History taught us a good lesson.
During the administration of former PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he was infamous of his flip-flop decision making, attracting criticism from every corner with the harshest critic came from his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad.
Eventually, with a combination of a few other negative factors, he was forced to pass the baton to the current PM Najib Tun Razak.
A few months after the transition of leadership, while the 1Malaysia ideology by the new PM is still very much, well, a half-cooked ideology, the PAS president Abdullah Hadi Awang told reporters at a press conference at the PAS muktamar that both PKR and DAP have reacted positively to his suggestion in forming a unity government.
Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat called this idea ridiculous with his protege Husam Musa reiterated the similar stance.
The PAS central working committee member voted in with the highest vote Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin also believes that the mooted unity talks with Umno will not take place and the matter was not discussed by the delegates at the muktamar.
Another PAS delegate from Selangor, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad told the delegates that "it is very important for us to know our enemies or foes so that we would not be cheated by these people claiming they want to be peaceful with us".
DAP leader Lim Kit Siang refuted the claim.
"The question of unity talk to form a Pakatan Rakyat-Barisan Nasional government never arose or discussed at any Pakatan Rakyat leadership meeting," he said.
This is followed by another affirmation from the PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali that Pakatan Rakyat has not agreed with the unity government involving Umno and at no time has the Pakatan leadership council, has endorsed the idea.
Last but not least, don’t forget the existence of the PAS supporters club too. They’re not there because PAS intends to work with Umno and their objectives should be made crystal clear to the leardership, especially the top 2, if they’re ignorant enough to listen to the members.
“Please don’t do something that could tarnish our image and go back to the old ways by isolating the non-Muslims from the party. What is the meaning of our support to PAS if the party deviates from its original struggle?” said the PAS supporters club deputy president Vincent Lee who expressed concern over the "secret talks".
The bottom line is, PAS is not about a party for the duo – neither the president nor the deputy president. Young professionals and "Erdogans" have a fair share of representation in both the vice-president camp and the powerful central working committee.
In the end of the day, common sense will prevail. If the top duo is so much keen to work with Umno, I’d expect the central working committe to urge their leaders to quit and join Umno without risking the future of the PR coalition, just because the need to fulfill the dream of the duo.
The dream of many Malaysians is a lot bigger than that.
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I voted a PAS assemblymen into into the Pahang state assembly representing Beserah, Kuantan. I’m sorely dissapointed that UMNO’s Hidup Melayu chant finally affected the PAS psyche as well. *sigh*…
I hope everyone studies this carefully crafted article by Awang Selamat (Utusan), one of the best apologists and spin doctors Umno has to offer us, and reflect on the cynicism, hypocrisy and corruption that opportunists hope might appeal to backwards feudal mentalities so beloved of those who walk the corridors of power in Putrajaya.
Let us examine the Awang Selamat article.
When Awang Selamat writes the malays have been betrayed, then he is keeping very good company indeed. Adolf Hitler repeatedly wrote the Germans have been betrayed by the minority Jews. Karadzan Milosevic repeatedly said the Serbians have been betrayed by the minority Bosnians.
Robert Mugabe repeatedly said the Zimbabweans have been betrayed by the foreign West. The BJP regularly say that the Hindus have been betrayed by the minority Muslims.
Nevertheless I am certain that the Malays nowadays are not as uninformed as Awang Selamat and his political masters in Umno would like to believe.
The fact is, Malaysia is fast becoming another basket case country – and the most important thing if you can’t fix the problem or won’t fix the problem is that – Umno can still make sure they win the next elections by fixing the blame.
There is rampant theft by Umno elites, wholesale corruption by Umno cronies whereby the rich and connected malays are entitled to rob the poor and everybody else under the guise of social justice via the NEP, Umno nepotism in the leadership selection process, a fixed judiciary by Umno, a fixed police by Umno and a fixed electoral commissions by Umno.
Why should Umno leaders fix the problem when they are getting richer by the minute via corruption, cronyism and nepotism?
Awang Selamat like other Utusan hacks have been hired to do the job for Umno – make sure Umno can fix the blame onto the non-Malays via a good dose of racist rhetoric, scare mongering, hate mongering, bigotry and ethnic xenophobia – straight from the serious and weighty editorial section of Utusan.
They all have been victims – the minority Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, minority Jews in Nazi Germany, minority Muslims in BJP India, minority whites in Zimbabwe and of course, the minority non-Malays in Malaysia.
There are no prizes for guessing who is being prepared for the role of the fall guy, scapegoat and bogeyman by Umno in Malaysia – it is Hindraf, the Bar Council, Bersih, DAP, PAS and PKR.
Adolf Hitler, Karadzan Milosevic, Robert Mugabe, BJP and Umno gangs all have one thing in common – they became obscenely powerful, filthy rich while their countrymen suffered, starved and died for it.
All the while their leaders shouted – traitor this and traitor that – as if the louder they shouted the more easily their lies could be believed.
Luckily there are a lot of Malay-Muslims in Malaysia who think for themselves, and not swallow everything Utusan tells them to. How stupid do Umno spin doctors think the rakyat have become?
As for rich Umno elites getting contracts and scholarships, and poor bright non-Malay students not even getting a place in our higher institutes of learning, this is Umno version of social justice – what a joke, what a travesty, what a monstrous lie.
The fact is Umno cannot make enough money to support their mansions, exotic cars, and wives without stealing from you and me – so Umno version of social justice will always be Umno steals from everybody – you should know by now Umno loves stealing from the poor because the poor are just such easy targets – Malays, Chinese, and Indians – semua di makan oleh Umno – sedapnya!
Awang Selamat appears aggrieved that today generation of Malay Muslim leaders might actually believe in freedom, equality and fraternity. He might be upset that some Malay Muslim leaders are trying to preach goodwill and compassion to everyone – regardless of race or creed.
I suppose this is a shocking betrayal of Umno apartheid policies where in Malaysia today you can be threatened, mollycoddled, scapegoat-ed or jailed strictly on the basis of your ethnic origins.
As a word of caution, I am sure the boys at Utusan will mix it up for their readers – sound conciliatory at some times and then sound racist xenophobic at other times – because even the most stupid people will be able to see through their ploy.
So recently when Muhyiddin ostensibly tells Utusan off in public for being too racist, what he actually means is this – You Utusan hacks are fooling nobody so please change tactics for now – later when the climate is more conducive, then you can try being racist again!
Whether the average Malay thinks Awang Selamat is talking sense or nonsense, it is immaterial to me as I have already emigrated to a country where they insist on equal citizenship, equal opportunity, inter racial solidarity, freedom of speech, rule of law, and freedom of religion – and they insist you get it for free.
Although I love my place of birth, and I am used to racial and religious idiocy from people like Awang Selamat, I see no good reason why my children should have to put up with the same institutionalised racism in a rapidly declining Third World basket case like Umno apartheid Malaysia.
In future, it won’t really matter if the next generation become university graduates or not because the Malaysian public universities will be so rotten that the degrees will be just worthless pieces of paper. What future will the kids have then?
The fate of Malaysia will always be in the hands of the malays. I hope they will choose wisely but then again, it is way too late for me and my family, because I am busy creating a life for myself abroad.
With people like Awang Selamat to lead the way for Umno, in spite of the pain of separation from old friends and family in Malaysia, and loneliness I feel abroad, I smile to myself every time I read Utusan, because I definitely know I made the right decision leaving for a country abroad that actually has a future.