Former group editor of UMNO's New Straits Times A. Kadir Jasin said UMNO members were currently in dilemma over the no-contest call for the party’s top two posts in the upcoming party election.
“To the public and the press, they agree that the top two positions should not be contested, ostensibly to prevent a split.
"...But they are despising, condemning and badmouthing. They protest against the top two posts not being contested,” wrote Kadir in a blog posting.
Under the new rule, Kadir said aspiring candidates must announce which post they are aiming for.
“For that, we understand the person who is worst affected by this dilemma is the number two man (Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO deputy president),” he added.
Kadir said he was convinced UMNO president Najib Razak would defend his position despite having performed worse than his predecessor Abdullah Badawi, who was forced to resign as UMNO president and prime minister after the 2008 general election.
“Has Muhyiddin, the person who showed the exit door to Abdullah, who had won 140 seats in Parliament, overlooked that Najib had actually performed worse?” chided Kadir.
Kadir said UMNO members should evaluate carefully who saved the party during the last general election.
“Was it the UMNO president or UMNO's rural supporters who feared about the Malays if PR won and DAP emerged the strongest party?” he asked, referring to the oft repeated claim by BN tha PR's victory would be disastrous to Malays.
Kadir also chided non-Muslims 'hypocrisy' in supporting Najib to remain as UMNO president, saying the latter had blamed the Chinese for BN’s performance.
But he added that the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, would not want to see a strong UMNO and government as it would make it harder for them to make demands. -HD
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
UMNO in trouble, says former UMNO chief propagandist
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Although Pakatan Rakyat has increased its representation in parliament, Barisan Nasional’s victory in the 13th general election is nothing less than solid.
ReplyDeleteBN chief Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia campaign has worked in the coalition’s favour, most noticeably in the Malay heartland.
ReplyDeleteThe Malays form the main segment of the bottom 40% of the population in terms of income, and they have put their trust in BN to fulfil its promise of improving their lot through programmes aimed at turning Malaysia into a high-income nation.
ReplyDeletehat said, there is a multiracial and largely urban movement determined to break the yoke of a patronising and autocratic clique and install a new government that adheres to the principles and values of a true democracy,
ReplyDeletebelieving that its egalitarian convictions would cause a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor, regardless of racial and cultural background.
ReplyDeleteThe results of the past two elections show that the support for Pakatan among urbanites is as firm as the belief among rural folk that BN is as good a saviour as they could ever hope for.
ReplyDeleteOpposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who claimed victory for Pakatan at 7pm yesterday, has since cried foul, accusing BN of rigging the polls.
ReplyDeleteDespite retaining Putrajaya, however, BN suffered some heavy blows, including the defeat of some prominent leaders, including three members of the previous federal cabinet and four deputy ministers.
ReplyDeleteSeveral spokesmen for BN and other commentators are saying that Najib’s transformation agenda gave the people new hope of moving Malaysia towards becoming a high-income economy.
ReplyDeleteThey also attribute the BN victory to Najib’s pledge to fulfil all of his election promises, including continuing with the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) as well as other financial assistance for the needy
ReplyDeleteWhether Najib or BN will indeed keep those promises is yet to be seen.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case, with the so-called two-party governing system now firmly entrenched, the days of BN holding uncontested power are gone. It will have to bear greater scrutiny of the way it governs.
Trusting the opposition to lead the country is akin to gambling away our precious future, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday..
ReplyDeleteOnly the Barisan Nasional coalition has the potential to propel the country to further excellence.
ReplyDeleteWe are since in helping all communities - something that has been evident in the past four years under my leadership,” he said after launching a compilation of 10 Tamil books authored by local writers at Universiti Malaya here, yesterday.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete“ Although many countries in the world are now facing economic problems, our economy is only going from strength to strength." he said.
Najib, who was clad in a Kurta suit, said the BN government had done many things for the Indian community - such as solving Mykad, citizenship and birth certificate woes faced by the community.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Najib, there were two phenomenon faced by every community in today’s world - globalisation and localisation.
ReplyDelete“ The first is to compete and adapt to challenges in a borderless world - at the same time maintaining our local culture and heritage.”
The premier lauded the Sakthi Foundation, led by Datuk R.S Thananthiran, for aiding the publication of the ten books, while bearing its full costs.
ReplyDelete“ I hope the release of these books will give the Indian community a “ puthiya nambikkai “ (new hope) about their standing in the society,” he said.
ReplyDeleteNajib said he made it a point to grace the event to honour Thananthiran’s invitation, although he was bogged down by preparations for the Umno annual general meeting starting soon.
ReplyDelete“ This is what I call “ Janji ditepati “ ( Promises fulfilled.)”
The books published yesterday comprise a compilation of novels, short stories, drama, as well as poems.
ReplyDeleteNajib expressed hope that the Malaysian Translation Institute would soon translate Tamil books into other languages for common reading.
The transformation carried out by the Barisan Nasional government is the most effective, meaningful way to bring about changes in the country, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
ReplyDeleteThere was no need, said Najib, for bold slogans and big flags to change the country's landscape, adding that the yardstick was whether these changes were effective and beneficial to the rakyat.
ReplyDeleteThe Government's way is to carry out changes through various transformation programmes and we can see the effect of this.
ReplyDelete“If you visit every corner of the country, including here in Kuala Pahang, you can see that real changes are happening and the rakyat are enjoying the benefits,” he said when launching a Rural Transformation Centre here in Kuala Pahang the fourth after Perak, Kelantan and Malacca.
ReplyDeleteThe Government, he added, still had many programmes to be implemented for the benefit of the people.
