What a sight it is to see the likes of Khairy Jamaluddin and Muhyiddin Yassin sounding so transparently desperate during this Manek Urai campaign.
Now this may not quite amount to being a case of ‘how the mighty have fallen’ – perhaps not yet anyway, but one thing is for sure: this is something we’re only starting to get used to. I’m sure you’ll agree that we Malaysians have not been privy to many instances like this where we find these UMNO characters looking and sounding as they have in these recent by-elections.
The Manek Urai contest has again raised this spectre and exposed the underlying apprehension – if not the downright anxiety – being felt in the UMNO inner circle. One has to only scrutinise their comments to appreciate just how desperate and concerned they’ve become about the erosion of support for their party and the BN.
You know UMNO is in trouble when the deputy PM has to invoke the claim that they’ve been ‘championing Islam’ before PAS. Now is this really the best the deputy PM can do? I must say it is quite incredible to see just how pathetic they’re looking. I’m sure the voters in Manek Urai are really impressed with UMNO’s credential in being first. Just as I’m sure they’ve also caught on to the fact that UMNO is similarly first and the leader at having practiced systemic cronyism. It is also probably first in money politics, first in overseeing the largest financial scandals in the country and, as we’re now again seeing them do, first in having thoroughly dismantled the education system of the country. Of course this is by no means an exhaustive list of UMNO’s firsts!
And then to have Khairy trying to once again play the ‘Malay unity’ card seems only amusing and laughable – and of course plainly desperate. How convenient indeed for him to attack Husam Musa of PAS for being the stumbling block to ‘Malay unity’ talks while sheepishly staying away from criticising Tok Guru. Surprise, surprise!
Didn’t Tok Guru himself set the tone for having nothing to do with so-called unity talks? After all, it was Tok Guru who referred to UMNO as practising ‘gangsterism politics.’ It was also Tok Guru who chided the so-called UMNO-sympathisers in PAS and suggested that they ought to jump ship and join the party which, according to Muhyiddin, is supposedly first at ‘championing Islam.’ You don’t suppose the UMNO Youth hoodlums are not quite tough enough to take on Tok Guru, do you? Well, they seem perfectly capable of going toe-to-toe to spar politically with any other foe. Why are they afraid to attack Tok Guru? After all, some of the harshest criticisms of UMNO in this by-election were again delivered by Tok Guru himself. You don't suppose that would be political suicide for UMNO to go after Tok Guru, do you?
Despite this clear but pathetic UMNO ploy in Manek Urai, the signs of desperation are plain for all to see.
Surely you know the old saying: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck….
Need I say more?
G. Krishnan
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