‘Perception’ problem Umno’s own doing

The opposition isn't clever at spinning; it's the Umno people who are bad at telling the truth.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says Barisan Nasional is suffering a perception problem and the cause of this is “cleverness” of the opposition in spinning the issues.

But I say to Muhyiddin: the extent by which the opposition can spin issues is limited.

The BN controls almost all the media industrial complex. It has an army of bloggers who are paid handsomely driving around in BMW X6 and other cars.

Its leader-party, Umno, is also paying cyber-troopers more known for carpet-bombing blogs opposing Umno and BN with invectives and expletives.

Seriously, what’s there to spin when the issues are real? The perception problem faced by Umno is because of its own undoing.

Take BR1M, for instance.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Muhyiddin can keep crowing about BR1M, which actually stands for “Beli Rakyat 1 Malaysia”, but the payouts in BR1M and 2 are pale when compared to the more than RM38 billion in compensations disbursed to toll operators.

Then you have people like Rais Yatim displaying his bald stupidity at counting.

According to Rais, there were only 22,000 people at the Bersih 3.0 rally. The attendance at the Umno gathering at Bukit Jalil was apparently more than the stadium can take.

Perhaps, the 22,000 heads Rais meant was the number of detectives and plainclothes policemen.

It’s no wonder that Umno is facing a perception problem.

Nothing rationale from Umno

And what’s there to spin about the recent one million gathering of youths at Putrajaya?

People know the turnout couldn’t have been one million. They also know this RM10-million event had cost at least RM600,000 just for cleaning and toilet services.

Now, that’s how Umno spends your money.

They will next say it’s sponsored. Does any reasonable Malay think sponsors will dish out hard-earned corporate money so easily unless they are beholden to Umno with a view to future contracts and licences?

People came to see the scantily clad Korean K-pop singers gyrate and the Umno muftis didn’t say anything. They will say “Harus sini dan Harus Sana” only.

There is a real perception problem because Umno dares not counter people’s perception with rational explanation.

Take the case of what the French court has revealed. Someone higher-up had asked for US$1 billion just for a meeting on the Scorpene submarine deal.

Isn’t it then reasonable to conclude that the French supplier would have inserted that amount into the price so that when the submarines were purchased, the bill sent to our treasury would not only have increased beyond market rate but also that amount PLUS the Perimekar and other commissions?

And the other money paid to view the documents beforehand?

This is not just corruption. It is also treason.

Our Royal Navy people put their life on the line to defend our country and this is done to them.

What has been the answer from the BN government when it was revealed that navy secrets had been sold to the French?

The issue, Muhyiddin, is not what to spin, but how do you answer these allegations rationally and truthfully.

Khaled’s PTPTN folly

Not forgetting how do you answer to the imbecility of Khaled Nordin (Higher Education Minister) who, at the behest of the Umno Cabinet, punished the students of Unisel (Universiti Selangor) just out of spite against Pakatan Rakyat for wanting to give free education?

Pakatan wants to abolish PTPTN because it believes education for all Malaysians should be free.

But the Umno idiots flog the part “cancellation of PTPTN” and conveniently omits the other part about “free education”.

Education is a federal function. The funds for national education come from all the taxpaying rakyat including the enterprises and the land.

Umno is now stopping our poor Malay students from completing their studies by blocking funds to them – the money that came from the rakyat.

And how do you answer to the inclusion of so many foreigners in our electoral rolls? This is treason.

Najib’s lieutenants have been working feverishly to bring in some 18,000 new voters in his constituency.

How can he be not confident despite the millions and millions, and the thousands of cattle head distributed for Hari Raya Adha and lorry loads of batik sarongs and kain pelikats and umbrellas, and bottled water and other gifts?

Because in 1999, he came within a whisker of losing Pekan.

Umno will cheat

How not to spin on why bully Noh Omar (Tanjung Karang MP) is so against the Pakatan Selangor government cleaning up its state electoral roll.

If there’s nothing to hide, why the need to block that which is right?

If indeed Najib wants us to be the best democracy in the world, why all this hoo-hah against checking the electoral roll?

How not to tell the people the truth when we know that Umno is going to cheat in the 13th general election.

It is going to make use of thousands of instantly naturalised Bumiputera Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Myanmarese and Nepalese to vote for Umno, and try to win the two-thirds majority by winning the marginal seats.

And that’s the only way Umno will ever win the election. By cheating.

Before our Almighty, how can any Malay, let alone our reasonable ones, accept such a thing? Cheating is the motto of Umno. Bullying and stealing are next.

Is it any wonder why Umno is suffering from perception problem? Takde baca punya orang kah kamu, Muhyiddin?

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