Be afraid, be very afraid! Anwar is destroying Malay unity! The extremist Chinese and Indians are supporting Anwar! Be afraid, be very afraid!
Yes, it looks like the scare tactics have now been deployed. Perhaps the air-conditioning at UMNO headquarters needs to be turned up quite a bit as Khir Toyo and his comrades seem to be getting noticeably uneasy and uncomfortable under the collar.
Now you can’t tell me these guys are not feeling the heat. Just examine the tenor and the nature of the statements being uttered of late and you can literally sense the thick haze of desperation setting in on the regime. Actually, just the look of worry and anguish on their faces is telling enough.
Here are a couple of gems from Khir Toyo as reported in Malaysiakini, which are telling signs of the level of distress and desperation being encountered at UMNO HQ.
‘Anwar does not want to see Malays unite and that is why he formed Pakatan that thrives on the ideals of equality to the extent of elevating other religions on the same par as the primary religion in this country, Islam.’
‘My dream is to see that the Malays once again become the backbone which will stabilise the politics in the country.’
Indeed, Khir sure makes a lot of sense doesn’t he? Now I suppose he’d like us to believe Anwar has been quite the radical warrior for Hindu rights or the Christians of Malaysia, for example. And what a traitor to Islam he must be for repeatedly ‘elevating other religions’ and undermining Islam.
Poor Khir. How, one must wonder, out of touch with the public has UMNO become? It’s like watching sausage being made: not attractive at all. Yet, at times it is rather entertaining and comical. I sometimes wonder if some of these characters are one egg short of a proper roti telur. Can you imagine some of the stuff they tried to convince us about regarding Anwar’s DNA? Or about swearing on the Quran about the alleged sodomy accusation? At each turn, Anwar has ‘played it by the book.’ And each time the regime has tried to revert to a new public ploy to undercut him, they get tangled-up in knots. The most recent case, again, about trying to marginalise Pakatan Rakyat by trying to entice PAS in Selangor has blown-up in their faces. And imagine how the UMNO propaganda geniuses must feel about PAS Youth chief, Salahuddin Ayub coming out most recently to categorically state that PAS is a ‘principled party’ and would not sell-out even in exchange for the PM post. [Ouch! It looks to me as though somebody ended up with egg in their face.]
I know some of us might be wondering if there is anything beyond petty politics that these cast of characters from UMNO have to offer and I think it would not take much to see the answer to that.
So, while I invariably roll my eyes when some illogical or non-sequitur comments from UMNO appear, I have to also remind myself that this is arguably healthy for the nation. It is healthy for us to be repeatedly reminded that Khir Toyo, for example, is the face of UMNO.
They know, as do we the public, that they have run out of meaningful ideas for moving the country ahead. Add this to their concern about Anwar’s popularity, and you have the basis for this state of UMNO’s desperation.
Do you suppose the fact that Anwar has been zigzagging across the country – in-between his visits with the police – as if it was election season, is getting some people in UMNO headquarters just a tiny bit uneasy? Their Utusan Melayu and NST may be pressing hard to deliver the regime’s message but I think they also see that, unlike the past, a good portion of these papers end up at the fish market before even the end of the day or with the paper recycling man - never having been cracked open. I have a strange feeling many in the mainstream media and UMNO secretly watch Anwar’s recent speeches and press conferences on YouTube or Malaysiakini and are seeing what you and I see; and that’s getting them even more desperate. [I wouldn’t also rule out some envy for Anwar’s oratory talent and, might I say, charisma, on the part of many within UMNO. You think Khir Toyo – and perhaps Najib and Pak Lah - might be just a tiny bit envious?]
By going to the people – including the rural and traditional UMNO base – directly and personally, Anwar is making it necessary for the air-conditioning at the Putera World Trade Centre to be cranked up even more.
In addition, UMNO’s old formulaic hocus-pocus jabber and rants are not working anymore. No, looks like the mysterious incantations, spells, and scare tactics might have worked in the past, but are wearing thin these days and may not preserve UMNO’s monopoly on power.
Perhaps it’s time for Khir and his ilk to call in a bomoh?
G. Krishnan
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