Stop Talking About Umno, Talk About Yourself

Do not bother telling us what is in the mind of Umno. Tell us what is in your mind. We do not care what Umno is thinking. We want to know what you are thinking. We know Umno and whether it is good or bad we already know. But we do not know you because thus far you are only talking about what is wrong with Umno but not what is right with you.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A week ago, I wrote “It Is Mahathir, Not Najib, Who Is Panicking” (READ HERE). Today, Free Malaysia Todayreported “Mahathir-Anwar alliance causing panic in Umno, says Dr Dzul” (READ BELOW). Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad is PAN’s strategist or strategic director and he either does not know political strategy or he thinks disinformation is good enough to win elections.

Dr Dzul said Umno is in a state of panic and that ‘the strengthening of the formidable legendary duo of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim was simply mind-blowing to them’.

When you start believing in your own grandeur this is what happens. In the game of propaganda there is one golden rule you must observe: which is do not start believing your own propaganda. Propaganda is meant to con the other person, not to get taken in by your own con. And Dr Dzul is a victim of his own propaganda.

Dr Dzul is taking ‘the absence of comments’ as an indication that Umno is stumped. I would consider the opposite to that if I were in charge of the party’s political strategy. If Umno makes many comments, especially comments that are apologetic or are trying to justify what happened, then you can probably say they are in a state of panic. But if they just keep quiet I would be worried.

Dr Dzulkefly talks so much about Umno but never talks about what his own party is going to do if it comes to power

If your enemy keeps quiet it is either they do not fear what you say and feel it is not going to have any affect or they are planning something. I would rather my enemy says or does something so that I know what is up their sleeve.

What gave Dr Dzul the impression that ‘the strengthening of the formidable legendary duo of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim was simply mind-blowing’? Has Dr Dzul not considered the possibility that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak wanted Mahathir and Anwar to go to bed because there will be more negatives than positives in such a move?

Surely Dr Dzul has not forgotten when Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) was launched on 4th April 1999 and the formation of Barisan Alternatif seven months later. Dr Dzul was already the ‘brains’ behind PAS then. Dr Dzul also probably remembers that the Barisan Alternatif coalition almost did not happen and at the eleventh hour they were considering going solo because of two reasons.

Dr Dzulkefly must also explain this video because Mahathir has so far never said that Anwar never committed sodomy and that it was all a lie just to put him in jail

One was that DAP wanted PAS to officially announce that it was going to drop its Hudud and Islamic State agenda. PAS refused so DAP wanted to call off the opposition coalition and go for three- or four-corner contests.

Second was that they could not agree on the seat allocation and there were many overlapping seats which PAS, DAP and PKN all wanted and which would have turned the election into three- or four-corner contests with three opposition candidates versus just one from Barisan Nasional.

Finally, to end the impasse, PAS inserted a full-page advertisement in The Star announcing that PAS was NOT going to implement Hudud or turn Malaysia into an Islamic State if Barisan Alternatif were to win the November 1999 general election and gets to form the new federal government. They also promised to arrest all those who have robbed the country and make them pay for their crimes, such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

So, from the word go, PAS, DAP and PKN never got along well. Nevertheless, they still formed a coalition because they had a common enemy to defeat. And this enemy was Mahathir. PKN would not have existed if not because of Mahathir. Barisan Alternatif would also not have existed if not because of Mahathir. Basically PKN and Barisan Alternatif were anti-Mahathir movements.

Barisan Alternatif was an anti-Mahathir movement so how does Dr Dzulkefly justify putting the fox in charge of the chickens

So why should Umno consider the Mahathir-Anwar alliance as ‘mind-blowing’? That is not a positive development. That is negative. That shows they are desperate if they can stoop as low as that. And yet they say it is Umno that is desperate when they are making deals that only desperate people would make.

