Umno must take the blame
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=21053
Zainon Ahmad
When the Alliance, the forerunner of the Barisan Nasional, performed disastrously in the May 1969 general election, many in Umno blamed the MCA for not pulling its weight among the Chinese.
In the peninsula, the coalition of Umno-MCA-MIC won only 66 of the 103 parliamentary seats in that general election, lost Penang, nearly lost Terengganu, failed to re-capture Kelantan from PAS, and did not have a
majority in either Perak (won only 19 out of 40 seats in the state assembly) and Selangor (14 out of 28).
Umno won only 51 out of the 67 seats it contested (76%), MCA 13 out of 33 and MIC two out of three. The three parties together obtained only 48.5% of the popular vote.
Bruised and hurt by Umno's snide remarks, MCA president Tun Tan Siew Sin announced his party's withdrawal from the government.
Three days later riots broke out, an emergency was declared and, known only to a handful, a quiet "palace revolution" took place. Prime Minister and Umno president Tunku Abdul Rahman was told to go.
The BN performed just as disastrously in the recently-concluded general election. The coalition of 14 parties lost its two-thirds majority with the dominant Umno, the leader of the pack, winning only 78 of the 117 parliamentary seats it contested (67%).
Within the BN, the question is who is to be blamed now and who is to take responsibility for the poor showing. Reformist MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, whose party won only 15 of the 40 parliamentary seats it contested, declared he is taking responsibility for the losses and would not join the new cabinet.
But it is clear who or which party the leaders of the peninsula BN component parties blame for the punishment their parties received at the hands of voters.
After all, which party leaders raised the keris, said that "we can go it alone as we are 60% of the population", spoke of the unfinished Malay agenda, shouted to non-Muslims to stay away from matters involving Islam, insisted that Allah is exclusive to Muslims, called for the extension of the NEP and rebuked a delegation of non-Malay ministers when they made representation to the prime minister to register their dissatisfaction?
In fact even before Parliament was dissolved and while Umno leaders were going around the country distributing goodies among the rural people, MCA and Gerakan leaders were complaining that they and their people were neglected.
"They seem to have forgotten that we are part of the BN too and need all the help we can get," complained one MCA minister.
Even in Umno, a number of leaders have some idea who to blame, but as Malays – who were described by British colonialists as "nature's finest gentlemen" – they are too polite to say it. While they understand why there was a swing among Chinese and Indian voters away from BN they are still mulling over the swing of about 5% of Malay voters to the Opposition.
They know the pull and the push factors associated with such personalities as party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein whose unflattering caricatures waving the Malay weapon dotted the landscape in Perak.
In fact what is Umno today? Party leaders down the line say it is empty inside and the once feared election machinery is no longer functioning. They say when Umno leaders said the party was 95% ready for the general election, nothing significant had been done to prepare.
As for Anwar, he and his people did nothing else but prepare all kinds of paraphernalia and video CDs that projected entertaining anecdotes about Umno ministers and leaders on hundreds of screens during the campaign period
Was Umno a united force during the elections? Not really, said the downline leaders. In Perlis, for instance party leaders fought before the polls, and they were still fighting quite publicly a week after the last vote was counted.
And Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who led his party to such credible performance, losing only one constituency – and that too by a mere 53 votes, was reappointed mentri besar after a long wait.
Terengganu too has its "warring factions". The muted power struggle – normal in any political party – almost broke out into the open over the choice of candidates for the general election. Mentri Besar Datuk Idris Jusoh is now unsure he will get a second chance.
It is clear that the power struggles and factionalism in Kedah, Perak and Selangor caused the party to lose the states. And in Kelantan, Umno was rudely snubbed in its bid to recapture the state.
There are problems of similar nature in Malacca too just as there are similar problems in the party in Penang, home state of Abdullah.
Those in the know say the problem in Terengganu is expected to be resolved by early next week. Again everyone knows that "resolved or selesaikan" is euphemism for compensation or rewards.
And this in essence is another major problem within Umno. Members have become so greedy, so obsessed with self-enrichment that perjuangan (struggle) has taken on a new meaning.
