Umno's house of cards tumbles under the weight of truth

Never for once can Malaysians believe the propaganda coming from the mainstream media. As the Home Affairs ministry dangles their licenses before them, these news outlets are forced to lie to Malaysians concerning the true state of Malaysia.

In being the aggressor, in spinning lies, the UMNO lead party in the Barisan Nasional government has exposed its soft under-belly.

UMNO is a house of cards built on its own twisted reality. It is a reality built on believing in its own self-induced feel-good lies.

Peaceful Bersih marchers are equated as being akin to Thai demonstrators who brought the government of Thailand to a standstill, and which has only recently formed a proper ruling government led by opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra.

But the BN-controlled media has erred in equating Bersih to the protestors against the Thai government. Bersih is marching for election reforms and to have fair and free elections. It was never meant to be the vehicle for toppling the BN government, but the way Prime Minister Najib Razak reacted to it may bring his own downfall.

Joker

What may be similar though is that normal day citizens have dared to come out and demand that their governments listen to them. And this is why Bersih was such an astounding success. With no promise of any form of reward, citizens turned up in the streets of Kuala Lumpur to march because they believed in the call for a better Malaysia.

It is also a joke that Najib Razak could even state that Malaysian should not make street protests part of the culture in the nation. He has indeed forgotten that his fore-fathers and the founders of UMNO took to the streets in protest of the Malayan Union right after World War II and that eventually led to independence from colonial rule.

He has also forgotten that it was UMNO who protested against the Royals during the constitutional crisis in 1983. And as recently as 2008, it was UMNO protesters who protested in Terengganu against their own party choice of candidates for the 12th General Elections.

Street protest may not be a culture for the Malaysian public but it is sure a culture for UMNO.

And best of all, if Najib didn't want street culture why didn't keep his promise and allow the rally to be held in the Stadium Merdeka? If Najib didn't want street culture, why didn't he tell the police to clear a way for the marchers to quickly get to their destinations rather than order them to block the way?

Running away again

So many questions and it is further compounded when Najib Razak has still to answer for his involvement in the controversial purchase of the Scorpene submarines even as the French courts prepare to hear the case of alleged kickbacks paid to his proxy by French firm DCN. With the French investigators due to come to KL to brief citizen groups, how convenient it is that Najib should leave the country to meet the Pope and establish diplomatic ties.

Whilst the country is in limbo over the use of the term “Allah” by Christians, Najib chooses to meet the Pope to form diplomatic ties. What is Najib’s stand on these issues or will we now see the likes of Perkasa condemning Najib for giving lee-way to the minority Christians?

And if we can’t really tell where Najib stands, can we also trust the police to uphold the laws of the land? The police also seem caught up in the web of UMNO lies.

None of the 91 persons listed under a court order prohibiting entry into city areas were arrested for breaking the court order, said Kuala Lumpur police acting chief Amar Singh. He explained that they did not enter the stipulated areas between 8am and 6pm as outlined by the court ruling. If the 91 individuals did not break the court order, then why were they arrested the moment they were sighted?

In some cases the moment they stepped out of the train in KL Sentral? Why were they hand-cuffed and ushered into police trucks? The sight of someone in hand-cuffs would automatically send an image of them being under arrest. Are the police attempting to wash their hands clean over their own actions that were clearly not abiding with any laws.

The house of UMNO is crumbling

UMNO’s house of cards is crumbling under the weight of truth that is now glaring them in the face.

The only scenes of violence in the whole march were the ones committed by the police and the FRU. And whatever ideas of violence by the marchers played out by the BN controlled media are images of citizens reacting out of self-defense. And though the color yellow with Bersih printed on it was deemed illegal by Hishamuddin Hussein, police brutality was exerted against the marchers regardless of what color shirt you wore. How can Hishammuddin explain this now?

The police force under the watch of the Home Minister could not differentiate between what is illegal and legal. Instead, as long as you were on the street, you were a target.

Yet, UMNO and BN continue to lie through their teeth about the real situation while the whole world has access to eye-witness accounts, video evidence and testimonies that speak to the contrary.

UMNO has lost it and Malaysians know this. Malaysians have never and won't ever see UMNO as the champion they so believe themselves to be. Less Malays see them as their champion too.

Instead we all see the leaders of UMNO as pure oppressors bent on taking away our civil liberties - just to prolong their need to stay in power.

- Malaysia Chronicle