End of UMNO according to Rahman Prophecy

The 'Rahman' prophecy is resurrected again as reported by Borneo Post in today's issue.  The prohecy which was prevalent since the 70's predicted that future Prime Ministers of Malaysia will follow in succession according to the first letter of their names. From RAHMAN came the first Prime Minister by the name of Rahman, next in succession was Abdul Razak , then Hussein Onn, Mahathir Muhamad, Abdullah Badawi and  to put a stamp of truth to it will be Najib. You can of course take this prophecy seriously log stock and barrel or find some goodness in it especially for the opposition parties. Among the protagonists they hail the accession of Najib. But those who want to see a twist in the prophecy will look forward to the end of the prophecy, sooner probably because if the prophecy comes true the rise of Najib might as well mean the end of UMNO dynasty ruling Malaysia.

Najib therefore will have the final honour of closing the prophecy of the UMNO Dynasty in Malaysia. In other words Najib self-fulfill the end of UMNO. 

An Interpretation of Malaysian national history

The filling of content for Malysian national history should rightly start from 1963 onwards.  Yet many would not agree with me, vehemently saying that Malaysia as a nation should start with the independence of Malaya from the British rule. But Malaya's independence did not affect the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak.

The formation of Malaysia was hatched by Tunku Adbul Rahman, though some quarters believe that he got the cue from British advisers. But why did Najib consistently say that we should celebrate the 1957 indepedence of Malaya as National  Day? This could be a strong weakness point in Najib as he starts his climb to be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia and continue to garner votes from the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak when his historical sense is totally out of tune with the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak.

Truth be said, Malaysia was conceived in the 1961 and to push the idea through negotiations,investigations and commission were held to gauge the feelings of Sarawak and Sabah peoples especially its indigenous tribes.  As word got around, neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Phillipines and Brunei were against the idea.  But more importantly within Sarawak, the left wing elements especiallly the communists were intent to break the formation.

Small scale wars were fought with the Indonesians ,communists and the rebels from Brunei by the peoples of Sarawak. Blood was spilt . The peoples of Sarawak fought for the formation of Malaysia. This point is critical because the role of the West Malaysian politician seem merely as political lobbyist and power broker. If armies were needed to help the Sarawak people fight then it was a matter of putting the request to the British government for help, which they did.

Finally with the concerted efforts of the British army soldiers and the local Sarawak freedom fighters and of course top level negotiations war was brought to an end. Sarawak was ready to become a partner in the formation of Malaysia . The original idea of a federation of Malaysia became a reality and Malaysia as a nation was established in 1963.

At this point it is relevant to step back and see the implication of this interpretation.

Firstly, for the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, their 'social contract' started in 1963 where the constitution was specifically made to safeguard their rights, culture and religion. It is this social contract that Malaysia should focus on. Not on the social contract much talked about nowadays between the Indians ,Chinese and Malays of Semenanjung Malaysia when they decided to form Malaya. That was history and really of no relevance to the new Malaysia entity of which the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak fought wars for. I can see no reason for West Malaysian politicians  indulging and conditioning us about their so called social contract when this did not ring a bell to the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak.  For the peoples of Sarawak this ghost of the social contract , frightening and threatening at many times for the  peoples of Semenanjung pales against the easy going, happy and harmonius race relations prevalent in Sarawak and Sabah. For them it is the filling up of content of what is meant to be a Malaysian race and economic strength that should fill the pages of the new Malaysian history, not harp back on what happened in Malaya.

Secondly, the arrogance of Najib which is reflective of the politicians of West Malaysia need to stop.  As true Malaysians, we need to uphold the 16 th of September as the only date to celebrate regarding the formation of Malaysia ( Malaysia Day)  and the independence of the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak through the new polity.  To me this is the only saving grace for the future of Malaysia and race relations in a better and newer context. Forget about Malayan independence. Fo once be serious about putting meaning into the future of Malaysia.

If truth be told, it is just a matter of a referendum to find the sentiments of the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak about which date to celebrate Malaysia as a nation.  I am pretty certain, that they will choose 16 th September 1963.

The Legacy of Abdullah Badawi

His Cons:
1) The unpalatable Islam Hadhari concept - producing much resentment among Muslims and non-Muslims throughout Malaysia
2) Despite his dictum " Work with Me", he failed to rein in his chief lieutenant Najib to garner undivided support from his underhands in UMNO and Barisan coalition partners, thus leading the way to UMNO's fallover
3) Allowing his son-in-law meddle in pre-emptive decision making process giving rise to nespotism and cronyism attacks on his administration

His Pros: 
1) Took daring steps in stamping out corruption inside UMNO and in the government service involving seniour figures
2) Re-emphasise on 'people-oriented'  projects like vast scale regional development corridors
3) Paved the way for late but necessary reforms in the judiciary and police, much tainted and cancerous during Dr. Mahathir's administration

Final Remark: He has kept his head high ( in revoking the infamous legacies of Dr. M) , his eyes low, and a victim of the circumstances as 'the right man at the wrong time'