It is no longer the party struggle for bangsa, agama dan tanahair (nation, religion and country), the party slogan of the early years – that has taken a back seat – but the narrow individual struggle to amass wealth.
Thus the by-words among many party members these days are compensation, reward, contract, commission, projects and habuan (share). And always at the end of most transactions the question that
is slyly asked – no longer shyly asked – is "what is there in it for me?"
At no time is the need to be compensated or rewarded more intense than now, just a month away from party elections at branch and divisional levels which will culminate with the main party caucus towards the end
of the year where the main party leaders are elected.
These days, being mere branch leaders have its rewards and clout too. Rewards for division leaders are even much bigger. He may get contracts worth millions.
This explains why even for the previously humble post of branch leader, there is intense fight for it. He also stands to gain more in this election year if he is chosen to be a delegate – and is wooed for his vote.
Thus those aspiring to be branch leaders need to have small war-chests while those aspiring to be divisional leaders need bigger ones. And those fighting to be elected members of the party supreme council need
much bigger ones.
Thus, for many Umno candidates, their sights have been on party election for a long time now. Getting to be Yang Berhormat adds clout to their bid to be chosen as division leaders and members of the party supreme council.
And hence the struggle among Umno leaders to be chosen as candidates and the frustration and anger they must have felt when they were not chosen, and it is known that some vindictive ones even undermined
those contesting.
No doubt some also lost because party workers refused to continue working when the allocation meant for them did not arrive. Thus, many campaign posts had to be abandoned. For Umno, volunteerism is long gone.
Updated: 12:12AM Fri, 14 Mar 2008
------------------
2008/03/14
Reform or become irrelevant, BN told
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/2186344/Article/index_htm\
l
By : Ridzwan Abdullah
KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional will have to undergo major reforms if it intends to remain relevant, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said.
He conceded that the results of the recent election had exposed discontent in sections of the community.
"What we have done is just not enough. This is my view," Hishammuddin said at the opening of the 43rd Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organisation (Seameo) Council conference and third Asean education ministers' meeting here yesterday.
He said prime minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had indicated an independent post-mortem of the polls results ould be carried out.
"Clearly, we heard a protest vote."
BN won 140 seats for a simple majority in parliament while the other parties won 82.
Hishammuddin said BN was not in denial.
"We know our weaknesses. We must undertake major reforms, major changes if we are going to meet the expectations of the public."
That, he added, would start with the new cabinet line-up.
Hishammuddin said that despite the poor showing, the polls results were not an outright rejection of the ruling coalition and its leaders.
"One major problem is that we have not been listening to the people."
He said there were many reasons why the people had voted against BN, and an honest analysis was needed without going on a witch-hunt.
Hishammuddin also rejected suggestions that BN's poor showing was owing to weaknesses in Umno, saying that "unfit" leaders would eventually be weeded out.
Instead, he said it was time for the party and other BN component parties to close ranks and work hard to regain the confidence and
trust of the people
Hishammuddin said Umno Youth would begin rebuilding once the cabinet was unveiled.
---------------------------
Malaysia: Prime Minister Promises To Listen To The People
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/8556
2008-03-13 17:03
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi promised that he will listen to the voices of the people to develop the economy and combat crimes, after Barisan Nasional (BN) suffered great loss in the 2008 general elections.
"In the recent elections, we lost many parliamentary seats and five states. We need to contribute more things to the people who are dissatisfied with us."
"I know many people are discontented, I accept that this is our responsibility. Therefore, the new government which belongs to all Malaysians will look for practical solutions to ease their dissatisfaction and listen to their grievances to make correction."
Abdullah made the above response on the 12th general elections Thursday (13 Mar) in an interview with Asian Wall Street Journal.
Abdullah said that the polling day on last Saturday (8 Mar) has proven that Malaysia has a free, fair and competitive democratic system. (SinChew Daily)
--------------------------
Friday March 14, 2008
Leaders still think along racial lines
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/14/focus/20639171&sec=focu\
s
THE recently concluded general election was a breath of fresh air from several fronts, and kudos to the Government and Election Commission for allowing a fair and free election in our country.
A strong Opposition plays an important role in any democratic government but the remarks from some leaders after the election certainly caught me by surprise, and those statements were disappointing at best.
