Among the reasons for Umno’s current unpopularity is that some of its leaders have become fat cats, and some of whom stick their paw (foot) in the mouth.
In the past, Umno-kucing-gebu left it to MCA-housecat to fight DAP-street-tomcat. Chinese party vs Chinese party, hiss and scratch.
BELOW: MCA has got the halfling syndrome
Ultimately it has to be DAP vs Umno, mano e mano
Nonetheless, over the past tidal wave/tsunamic decade, DAP has managed to rebrand itself as a Bangsa Malaysia party. Well to be fair, it has always been multiracial from Day One – with some Indians although very few Malays – but perceived otherwise.
In growing from strength (GE12) to strength (GE13), the evangelical party – note that DAP’s adoption of political Christianity is a fairly new phenomenon – has successfully slayed not only MCA and Gerakan but even Sarawak Chinese-dominated party SUPP as well.
By and large, Umno has not yet caught up with the reality of how strong the DAP has grown although now with MCA being a Walking Dead, Umno has to roll up its sleeves and fight its own battle against the opposition anchor party.
‘PAS ada jurus siku dan lutut depani DAP’
Unfortunately Umno has not done this, i.e. fight DAP, with any sort of focus or positive result.
Fortunately, ever since PAS’s perceptible softening towards Umno of late, it has been PAS which had taken up the cudgels … ranging from the “we can use knees and elbows” Ustaz Tantawi (PAS’s new info chief) to Zuhdi Marzuki (operations director, PAS research bureau).
The above development has been noticed by the opposition strategists and one of them, Muammar Qaddafi (obviously not the late Libyan dictator but a pseudonym), quickly moved into action through TMI … but where else?
In an article ‘Apa hubungan PAS dan Umno?’ yesterday, the Qaddafi chap complained:
“Maka persoalan besar yang bermain di minda saya adalah, adakah wujud hubungan intim antara PAS/Zuhdi dan Umno sehinggakan Zuhdi memainkan kembali serangan blogger Umno kepada DAP 4 tahun lepas? Adakah dengan bertindak menyambung kembali tuduhan ini maka Zuhdi berjaya menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada diperintah Cina DAP yang bertanding 51 kerusi Parlimen ini?”
The last line of Qaddafi’s paragraph above, i.e. “Cina DAP yang bertanding 51 kerusi Parlimen,” is a dead giveaway on the direction where the oppo sniper fire is coming from. The tired, formulaic deflection is dutifully trotted out to try and allay Malay fears.
DAP’s Malay MP for Raub, Mohd Ariff Sabri, has already played the above card. See his Sakmongkol blog posting on 26 Dec 2015 headlined, ‘Jika DAP menang 56 kerusi parlimen, ia tidak dapat membentuk kerajaan Pusat’.
I’ll see you in court, hah
Kudos! That’s the spirit (reminiscent of Isma vs Marina Mahathir).
PAS better equipped to fight DAP
Dr Zuhdi took the offensive by challenging the DAP on its relationship with Israel. His commentary on 29 Dec 2015 titled, ‘Apa hubungan DAP dan Israel?’ can be read in the PAS official party website.
Among the rumours circulating at one time is that the party’s RBA lieutenants were given psywar training by Israeli intel officers and it is this detail which Dr Zuhdi challenged the DAP to refute.
PAS has had seven years of up close and personal with DAP, an invaluable albeit acrimonious experience which Umno lacks.
Umno’s relationship with the Chinese has invariably been in the role of the abang sulung and generally amicable because MCA tends to defer to Big Brother, so much so that the Chinese BN party is mocked mercilessly by the DAP as “Umno’s running dog”.
Incidentally, were you aware that the Dapsters’ favourite “woof, woof” (wag your tail) taunt at the MCA – “dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table” – is actually a verse from the Bible?
Check out Matthew 15:27 … the evangelistas have trained their foot soldiers well.
Fat cat unprepared to face feral cat
Umno has been like a cat chasing its own tail. Ineffectual and at a loss as to how to defend its territory.
In GE12, the perennial and reliable two-thirds majority was lost by the BN. In GE13, the popular vote was lost by BN for the first time since the 10 May 1969 general election.
What will happen by the time GE14 rolls around?
Thus the frantic calls for “perpaduan Melayu” is quite understandable.
PAS stabbed in the back by DAP
Umno is being stabbed in the back by the MCA but doing nothing about it.
PAS at least is not getting mad (at losing six MPs to the DAP-sponsored PAN) but getting even.
That the opposition is very worried about PAS and its future direction can be gleaned by the hatchet job carried out by the so-called ‘Muammar Qaddafi’-named writer and published yesterday in TMI.
