UMNO fixing itself: recognizing the new realities

A Chinese friend asked me, why do you think the Chinese will not vote BN? My response was- I don't know why they won't. What I know is they CAN. The question we should be asking is why can they?

They can because, the great advances achieved by the Chinese as a whole, happened when there is least interference from the government in the course of the Chinese pursuing their self-interests. So, the answer is, why should they give up this freedom to purse their self-interests, as long as they don't run foul against the law up, in return for bigger government which means bigger interference which means also, admitting the high handedness of little and not so little napoleons into their lives? For these reasons, they won't vote for BN.

The Malays.

The Malays have got it wrong. Part of this mistake, or a greater part of the mistake they make, is to believe, they are little children depending for their succor and sustenance on UMNO or by extension the UMNO dominated government.

What do you need to do business for example? I remember my many talks with the Oracle of Syed Putra. I have met him for two successive weeks and each week he is lamenting the path taken by UMNO and its current leadership. I shall write on that later.

The practical idea of capitalism, is to provide capital to the Malay so that he can have the capital to start business, the educational and technical skills to sustain and expand the business etc. read again- thy need capital( capital is not UMNO), they need educational and technical skills( both are not UMNO).

So, where does it state anywhere in the word, that Malays need UMNO absolutely to advance? They don't.

Let me give some more examples. Every town and city in Malaysia displays the same characteristics. I am most familiar with my hometown, Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur. In Kuantan you have a section of town dominated by Chinese (Ayer Puteh) and in Kuala Lumpur you have (Old Klang Road). In my schooldays, these two areas were and are still dominated by the Chinese. Both these areas enjoyed least attention from the government in the past. Go visit Ayer Puteh in Kuantan today; you will be almost convinced that it's a city in itself. It developed on its own on account of the vibrancy of the people pursing their economic interests with the least interference and meddling from government. It has achieved this status with lesser interference from government.

Old Klang Road area has developed into a commercial behemoth that it's almost fair to say, it has developed a parallel economy rivaling what the official government can do. Yet old Klang Road has achieved that without the excessive interference of government.

In other words, it's absolutely hogwash to say, we depend on the government for our livelihood.

Let me go to the other extreme of the logic. We have millions of Malays in rural areas who can do better if they have what? If they have capital, accessibility, education and technical skills etc. very true. So Malays need capital (capitalism), the need accessibility (freedom) they need education (self-interest). None of these are in any way synonymous with UMNO.

Let me repeat this statement. The Malays need capital (yes), they need freedom (yes) and they need to pursue their self-interests? Now tell me, if I were to purse this extreme logic, do the Malays need UMNO? They don't because their advancement is not absolutely dependent on whether it's UMNO that provide capital, freedom and creates the environment that enable them each to purse their self-interests. So when Dr Mahathir says, the Malays need help, where does it say in the world, that that HELP comes in the form of UMNO?

So before UMNO goes to the polls, I hope they get rid of this cockiness and self-conceit that the people need us. They don't.

Posted by sakmongkol AK47