The MP for Gua Musang stated that it was not only a disaster for Umno and BN but also a disaster for the nation. How can we conclude that the people's choice of electing members of the Opposition party in certain states equate to a national disaster?
I personally think having fresh faces in Government, be it BN or the Opposition, is always a good thing, especially since the people of Malaysia are clearly frustrated with practices in the past administrations in which corruption, cronyism and sheer incompetence were rife.
Datuk S. Subramaniam has called on all Indians in the nation to unite with the objective of revitalising the MIC, while MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting is now committed full time towards rebuilding the MCA and winning back the support of the Chinese.
In Penang, the Chairman of the Malay Chamber of Commerce has requested that the DAP-led government appoint Malay state assemblymen as state executive councillors as they could deal with the problem of the
Malays.
Why can't the BN move towards a unified political party platform and have Malaysians deal with Malaysian issues, regardless of race, gender or religion?
We must stop viewing everything in this country through an ethnic prism. Instead, we should start working together as Malaysians, period.
The BN's biggest component parties are Umno, MCA and MIC – all of which are political organisations based on ethnicity. If we are to succeed as a nation moving forward, we must do away with this structure and have a true multi-racial BN, and not a BN coalition of multiple races.
The success of PKR and DAP in the recent election proves that the people of Malaysia want this.
Just over 40 years ago, African-Americans could not even stay in most hotels in the southern states of America such as Alabama and Mississippi. Yet the United States has progressed by leaps and bounds, focusing on equality and civil liberties to the point that an African-American is now running for president today. Can we expect such a change in Malaysia?
I hope the nation's leaders wake up to two simple but universally important realities. First, a strong Opposition is a good thing as it keeps the right checks and balances for the ruling executive. Secondly, Malaysia must move forward by having a truly multi-ethnic political framework and do away with political parties drawn along ethnic lines.
We must view the future of our nation not through an ethnic prism, but a human one that is blind to race, religion and gender, if we are to succeed as a nation.
VIJAYANDHRAN VALAYATHAM,
Petaling Jaya.
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=21053
Zainon Ahmad
When the Alliance, the forerunner of the Barisan Nasional, performed disastrously in the May 1969 general election, many in Umno blamed the MCA for not pulling its weight among the Chinese.
In the peninsula, the coalition of Umno-MCA-MIC won only 66 of the 103 parliamentary seats in that general election, lost Penang, nearly lost Terengganu, failed to re-capture Kelantan from PAS, and did not have a
majority in either Perak (won only 19 out of 40 seats in the state assembly) and Selangor (14 out of 28).
Umno won only 51 out of the 67 seats it contested (76%), MCA 13 out of 33 and MIC two out of three. The three parties together obtained only 48.5% of the popular vote.
Bruised and hurt by Umno's snide remarks, MCA president Tun Tan Siew Sin announced his party's withdrawal from the government.
Three days later riots broke out, an emergency was declared and, known only to a handful, a quiet "palace revolution" took place. Prime Minister and Umno president Tunku Abdul Rahman was told to go.
The BN performed just as disastrously in the recently-concluded general election. The coalition of 14 parties lost its two-thirds majority with the dominant Umno, the leader of the pack, winning only 78 of the 117 parliamentary seats it contested (67%).
Within the BN, the question is who is to be blamed now and who is to take responsibility for the poor showing. Reformist MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, whose party won only 15 of the 40 parliamentary seats it contested, declared he is taking responsibility for the losses and would not join the new cabinet.
But it is clear who or which party the leaders of the peninsula BN component parties blame for the punishment their parties received at the hands of voters.
After all, which party leaders raised the keris, said that "we can go it alone as we are 60% of the population", spoke of the unfinished Malay agenda, shouted to non-Muslims to stay away from matters involving Islam, insisted that Allah is exclusive to Muslims, called for the extension of the NEP and rebuked a delegation of non-Malay ministers when they made representation to the prime minister to register their dissatisfaction?
In fact even before Parliament was dissolved and while Umno leaders were going around the country distributing goodies among the rural people, MCA and Gerakan leaders were complaining that they and their people were neglected.