Qaddafi wrote:
“Sejak kemenangan besar besaran kumpulan pro Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang pada muktamar lepas, saya masih tidak dapat melihat serangan sekeras yang dilakukan terhadap DAP dan Amanah oleh PAS kepada Umno, sedangnya yang jelas melakukan kemungkaran di pihak Umno, dalam isu 1MDB, akandal Yapeim, TPPA, PAS hanyalah sekadar menegur dengan nada rendah untuk cukup syarat “PAS menjalankan tanggungjawab menegur Umno BN.”
PAS’s restraint has got Pakatan Harapan worried alright.
The trouble with Umno is …
… that as the ruling party and it cannot be outright or outwardly hostile to the country’s minority races and religions.
At the very least, Umno still has to pay lip service to 1Malaysia. Hence Najib Razak continues to be seen diligently wearing the 1Malaysia pin on his lapel up till today … even after the tsunami and after Bersih 4.0.
Comparatively (between the Malay and the Muslim/Islamist party), it is PAS that has a clear idea of the extent of the existential threat posed by DAP. And it is PAS that’s taking remedial action whereas Umno is preoccupied with its president’s problems.
Now if only the two parties could do a ‘student’ (member) exchange and have Mat Maslan swapped for Dr Zuhdi – on loan until 2018 – so that Dr Zuhdi can be incorporated into the BN war council.
Umno simply has no idea how scissorati the DAP are because MCA so pandai bodek the taiko, leading Najib to believe that the majority of the Chinese have MCA-like traits — which is untrue (or no longer true now).
BELOW: MCA Utar students
NST would say, ‘What more do the Chinese want?’
But the phrase admittedly carries more oomph coming from Utusan in bahasa Melayu.
Blogger Annie – in an emotional outburst on the morning after (6 May 2013) GE13 – had decried “the end of moderation” as well as “the death of the moderate ‘Johor way’.”
Annie even went so far as to say “the Chinese community had not only refused to accept the friendship of the moderate Malays, but they spit in their face”.
Annie has since explained that the rant (quoted above) was a merely spur of the moment reaction ala Utusan‘s “Apa lagi Cina mahu?”
Since Annie writes in English, it would be more accurate to express the consternation as ‘what more do the Chinese want’ ala New Straits Times (the other Umno-owned newspaper) editorial.
Umno should realise by now that the Chinese really, really want Putrajaya.
Nonetheless, in siding with Tun, Annie has distanced/disassociated from ‘The Gang’ of pro-gomen bloggers who believe in the war cry ‘Either you’re with us (of if not, like Tun, you’re inadvertently with them).
Anyhow, Annie has backpedaled on dia punya ‘End of Moderation’ pronouncement made on 6 May 2013. “Actually I have toned down quite a bit since I wrote that emotional post-election posting,” Annie explained.
Annie may have toned down against the Chinese-95 percent including “ultras” but lately has found new targets such as inexplicably (?!) my friend Norman Fernandez (dubbed bontot kuali by Annie), the war general/lieutenant Salleh Said Keruak (dubbed “shameless attack dog” by Annie), Lim Sian See (dubbed ‘Lim Spin Spin‘ by Annie) and in the last couple of days … lil’ ol’ me.
Birds of a feather stick together, and likewise the Protun and Projib flocks.
Like I’ve been saying, we (BN supporters) need to choose our sides. But unlike Annie, I wouldn’t go around with a rapid-fire machine gun aiming body shots at anybody who so much as coughs a negative opinion about the Handsome Old Man.
Stick to the arguments and offer counter arguments to make your case. I’ll rebut Annie properly later as I want to get this timely piece on my pet theory (about the UG) out first.
Not engage in character assassinate via – Annie’s latest – a proxy voice, i.e. The Hater who has been removed from the Rockybru blogroll by Rocky for the ‘sin’ of hating.
Annie’s knee-jerk string of attacks on the critics of Tun was so fiery that it even caught the attention of blog ‘mahaguru’ Rockybru who recently, on 13 Dec 2015, waded into the matter of the broken brotherhood (brother bloggers at arms) to try and cool temperatures.
In Rockybru under the title, ‘Annie, LSS, Jebat Must Die, Grandmarquis and other Anon Bloggers’, Annie’s “Blogging Captain Cool” (Melayu sebut ‘sempoi’) hinted a gentle reminder, Anonymous can say as many mean things as he wants … – see poster screenshot below.
But isn’t it more “dignified” to stay classy?