Least Corrupt Shall Win

Today ( 9 Oct'08) the UMNO President and Prime Minister of Malaysia announced that he is not going to contest the Presidency post in the next UMNO elections slated in March 2009. This gives him slighly less than 6 months to clean up whatever is possible with UMNO. For one thing I think it is his affirmative actions against corruption in the party that got him into real political troubles with the entrenched politicians in his party who had enjoyed power and accumulated wealth during the reign of Dr.Mahathir and would not want to relinguish them. Disappointment over these entrenced power elites have started during Dr.Mahathir's times and Abdullah Badawi couldn't do much except deal with them, some his close friends and comrades in UMNO. By not contesting UMNO Abdullah has opened the floodgates of these remaining power elites to cling further to their power and individual properity it brings into a free for all fight. At least the result as I can see it is that the likely winners would be those perceived as the least corrupted among the corrupts. What I say here is not inconsistent with surveys in Malaysia that conclude that of all Malaysian profession, the politicians are the most corrupt.

Prosperity

We have been taught to prosper the world. A tall order. But it can be achieved by giving/sharing plain good advise. In critical times like these( US financial crisis, global meltdown) what can we advise others such that they can be wealthier,more prosperous ? It is better than misguiding them and making them poorer than they already are? For instance, where should you put your money in the bad times ahead?

UMNO is DUMPED

Mahathir killed UMNO and Abdullah send it underground.

Issues of Sarawak BN Politics

Privatisation Projects
One special project that is iconic of the unfairness of privatisation projects resulting in the loss of livelihood of the ordinary folks is the highway maintenance contract farmed out to a sole concessionaire for the whole state for a twenty years period.
The normal saying goes that ; 'even the grass cutting in this town is taken by people from Kuching'. Meaning to say , contractors who depended on their livelihood as small time grass cutting hands are now being abandoned for the big conglomerate from Kuching.
For a while , the silent majority remains mum.

Causes of Fallover of BN

The Marketing Fiasco of Islam Hadhari
Despite the unrelenting campaign by the government to spearhead the concept of Islam Hadhari, in the stronghold of Islamic adherence like the states of Kelantan, Perak and Selangor, the fall over of BN in the respective states is an indication that the concept of Islam Hadhari is hard to grasp and being rejected outright especially in the state of Kelantan.The huge promise of the concept like creating a civilisational change throughout the Malaysian landscape has not met with real or observable changes in the Malay psyche. Should Islamic Civilisation be seen as an external force exerting on the Malay conscience? Alternatively should the Malay conscience exhibit an Islamic perspective of an impending mega Islamic revival? Whatever it is, there is no clear marketing angle.

Causes of Fallover of BN

Perceived weakness of the government ( and its leadership) in tackling the street issues
The rakyat was constantly awed by the mainstream media reporting of the government 's weaknesses in solving basic on the street issues like crime, rising costs of goods and services,race relations, corruption in the police force, judiciary and the government machinery.
The rakyat had to vent their anger and frustration and found it by casting protest votes in the ballot boxes.

Causes of Fallover of BN

Force of Alternative Media
Truly the ICT infrastructure as laid down by the previous Dr Mahathir's administration in the urban areas of Malaysia for Internet connectivity was optimised by the opposition parties to fan their criticism across the world wide web on BN's seemingly unwavering stance on the use of mainstream media for propaganda purposes on behalf of the Establishment only . Leaving no room in the formal mainstream media, opposition parties had no choice but to resort to the Internet for 'believable' alternative information as against the mainstream media.
This increasing reliance on the Internet for alternative information will remain unstoppable primarily because the government is closed to issuing licences for TV, radio and newspapers for parties who could provide challenge to their policies, propaganda's and politics as broadcasted in the mainstream media.
The demand for alternative information will continue unabated due to the following reasons:
a) The government extremely tight control on public demonstrations
b) The rise in numbers of young, restless and angry voters( all sexes,all races) who form more communities in the blogsphere due to the upsurge of popularity in the opposition parties politics.
c) Soon, the sub-urban and rural youths will be instigated further and their anger aroused knowing that their opportunities to have their say have been limited due to weak or in most instances the absence of Internet connections.
The message that the younger generations get after the fallover is that, blogging is a respectable job which have the power to change society and political system.

Causes of Fallover of BN

The Kitchen Cabinet
This comprises of individuals who are alleged to have greater influence on the Prime Minister than his cabinet or the civil service. (Ref: Kadir Jasin, The Scribe,12-3-08, accessed at http://kadirjasin.blogspot.com/ )

Initial notes

This blog is opened today in Kuching, Sarawak. The political landscape of Malaysia changed a great deal after the fall over of the ruling party in the just concluded 12 th General Election. The coming into play of previously opposition parties like DAP, PKR and PAS into real governmental action in five states in Peninsular Malaysia is a trend that deserves an insightful look.
However, I would like to approach this subject as a political observer, who prefers to listen more by keeping his mouth shut. Hopefully by doing so, better insights will pop out.