO. A once proud and all powerful political organization
whose very mention once would have even parted the Red Sea if it chooses to do
so.
I
remember a time when being in the presence of an UMNO Minister was like being
in the presence of GOD himself. Every word he says is dissected and debated
over its hidden meaning, possible meaning, probable meaning and its intended
meaning. Not any more! Today that same UMNO Minister is on the defensive. He
has to watch what he does and what he says lest he is confirmed as a bumbling
idiot by the press and public. We know he is from another planet because the
way he conducts himself and his lifestyle is no longer relevant to our times
and our planet. The same can be said of most things UMNO!
If
the Malaysian people know the whole truth about UMNO. If all the facts about
the misuse of public funds and abuse of high public office for personal gain by
those in power are put on the table for all to see…..then I know that Malaysian
will do the right thing and vote UMNO & BN out of office. These years of
UMNO rule have destroyed many of their hopes many of their means to earn a
decent living and for some, their lives.
If
you look at what has happened in Tunisia this week you will see where Malaysia
is at now. Power used corruptly to make UMNO politicians rich.Power
used to stay in power without regard to anything else….and more relevant to
Tunisia – a public totally at the end of their patience and tolerance of a
political party gone rogue.
Whether
these frustrations will be channeled through the ballot papers or in an explosion of public fury as in Tunisia
- only time will tell. Either way it will see the end of UMNO–of this I
am sure.
At
the very least the 13 GE will put into place an effective two party system able
to balance itself against the other with the Public having the power to keep
those bastards honest. Maybe a third force holding the balance in Parliament
might emerge and we do have need of this in Parliament to play God to the
politicians. But the people will decide who will govern them.
Hussein,
ReplyDeleteHalf the population is uneducated be it in west or east malaysia.
Time to change the election laws once and for all.People who are'nt educated with a basic education should'nt be voting for a government of their choice.Period!
The better option should be to provide education to them, not deny them their right to vote. Change must come in the correct way.
ReplyDeleteChange like those in Tunisia will take a longer time to happen in Malaysia because the political parties especially those comprising the government of the day will always exploit "race issues" to win votes. Let's face it.....the mentality is always race first and country second. Until and unless we ALL think of ourselves as Malaysians first and unite....how could we ever topple the government like what happen in Tunisia and Philipines or even Thailand??
ReplyDeleteAnd the BN government knows it....that's why race issues are exploited to the hilt....you only have to look at Utusan.
Agreed with anon Wed 19/1/11 12:52:00PM GMT+10:30. I think uneducated people shdn't vote. They have been responsible for a corrupted regime that has plagued us for 50 odd years! Time to change the laws of voting rights and legitimacy!
ReplyDeleteDudes 12:52:00 PM and 3:57:00 AM,
ReplyDeleteYou are not thinking practicality... how do we judge who's educated and who's not? we can't govern by only emotions...
The best way to ensure change is for every educated ones to educate those who aren't.