How do they now explain their U-turn? Are they now united just because of 1MDB, which is the impression Dr Dzul is trying to give? How many seats are they going to win because of 1MDB? More than the 112 seats needed to form the new federal government? And where are those seats? Name them!

Both Mahathir and Anwar have never openly stated anything. Have they announced that Sharia laws will be abolished so that the dual and overlapping legal system can be removed and Malaysia can apply Secular Laws? Have they announced that the Federal Constitution of Malaysia would be amended to remove the ambiguity and make it clear that Malaysia is a Secular State and not an Islamic State like Mahathir said?

What does Dr Dzulkefly have to say about Article 153 and does he agree with this DAP view? 

Are they going to abrogate Article 153 in the Constitution so that Malay rights and privileges or Ketuanan Melayucan be abolished and the system of racial quotas can be removed and all Malaysians would be treated equal?

Now, why are these (plus many more) important? Well, this is because DAP says this is what divides Malaysians and unless these issues are resolved Malaysians would continue to be divided along racial and religious lines. Pakatan Harapan also says this is one reason why Barisan Nasional needs to be ousted, because Malaysians are being divided along racial and religious lines due to these government policies.

So, Malaysia is diseased, says Pakatan Harapan. And those are the diseases that ails Malaysia. Pakatan Harapan, however, has not stated clearly whether it is prepared to cure those diseases that it says are inflicting Malaysia. Dr Dzul, who is their political strategist, must tell us what they plan to do when they come to power instead of just saying that the Mahathir-Anwar alliance is mind-blowing and Umno is panicking because of it.

Do not bother telling us what is in the mind of Umno. Tell us what is in your mind. We do not care what Umno is thinking. We want to know what you are thinking. We know Umno and whether it is good or bad we already know. But we do not know you because thus far you are only talking about what is wrong with Umno but not what is right with you.

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Mahathir-Anwar alliance causing panic in Umno, says Dr Dzul

(FMT) – Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad says Umno ministers are attacking Pakatan Harapan, following the announcement of the opposition coalition’s new leadership council, because they no longer see Prime Minister Najib Razak as a viable leader for the ruling party.

Referring to the “state of panic” in Umno and the reaction from a number of senior ministers, the Amanah strategic director said the attacks were “deplorable”, and lacked any coordination.

“The strengthening of the formidable legendary duo of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim, was simply mind-blowing to them.

“Umno’s strategists and spin doctors, bloggers included, were caught flat-footed, hence their statements were not on the same page. Much worse were the efforts of so-called academics in their ivory towers,” Dzulkefly said.

He added that with the latest suit by the United States Department of Justice to seize assets purchased with money linked to state-owned investment fund 1MDB, and the criminal convictions of many confidantes of Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) and their confessions in Singapore courts, “Najib has truly become a lame duck leader of Umno and the BN”.

Dzulkefly said the absence of comments from the “brighter ministers” from Umno, namely Khairy Jamaluddin, Johari Ghani, and Nor Jazlan, in the wake of the DoJ announcement last month, suggests that even they know that it is no longer worthwhile to defend the indefensible.

“Worse still, Umno is facing an actual crack from within. Simply put, after two sessions of putting aside party polls, the rumblings and undercurrents are gaining momentum. Cracks in Umno’s top leadership are an open secret.”

According to Dzulkefly, the word from inside Umno is that there are two thoughts on when to hold the next general election.

“Divisional chiefs that continue to enjoy financial perks from the ‘politics of patronage’ are wanting to delay the dissolution of Parliament and perhaps to the hilt, by middle next year.

“However, other grassroots leaders who are suffering, like the ordinary rakyat, are clamouring for a quick kill. Hence, little wonder Najib is in two minds,” Dzulkefly said, adding that Najib is “notoriously known to be risk averse”.

The Amanah leader said the failure to attract PAS grassroots support, despite all the attempts at wooing the Islamist party’s leadership, just further aggravates Najib’s predicament.

“There is no solution in sight, and this is indeed extremely agonising for him.”