Helen Ang 
yg boleh lawan DAP skrg ni bukan UMNO, bukan MCA, bukan Gerakan… tetapi PAS
Saya setuju!
Umno yang clueless tak terhidu pun akan gerak kerja evangelis. Selama lima tahun yang lepas, tidak pernah sekalipun saya dengar mana-mana pemimpin Umno yang sedar dan prihatin terhadap dakyah halus yang sedang giat diusahakan oleh evangelista.
Malah, Menteri Zumba pandang ringan.
Dalam hal ini, barisan Ustaz Nik Abduh, Ustaz Tantawi, Ustaz Nik Zawawi, TG Hadi Awang lah yang mantap dan diyakini.
Wasting time eh, that’s real rich coming from somebody who actually went over there and took selfies for a social media posting.
You voted in my poll already? ,)
https://helenang.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/tinjauan-pendapat-ketua-pemuda-kerajaan-perpaduan/
I want to see how well Dr Zuhdi handles the incoming DAP lawsuit first.
Lim Kit Siang is being very specific on which item he wants to sue, which makes me wonder about all the other allegations. Maybe even the specifics on the item he want to sue about.
Will UMNO assist Dr Zuhdi as well?
Qaddafi is slick like LKS, saying it’s a serangan blogger UMNO when the whole allegations originated from an ex DAP person, and he neglected to mention that. DAP supporters are always careful to avoid mentioning DAP and always remembering to blame UMNO when they can.
Well trained, huh?
re: “Qaddafi is slick like LKS, saying it’s a serangan blogger UMNO when the whole allegations originated from an ex DAP person and he neglected to mention that.”
Licik sekali. And the sneaky bastards control almost all the English-language media in Malaysia.
re: “DAP supporters are always careful to avoid mentioning DAP and always remembering to blame UMNO when they can. Well trained, huh?”
Now everything blame Najib, just like Hannah Yeoh.
She was caught Facebooking when the Dewan was in session (that time she wasn’t appointed Madame Speaker yet).
Look at how she responded when asked, “@hannahyeoh Who was the ADUN caught busy with FB during assembly?”
Muhammad Salman,
Perception is sometimes different from reality on the ground. Warts and all aside, the only party standing against DAP and total power is UMNO.
As for PAS, I do not see it as seriously wanting to face off DAP. This is due to its ties with PKR. Why on earth still maintaining ties with PKR if the latter is in alliance with its(PAS) enemy: DAP.
The real assessment is that both UMNO and PAS underestimate the danger DAP poses. Like majority of Malays who cant comprehend the idea that DAP is ruthless, UMNO and PAS are unable to accept the reality that DAP can still manages to capture Putrajaya even when there are only around 40 Chinese dominated parliamentary seats.
The talk that Chinese only dominates around 40 constituencies is meant to lull Malays into feeling secure. The reality is opposite. With Malays divided, “the coast is clear for DAP”. Make no mistake about it.
PAS no doubt is humbled when it was stabbed by DAP repeatedly. However, decades of brainwashing its members that “UMNO tak beriman” cant be shed away overnight. That explains PAS lukewarm attitude towards UMNO.
As for UMNO, its willingness to be backstabbed by MCA is legendary.
Helen, you still owe shuzheng a regression graph.
Be patient. First things first. Dr Zuhdi is a current topic.
UMNO = United Money Nepotism Oganization.
Every political party requires money to operate. Or else how does DAP pay Dyana and Rara and Hannah Yeoh’s many, many Personal Assistants their salaries?
The other parties are even more nepotistic. Anwar, Wan Azizah, Nurul.
Karpal’s boys – Jagdeep, Gobind, Ramkarpal.
P. Patto’s daughter. And several other parent-children arrangements in DAP Pahang, DAP Johor as far as I’m aware. I’m sure there are many more I’m personally not aware of.
The problem for Umno now is that, err…….no, the problem for Najib now is that he has yet to reveal who the RM2.6 billion donor is and why the funds ended up in his own, personal accounts rather than Umno’s. Now because of this he’s been hounded and you can’t really blame critics for questioning him.
I m not against political donations. What I m against is the use of political funds to consolidate one’s power in one’s own political party. The funds belong to the party and it’s for the party’s, not one or two individuals. Even during the old man’s time, he used the funds for the party’s purposes, unlike this ***** we now have in Putrajaya.
