‘Using a borrowed knife to kill Umno’

Why was Umno most rattled when Kita president Zaid Ibrahim wanted to stand down the party?

COMMENT

When things started to go awry in Kita a few months back, the people most upset were from Umno.

How is this possible since Kita is of no interest to Umno?  Umno regards Kita  as an nonstarter and not a threat to itself.

So why was Umno so upset leading even the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to decry the intention of Kita president Zaid Ibrahim to stand down his party?

Umno’s interest in Kita can only suggest one thing. That, it has bought over some Kita members and was planning to use them to stand as Umno-sponsored candidates in the next election.

Umno plans to use Kita members whom they have bought over in three-cornered fights using its usual divide and conquer stratagem.

Talking about stratagems, we now come to Zaid’s declaration to contest in Kota Bharu.

We noticed that none of the PAS big guns- Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Hadi Awang, Mohamad Sabu have come out to reject Zaid’s offer to stand in KB.

I think their stand is wise. PAS can employ Zaid to destroy Umno. Zaid can win in KB if PAS supports him.

The possibility of having Zaid to contest in KB is therefore not discounted absolutely. There are actually strategic advantages in having Zaid contest in KB.

What Zaid says about neither PAS nor Umno carrying out substantive work in KB may be true.

Zaid advantage for PAS
I think PAS’ top leadership should consider strategy number 3 in the 36 stratagems of Sun Tzu’s  Art of War.

Strategy 3 states: ‘ Borrow one’s hand to kill’ (Kill with a borrowed knife.).

It means, victory can be obtained by attacking using the strength of another (because of lack of strength or do not want to use own strength).

The overriding objective of PAS and of Pakatan Rakyat  is to overthrow those who are ruining the country at the moment.

Umno plans to put up Fatmi Salleh, the PM’s political secretary as the Umno candidate in KB.

Fatmi’s posters with the PM are all over KB with the headlines – “Tolong Kami Untuk Menolong Anda” or something to that effect, in KB schools and places of public viewing.

The advantage of using Zaid to contest in KB lies chiefly in the fact that Zaid knows how Umno operates.

He can detect their deception and expose them.  Zaid is a native of KB and served as its MP from 2004-2008.

He has a foundation there, committed to welfare work and of helping people.

Why not then use a borrowed knife to kill off Umno?

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but joined DAP earlier this year. He is a FMT columnist.