"They seem to have forgotten that we are part of the BN too and need all the help we can get," complained one MCA minister.
Even in Umno, a number of leaders have some idea who to blame, but as Malays – who were described by British colonialists as "nature's finest gentlemen" – they are too polite to say it. While they understand why there was a swing among Chinese and Indian voters away from BN they are still mulling over the swing of about 5% of Malay voters to the Opposition.
They know the pull and the push factors associated with such personalities as party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein whose unflattering caricatures waving the Malay weapon dotted the landscape in Perak.
In fact what is Umno today? Party leaders down the line say it is empty inside and the once feared election machinery is no longer functioning. They say when Umno leaders said the party was 95% ready for the general election, nothing significant had been done to prepare.
As for Anwar, he and his people did nothing else but prepare all kinds of paraphernalia and video CDs that projected entertaining anecdotes about Umno ministers and leaders on hundreds of screens during the campaign period
Was Umno a united force during the elections? Not really, said the downline leaders. In Perlis, for instance party leaders fought before the polls, and they were still fighting quite publicly a week after the last vote was counted.
And Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who led his party to such credible performance, losing only one constituency – and that too by a mere 53 votes, was reappointed mentri besar after a long wait.
Terengganu too has its "warring factions". The muted power struggle – normal in any political party – almost broke out into the open over the choice of candidates for the general election. Mentri Besar Datuk Idris Jusoh is now unsure he will get a second chance.
It is clear that the power struggles and factionalism in Kedah, Perak and Selangor caused the party to lose the states. And in Kelantan, Umno was rudely snubbed in its bid to recapture the state.
There are problems of similar nature in Malacca too just as there are similar problems in the party in Penang, home state of Abdullah.
Those in the know say the problem in Terengganu is expected to be resolved by early next week. Again everyone knows that "resolved or selesaikan" is euphemism for compensation or rewards.
And this in essence is another major problem within Umno. Members have become so greedy, so obsessed with self-enrichment that perjuangan (struggle) has taken on a new meaning.
It is no longer the party struggle for bangsa, agama dan tanahair (nation, religion and country), the party slogan of the early years – that has taken a back seat – but the narrow individual struggle to amass wealth.
Thus the by-words among many party members these days are compensation, reward, contract, commission, projects and habuan (share). And always at the end of most transactions the question that
is slyly asked – no longer shyly asked – is "what is there in it for me?"
At no time is the need to be compensated or rewarded more intense than now, just a month away from party elections at branch and divisional levels which will culminate with the main party caucus towards the end
of the year where the main party leaders are elected.
These days, being mere branch leaders have its rewards and clout too. Rewards for division leaders are even much bigger. He may get contracts worth millions.
This explains why even for the previously humble post of branch leader, there is intense fight for it. He also stands to gain more in this election year if he is chosen to be a delegate – and is wooed for his vote.
Thus those aspiring to be branch leaders need to have small war-chests while those aspiring to be divisional leaders need bigger ones. And those fighting to be elected members of the party supreme council need
much bigger ones.
Thus, for many Umno candidates, their sights have been on party election for a long time now. Getting to be Yang Berhormat adds clout to their bid to be chosen as division leaders and members of the party supreme council.
And hence the struggle among Umno leaders to be chosen as candidates and the frustration and anger they must have felt when they were not chosen, and it is known that some vindictive ones even undermined
those contesting.
No doubt some also lost because party workers refused to continue working when the allocation meant for them did not arrive. Thus, many campaign posts had to be abandoned. For Umno, volunteerism is long gone.
Updated: 12:12AM Fri, 14 Mar 2008
------------------
2008/03/14
Reform or become irrelevant, BN told
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/2186344/Article/index_htm\
l
By : Ridzwan Abdullah
KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional will have to undergo major reforms if it intends to remain relevant, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said.
He conceded that the results of the recent election had exposed discontent in sections of the community.
"What we have done is just not enough. This is my view," Hishammuddin said at the opening of the 43rd Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organisation (Seameo) Council conference and third Asean education ministers' meeting here yesterday.
He said prime minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had indicated an independent post-mortem of the polls results ould be carried out.