PKR being a nepotistic party is an open secret. It’s Anwar’s vehicle. Of course his wife and daughter being party leaders should surprise no one and as a party it won’t survive Anwar’s departure from the political scene. It was never a genuine political party and I bet most people have by now written it off. To equate Umno with PKR is to say that apples and oranges are alike. But Najib and Anwar have something in common. Both use political funds not for their parties’ benefit but for their own. It won’t be long before Umno becomes a clone of PKR and herein is the irony. The old man expelled Anwar from Umno, Anwar formed PKR, now Najib is taking Umno down PKR’s path. It used to be that if the leader is not longer fit to run the party, the party’s members will remove him. That’s Umno. Or look at The Doctor vs Ku Li in that battle for the number one post in Umno. You can actually mount a challenge if you think the person at the helm is not fit to lead. Now you look at Umno and look at the corrosive effect Najib has had on the party, it’s beyond salvage now really. Umno and by extension BN is already history even before GE14. Flogging MCA and Gerakan because they failed to garner Chinese support is ludricous when the most powerful component of the alliance is now in funk because that self proclaim warrior is captain of the ship. He is a bigger threat to Umno/BN than the opposition.
Well, who do you propose should lead Umno-BN into GE14?
Helen,
Najib has image problem. And he could not be bothered to clear his name.
Protocol dictates that Zahid should be leading UMNO into GE 14.
re: “Protocol dictates that Zahid should be leading UMNO into GE 14.”
Party tradition?
Are you saying when Dollah was PM, it was Najib who led BN into GE12 and when Najib was PM, it was Muhyiddin who led BN into GE13?
PAS will lead the next government that for sure ,all the Malay votes will go to PAS as UMNO is not seen ,as the leading party that protect the Malay right and Islam .
UMNO has continue hurting the Malay to the extend that,they have to accept to be lead by turban anyway .
Helen,
In by election (like the death of incumbent MP or ADUN), the tradition is the DPM will lead the BN machinery.
What I mean is that should Najib for obvious reason( that is of detached bangsawan) choose not to lead BN, then the most obvious choice is Zahid.
My advice to Najib is stop being apologetic. No matter what he said, those worshipping DAP will not trust him. they will mock him or his wife. So why bother.
But be firm. I can feel that Arul Kanda has somehow manages to convince segment of Malaysians. And Arul Kanda does that by giving prompt and detailed explanations.
re: “I can feel that Arul Kanda has somehow manages to convince segment of Malaysians.”
Agree. Giving prompt and detailed explanations is a factor in gaining trust.
Get Ku Li to steady the ship first. If BN manages to cross the finishing line first in GE14 then Umno can have a real contest for the top post.
Does Ku Li have the support of the warlords?
You should ask ‘do the warlards think staying with Najib will ensure their survival beyond GE14 ?’.
They endorsed him in the recent general assembly.
Spectre,
Ku Li has past his “prime time”.
Besides, I am not sure whether Ku Li will be chosen as a candidate in next election. He has been the MP for the past 40 years. Time for a new MP.
Ku Li will not be a factor. The most important factor s how UMNO going to win back the Malays. That is the only way to hold to power. forget the Chinese. they will not vote BN anymore.
Najib should learn from politicians like Adnan Satem or Mohd Hassan. Both are very popular and respected too. I feel that Adnan will win big and manages to wrest back few Chinese seats. Both Adnan and Hassan seem able to understand what rakyats really want.
UMNO is really lucky. Lucky as PR is dead and PAS is out of PR. though it maintains ties with PKR. But UMNO needs more than luck.
re: “But UMNO needs more than luck.”
You don’t agree with me that Umno needs a war general, meh?
Helen,
I agree with you. Whatever the name given, the person or persons must be decisive, prompt and willing to be blunt. That is a measure of confidence. The person must be willing to get even. UMNO must take note that how Baju merah movement managed to get even with BERSIH gathering. By being blunt, Jamal( that UMNO Ketua Bhagian) managed to do what other UMNO leaders failed to achieve. Jamal managed to make Chinese understands that Malays can react and react at the very heart of Chinese business centre: PETALING STREET.
By being blunt, Jamal managed to make Chinese realises that malays can anytime organise a gathering to match any BERSIH gathering. Thanks to Jamal, now DAP is not that keen anymore to organise any BERSIH gathering. THAT IS WHAT I CALL A WAR GENERAL.
Actually UMNO knows what to do. I am sure many UMNO members voice suggestions. The problem is whether Najib is willing to take the time tested advices from the grassroot.
Why is Adnan Satem is very popular in just short span of time? What is his secret? My sister lives in Kuching. She told me that Adnan often seen queuing up at restaurant. Sarawakians feel he is genuine. Adnan manages to give image of a concern father. and we all appreciate genuine concern from a father.
There is no need to say how much Malaysia attracts investment if the rakyats do not relate with it. Just be honest. Najib is seen as a bit detached.