Fate is irrelevant when it comes to politics, Rosmah

The last time someone said it was his fate to lead a country, Adolf Hitler’s vision of a 1,000-year reich only lasted 6 years. Similarly in WW2 Japan, hardcore nationalists proclaimed that it was Japan’s fate to lead the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere by “liberating” countries under colonial rule. I’m sure everyone knows what happened in the end.

By saying that she is fated to become Malaysia’s first lady (quite an erroneous term, as pointed out in this article), she implies that Najib is equally fated to lead Malaysia. Now fate is something that lingers through each and every time you rise through the ranks or fall like a brick. It also follows you around from the moment you were born until you die. Even in the afterlife, fate might interfere with your burial plot! So if someone like Rosmah would make such a claim, I have to say that she is highly mistaken.

Instead of affixing leadership through an abstract concept such as fate, if we say that we practice leadership through example, most of our future leaders would be corrupted Machiavellians who are incapable and unwilling to listen to the views of the rakyat.

At least when Mahathir lied, he did it rather convincingly unlike our current crop of UMNO leaders. As far as I know, UMNO has been fumbling publically in everything from the setting of the 12th General Elections to the fuel price increase several months later right until the illegitimate takeover of the Perak state government. Simply put, the words “truth”, “transparency” and “honesty” are not in UMNO’s vocabulary. It’s no wonder that the perception that UMNO can do nothing right is starting to harden into concrete.

It is hard for me to gauge when was the last time BN was honest to the public, perhaps during the time when it was known as the Alliance Party? Anyways, it’s evident that Mahathir hates Abdullah and everything UMNO much more than the opposition, and I believe that his predictions of BN’s death kneel is starting to look like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most likely UMNO delegates will be unable to wean themselves out of practicing “money politics” despite repeated warnings. Forget about the MACC, only the electorate has the power to make them kick the habit by voting corrupted politicians out of office. It’s a pity that we have to wait every four or five years in order to exercise our right.

Meanwhile, we have 3 by-elections to contend with. As usual, news reports from the mainstream media will shower love and affection for the BN candidates as election day approaches, since they’re mostly preoccupied with UMNO’s party elections at the moment. Pride and inflated egos get in the way of rational thinking, and they’ll usually end up saying something in the lines of “we are confident that the people will vote for us” despite facing an angry and disgruntled electorate. Illogical thinking at its finest moment, am I right?

So Rosmah, it’s best not to count the chickens before they hatch. Governments are given a mandate to lead the country by the electorate, and not fate or destiny as prescribed from your personal Feng Shui master or Guruji or whoever that analyses your daily horoscope. Sure your husband might end up being Malaysia’s next Prime Minister, but the question is how long can he remain as one? As long as Mahathir or Abdullah? Now that’s for fate to decide, not you.

1,500 hits from Malaysia Today for my previous blog post!

Take a look at my stats!

Like a sleepy hamlet that came alive, this blog received a massive influx of hits when this article was submitted to Malaysia Today a couple of days ago. While the article’s title was on the front page for roughly 24 hours, I got 1,500 hits and also several comments. :)

Anyways, if you think you’ve written a good article about politics in Malaysia, you can try submitting it to MT as well. I think for a relatively unestablished blogger like me, social blogging is starting to look like my niche. Now all I need is more readers…

Whatever's good for Malaysia is bad for UMNO, and vice-versa

A lot of people do not want Najib Razak to be our next Prime Minister.

Neither do the supporters of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Nor do Pakatan Rakyat and their own supporters.

Hence, rumours are flying around regarding AAB’s impending Prime Minister transitional plan. It may get tossed aside for an entirely unexpected one. Raja Petra Kamarudin speculates that in order for AAB to stay on as PM, he would need the support of at least 30 of his own Barisan Nasional parliamentarians, in addition of 81 Pakatan Rakyat MPs, 2 SAPP MPs and the lone independent MP from Pasir Mas. So far RPK says it is entirely plausible for AAB to gather at least 20 UMNO MPs, but in the event that such a controversial plan is pulled off, what happens to Najib and his gang?

Would AAB’s cooperation with Anwar Ibrahim only be a one-time move, or will it strengthen into something further? Coming round a full circle, we might actually end up with a unity government at the federal level! We have to take note that the rakyat placed their hearts and trust in the opposition so that their voices may be heard. They voted them in so that these politicians can make a positive, realistic and lasting change for Malaysia. In the event that Pakatan Rakyat participates in such a unity government, it would truly herald a new dawn in Malaysia’s democracy. Hush the nay-sayers who think that PR should helm the government on its own through either defections or by holding our breaths until our faces turn blue when the 13th General Elections come around. The fact is for every single cabinet seat that UMNO is denied, it would cut off its flow of cronies, corruption and so called “money politics”. PR might actually be able to “rehabilitate” BN by working alongside them!

But then back to the topic, should it become a reality then this would mean that UMNO will be left with a massive split in the middle. Like the multiverse (multiple universe) theory frequently used in sci-fi, once a decision is made, each corresponding universe will “sprout” out as a result of actions or inactions from each key players in the political scene. That’s how political analysts (both professionals and those armchair ones like me) are able to somehow “predict” scenarios in the future. The only reason why I’ve not be able to comment on the happenings in Perak is because of its lightning-fast maneuvers from both BN and PR. Speaking of Perak, I’m going to assume that PR might offer long-lasting support for AAB until he finishes his second term in exchange for statewide elections in Perak.

So these deals would leave Najib out in the cold. Should Najib resist, AAB might be forced to bring him down as hard as a redwood tree hitting the ground. AAB would then rally to close party ranks and possibly end the unity government once the economy picks up again. It would be a coup of sorts. At this stage, as far as PR is concerned its survival depends on how it can navigate through the power struggle between these two. If it stands on the wrong side, and Najib wins, I think we can concede that not only Pakatan Rakyat, but Malaysia and its citizens will be at the losing end.

Ifs, ifs, ifs, there are many possibilities to this outcome. The transitional plan might still go on with small hiccups and AAB would be retiring with his iPhone, so says RPK. But by giving a conservative and realistic estimate of the situation in contrast to the sensational possibility mentioned above, it’s up to the reader to decide which scenario might end up true, and which one might end up as pure speculation that remains only in our mind.

I still remain optimistic, I’m ready for either one.

Come on Pak Lah, if flip-flops are your trademark, then make this one count the most.