"Clearly, we heard a protest vote."
BN won 140 seats for a simple majority in parliament while the other parties won 82.
Hishammuddin said BN was not in denial.
"We know our weaknesses. We must undertake major reforms, major changes if we are going to meet the expectations of the public."
That, he added, would start with the new cabinet line-up.
Hishammuddin said that despite the poor showing, the polls results were not an outright rejection of the ruling coalition and its leaders.
"One major problem is that we have not been listening to the people."
He said there were many reasons why the people had voted against BN, and an honest analysis was needed without going on a witch-hunt.
Hishammuddin also rejected suggestions that BN's poor showing was owing to weaknesses in Umno, saying that "unfit" leaders would eventually be weeded out.
Instead, he said it was time for the party and other BN component parties to close ranks and work hard to regain the confidence and
trust of the people
Hishammuddin said Umno Youth would begin rebuilding once the cabinet was unveiled.
---------------------------
Malaysia: Prime Minister Promises To Listen To The People
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/8556
2008-03-13 17:03
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi promised that he will listen to the voices of the people to develop the economy and combat crimes, after Barisan Nasional (BN) suffered great loss in the 2008 general elections.
"In the recent elections, we lost many parliamentary seats and five states. We need to contribute more things to the people who are dissatisfied with us."
"I know many people are discontented, I accept that this is our responsibility. Therefore, the new government which belongs to all Malaysians will look for practical solutions to ease their dissatisfaction and listen to their grievances to make correction."
Abdullah made the above response on the 12th general elections Thursday (13 Mar) in an interview with Asian Wall Street Journal.
Abdullah said that the polling day on last Saturday (8 Mar) has proven that Malaysia has a free, fair and competitive democratic system. (SinChew Daily)
--------------------------
Friday March 14, 2008
Leaders still think along racial lines
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/14/focus/20639171&sec=focu\
s
THE recently concluded general election was a breath of fresh air from several fronts, and kudos to the Government and Election Commission for allowing a fair and free election in our country.
A strong Opposition plays an important role in any democratic government but the remarks from some leaders after the election certainly caught me by surprise, and those statements were disappointing at best.
The MP for Gua Musang stated that it was not only a disaster for Umno and BN but also a disaster for the nation. How can we conclude that the people's choice of electing members of the Opposition party in certain states equate to a national disaster?
I personally think having fresh faces in Government, be it BN or the Opposition, is always a good thing, especially since the people of Malaysia are clearly frustrated with practices in the past administrations in which corruption, cronyism and sheer incompetence were rife.
Datuk S. Subramaniam has called on all Indians in the nation to unite with the objective of revitalising the MIC, while MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting is now committed full time towards rebuilding the MCA and winning back the support of the Chinese.
In Penang, the Chairman of the Malay Chamber of Commerce has requested that the DAP-led government appoint Malay state assemblymen as state executive councillors as they could deal with the problem of the
Malays.
Why can't the BN move towards a unified political party platform and have Malaysians deal with Malaysian issues, regardless of race, gender or religion?
We must stop viewing everything in this country through an ethnic prism. Instead, we should start working together as Malaysians, period.
The BN's biggest component parties are Umno, MCA and MIC – all of which are political organisations based on ethnicity. If we are to succeed as a nation moving forward, we must do away with this structure and have a true multi-racial BN, and not a BN coalition of multiple races.
The success of PKR and DAP in the recent election proves that the people of Malaysia want this.
Just over 40 years ago, African-Americans could not even stay in most hotels in the southern states of America such as Alabama and Mississippi. Yet the United States has progressed by leaps and bounds, focusing on equality and civil liberties to the point that an African-American is now running for president today. Can we expect such a change in Malaysia?
I hope the nation's leaders wake up to two simple but universally important realities. First, a strong Opposition is a good thing as it keeps the right checks and balances for the ruling executive. Secondly, Malaysia must move forward by having a truly multi-ethnic political framework and do away with political parties drawn along ethnic lines.
We must view the future of our nation not through an ethnic prism, but a human one that is blind to race, religion and gender, if we are to succeed as a nation.
VIJAYANDHRAN VALAYATHAM,
Petaling Jaya.
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