ReplyDeleteSaying that transformation was far better than reformation, he also called for the people to continually support the Government so that these programmes could be put in place.
ReplyDeleteLater, when launching the Barisan election machinery in Pekan, he urged party workers to ensure that the constituency remain under the coalition.
ReplyDelete“Pekan belongs to Barisan and we must protect it from the Opposition.
ReplyDelete“We must not allow the people to be misled by empty promises,” said Najib, who is also Pekan MP.
I will do my best for all of you. Even if I am not here, I will always remember you. I will make sure that aid and assistance will be channelled to the deserving at once,” he said.
ReplyDeleteExpressing his satisfaction with the constituency's machinery, he said their high spirit should be emulated by others.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNajib also reminded them to track down voters in the constituency and make sure that they return home on polling day to cast their ballots and secure a bigger win than the 26,464-majority recorded in the 2008 general election.
There is a positive swing of urban voters’ support towards Barisan Nasional (BN) – thanks to the various transformation programmes implemented by the government.
ReplyDeleteState BN secretary-general Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi said yesterday while the rural folk continued to remain staunch supporters of BN, the ruling coalition was also gaining momentum among urban voters.
ReplyDeleteRundi, who is also Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Electricity and Telecommunications), was responding to a question on whether Sarawak, regarded as BN’s fixed deposit, would play a key role in ensuring that BN achieves the two-thirds majority by winning all the rural seats in the state.
ReplyDeleteDuring the debate on the last day of the Umno General Assembly 2012 at the Putra World Trade Centre, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had expressed confidence that BN would achieve handsome victory, winning a two-thirds majority this time around.
ReplyDelete“We are confident of the support from rural areas and I am sure that PM is fully aware of the situation as a whole and his statement has the basis.
ReplyDelete“And having said that, there is also a positive swing for BN of support from urban voters too, since the transformation programmes was implemented, that the ‘Ubah’ within BN has taken place,” he told The Borneo Post.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, on Sunday, Bernama quoted Najib when officiating at the 59th annual general assembly of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) at the Putra World Trade Centre as saying that BN government had vast experience in administering the country since 55 years ago compared to the opposition pact which had no basic understanding in charting a good direction for the country.
ReplyDeleteNajib reportedly mentioned that the future could not be gambled away, as a vote for the opposition was a vote for an uncertain future.
ReplyDeleteTo this, Rundi asked: “Why do we need to change the present government or BN government for a more secure future for our children?”
ReplyDeleteToday, the Prime Minister has announced candidates who will be contesting in the coming GE13 and soon, we will be able to see the difference between politicians who are wise and mature, and those who are not.
ReplyDeleteThis is because, there is no way everyone is happy with the decision made by Prime Minister, no matter how smart, good, sincere or clean the chosen candidates are.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, the dissatisfaction occurred not because of issues on candidates, but it is just because of self interest. However, maturity should help us to accept any decisions to enable us to move forward.
ReplyDeleteBy making excuses for not being able to accept facts as well as refusal to move forward, this proves that these sort of people do not deserve to be candidates.
ReplyDeleteAs rakyat, we have the chance to choose the best and reject those who are immature. It seems like Dato’ Seri Najib has done his best to feature the best candidates, after considering the voice from grass roots and rakyat.
ReplyDeleteIf we are to complain with the attitude of a few of BN's small leaders who are arrogant, corrupt or stupid, and at the same time do not want to vote for the opposition which is way more evil, corrupt and stupid, this is the time for us to provide our full support towards candidates chosen by Dato’ Seri Najib.
ReplyDeleteWe also often complain about how potential candidates are rejected since the start, some even when they were given membership forms.
ReplyDeleteThose who have high academic credentials are 'blocked' due to the fear that they might be better than the Branch and Division Chief. Those who are hardworking,
ReplyDeletehonest and sincere are pushed aside because they might just 'steal the limelight' from the current leader. In the end, all political positions are filled with leaders who are no longer relevant. From there, those who are ignorant and those who refuse to work would stay on top, raising hate among rakyat against UMNO/BN.
ReplyDeleteThus, Dato’ Seri Najib's decision to present 45% new faces for DUN seats and 33% for Parliament seats proves that Dato’ Seri Najib is serious about injecting transformation into Barisan Nasional. Besides that, 91% chosen candidates have at least a diploma certificate and higher.
ReplyDeleteClearly, Dato’ Seri Najib realize that for its survival, BN needs to put rakyat's voice a priority, in front of the voice of those who are not satisfied.
ReplyDeleteBN's objective is to serve for rakyat, not leaders of Division, Branch, Committee Members not its Ministers and Deputy Ministers. And the same objective should be held by all chosen candidates for this election. Prove to all that you are the certainly the right choice.
For those who were not chosen, this does not mean that you are not good enough. However, do accept the fact, this might be a blessing in disguise.
ReplyDeleteBesides, if it is true that you are mature, wise and still relevant, prove it by keep on fighting even if you are not one of the candidates.
ReplyDeleteIf that is impossible to be done, then please resign in a dignified way. if you are truly the person who you think you are, then you can survive just about anywhere, not just in politics.
ReplyDeleteDo realize that today's politics' not as same as it was 15 years back where a small mistake do not mean a thing.
ReplyDeleteToday, politics crosses the all borders. One mistake, the country, race and religion might be at risk. That is why, this is not the time for us to think about ourselves and get emotional, instead, look at this transformation as our first step towards a mature, educated, principled and dignified race.
ReplyDeleteNo one can please everyone, that is the fact which we need to accept. Especially when it comes to election candidates, where it involves the feelings of all rakyat, the majority, minority, as well as politicians themselves.
ReplyDelete