Another assembly, same idiocracy

PETALING JAYA: There is one thing Malaysians could learn from the recently concluded Umno general assembly, the party is definitely a safe home for those who find thinking a huge feat.

And Umno Baru of 1988 is a far cry from the Umno of 1946. The party was formed to champion the cause of the downtrodden, while 1988 version is all for divide and conquer.

Now, let us assess some of the arguments made by the Umno delegates. Mind you, this is the numero uno party in Barisan Nasional (BN), which governs our nation.

First up is the Pandan Umno delegate, Mohd Haniff Koslan who urged government linked companies to create more Malay millionaires, in order to safeguard Islam.

In his infinite (or otherwise) wisdom, Haniff said that with more rich Malays, they can safeguard Islam. When Malays are poor, Islam will be sidelined.

Forget conviction, steadfastness and surrender to God’s will as preached by Islam. By Haniff’s logic when one is rich, the person will automatically turn into a man of faith.

Now comes the question. How did one of the Semitic religion’s prophet, Job (or Nabi Ayub) kept his unwavering faith in God despite being tested severely for seven long years?

The ancient prophet lost his family, wealth and health in those trying years, yet he remained firm in God’s path.

Coming back to Umno, from experience, we all know the wealthier an Umno leader becomes, the more pompous and annoying he or she becomes.

Many adamantly cling to their positions despite falling from grace, such as former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

A confused delegate from Kedah

Another Kedah delegate, Tajul Urus Mat Zain upped the ante by saying that gazetting ancient candis in the state would cause Umno to lose crucial Malay votes.

Makes sense? The writer for one has no clue what Tajul was talking about.

Probably, the delegate, who is also a Kedah exco member, has got gazetting confused with electoral redelineation process.

We could probably forgive such a boo-boo from ordinary citizens but a politician? A Kedah exco leader at that?

He also said that the government should focus on the majority, instead of the minority, and lamented that most PTPTN loans are benefiting non-Malays.

Probably the great Kedah leader forgot that PTPTN gives out loans, in which the students would be required to pay back, with interest, upon graduation.

Besides, non-Malays are citizens of Malaysia too. Perhaps, Tajul got confused between citizenship and Umno membership.

Not to be outdone, Musa Syeikh Fadzir wants the government to change the1Malaysia slogan to 1Melayu, claiming the non-Malay race had betrayed BN during the last general election.

Interestingly enough, the ’1Melayu’ Musa from Penang looks more Indian than a Malay.

Probably, the Umno leader forgot to read the federal constitution, which gives every voter a right to choose any candidate in an election.

No moral right to to mock Anwar

But worse of the lot, is surely none other than the Umno president Najib Tun Razak. First up his devious sleeve was to berate Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in his speech.

True enough, Anwar made a huge mistake on the 40,000 Bangladeshi voter claim.

But Najib has no moral right to to mock Anwar as the former had vehemently rejected any attempt to debate with the latter despite several invitations.

Najib does not even defend his own bills in Parliament. He comes for the first reading and leaves the debate part to people like Nazri Aziz, Nancy Shukri and Shahidan Kassim.

The prime minister had also proven himself to be shameless man by comparing the late South Afircan leader Nelson Mandela’s struggles to Umno’s agenda.

It is definitely an insult to the beloved anti-apartheid leader’s legacy.

Not only did Mandela fight white supremacy, he also sought reconciliation with his oppressors after ascending the nation’s presidency. For him, racism was a no-go from the start.

Umno Baru, on the other hand, is the direct opposite. Not only does it perpetuate racism, it shamelessly embroils itself in the scourge of corruption at the expense of nation building.

But all is not lost for Umno Baru. There were several leaders who spoke out on issues such as education and corruption.

Alor Setar Umno delegate Sharifah Maznah Syed Kassim called for the government to revamp the education system as graduates are lacking requisite skills to gain employment.

This lady is a rarity in Umno. Instead of following her peers with senseless outbursts, she spoke out on an issue affecting young adults and the need for a holistic education system.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin also touched on issues of national interest. He spoke out against the electricity tariff hike which would affect the lower and middle income group.

On top of that, he also urged the authorities to take action against those who bleed the nation’s coffers as reported in the Auditor-General’s Report.

It is probably due to Khairy’s sharp intellect many Umno leaders are resentful of him.

And judging from the ‘transformation’ Umno has gone through under Najib, Khairy must learn to tread carefully or end up being a footnote in Umno’s history like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.