To many people, it is becoming more obvious by the day that UMNO is a party of greedy individuals who have never been united by a feeling of love for their party. Many recent events have consolidated this perception, with the latest being a public row amongst their top media bosses and spin strategists.
Even in how to push forward the UMNO agenda and how to sell to the public UMNO's nation-building credentials, there is disunity all the way down the distribution lie. So you can imagine how rotten is this grand old party, and why few have doubts that it is now on its final journey to political oblivion.
Each UMNO person seems to think only about himself or herself. Everything in the behemoth party of 3 million members is compartmentalized and the only thing that weakly glues them together is MONEY.
UMNO's BN coalition also operates on this basis and this is why it is rare to see the logos of each of the 14 member parties imprinted on BN materials. They are seldom on the same platform and each BN component has similar DNA to UMNO's - individualistic and of the selfish sort not the creative.
The UMNO DNA
It is no surprise then that UMNO cyber troopers are also greedy and individualistic. They too have the same UMNO DNA running down their veins. The word greedy here does not just imply money, but also other worldly gains like being famous, respected, influential and powerful. The UMNO cyber troopers are split into several factions, and they are not on the same wavelength at all.
Among UMNO cyber troopers, the one most frequently blamed for stirring up trouble is Wan Azri of the Papa Gomo blog although he is not directly involved in the latest fiasco accusing the News Straits Times head honcho Jalil Hamid of being 'disloyal' to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
So heated was the mudslinging in the UMNO blogosphere that it became news and the bloggers hogged the limelight instead of their political patrons. Yes, it was quite ludicrous. Can't UMNO do anything right? The matter over which they fought is secondary - it was an article over the sacking of Public Services Department chief Abu Bakar Abdullah.
After all, whether Najib admits it or not, it is clear that Abu Bakar was the fall guy for the fiasco over a proposed remuneration scheme for the civil service that favored only the top echelon, leaving the rest fuming and threatening to vote for the Pakatan Rakyat opposition.
Nonetheless, some of the UMNO bloggers insisted that the article published by Berita Harian, which is under the NST group, portrayed a bad image for Najib since Abu Bakar's remarks that he was unfairly dismissed by the UMNO-BN government had been allowed to slip through. But seize on that slip, the rival UMNO cyber troopers did and the result was a huge flare-up that only sent the dirt in the party flying up to hit the fan.
Funding from taxpayers not party money!
Now, Papa Gomo has been defending UMNO and creating trouble for the opposition. Wan Azri is the one who uploaded the Datuk T sex video-clips for Utusan and all the other UMNO papers to pick up and carry. Now, he wants to be recognized, exalted and enriched for his efforts, which he says have been self-funded.
However, there are also some who say that he is being sponsored by Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the Sports Minster. Of course Wan Azri did get paid every now and then by those UMNO individuals who used his website as a platform to fire their salvos. But no, he has not been getting a steady flow of cash into his bank account. And he was especially irked when UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin formed the Unit Media Baru (UMB) to defend their party and attack the Opposition, but he was left out.
It is interesting to note that Khairy's unit consisted of new bloggers paid by the funds allocated under the Ministry of Information. Imagine public funds to do UMNO's dirty work. But then again, who in UMNO would spend his or her own money on the party. It is always the tax payers who will foot the bills. But that is another story.
Punch-up
Another UMNO blogger involved in scrape Akupeduliapa (APA), who is part of Khairy's UMB UMNO. Papa Gomo is not on good terms with APA because the latter had accused Papa Gomo of having acquired some wealth and was not as poor as he likes to make himself out to be. Khairy actually waddled into the fray - tweeting that this was normal with Papa Gomo. What a crocodiles pit!
It was reported that Papa Gomo-APA enmity reached such a pitch that the younger Papa Gomo punched the more senior APA during one of the Ministry of Sports meetings. Now, do you guys understand why Perkasa thinks nothing of attacking Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng or threatening to reprise the May 13, 1969 racial riots? Violence and bloodshed are never from UMNO's pirate mentaility. It is in their bloodstream!
Feuding, both of them are now creating trouble for their respective sponsors - Ahmad Shabery and whoever the UMNO leader that APA serves. Since APA is under UMB UMNO he should be serving Khairy, but the one who is running the unit now is not Khairy but another UMNO Youth exco member by the name of Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz.
The UMNO leaders behind the bloggers
Tun Faisal is not only the current head of UMB but he is also Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s man. Whichever bone they are now fighting over, it appears that Khairy, Faisal, Hishammudin and Ahmad Shabery are now trying to gain the upper hand over each other's influence over all these bloggers. Inevitably, this creates friction amongst everyone involved.
Latest rumor in the UMNO universe is that Hishammuddin has tried to engage Wan Azri to do some favors to help him oust rival leaders as UMNO infighting intensifies ahead of the party polls that is due to be held soon. Of course, the penny-conscious Papa Gomo has been promised substantial monthly rewards in return. This is indeed very intriguing.
Another interesting character in the UMNO blogosphere is Anuar Mohd Nor from UMNO REFORM2. He is of the view that Najib must be told the truth and not be misinformed with rosy lies. Anuar has been blunt in his opinions such that the other UMNO bloggers wonder if he is working for the Opposition. But Anuar sees himself as the one 'true' advisor to the naked Emperor, telling His Majesty that he is indeed naked. To Anuar, the other bloggers are the evil advisers leading the Emperor on his naked parade outdoors.
Perhaps also feeling a bit naked, lone-ranger Papa Gomo is now trying to get allies from amongst the UMNO bloggers. He has tried to persuade Anuar Mohd Nor to join his camp. The development is being watched with interest.
Sack Jalil
Then among those calling for Jalil's head to roll is Salahuddin Hisham from The Unspinners. Salahuddin Hisham has also been feuding with Anuar Mohd Nor and they have been arch enemies for a long time. Salahuddin simply does not agree with the approach taken by Anuar in trying to improve UMNO.
Odd it may seem but it is Salahuddin, who is being treated as an outcast by UMNO for his bad attitude and for being at logger heads with an UMNO leader. So you can see, the problems that surround a typical UMNO blogger are indeed multi-dimensional - such is their capacity for fighting and infighting! Anway, Salahuddin, who is also behind Another Brick in the Wall, is considered a liability to UMNO.
Incidentally, The Unspinners was lambasted in July 2011 by King of the UMNO rat pack - Raja Petra Kamaruddin over the US$24 million diamond ring purportedly bought by Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor. Salahuddin had earlier accused RPK of making false accusations against Rosmah.
Meanwhile, 'Granddaddy' of them all - Akhiruddin Atan aka Rocky Bru - has tried to play down the matter as he is supposedly the leader engaged by UMNO to control and manage the paid cyber troopers.
So far, he has not been able to make any visible improvement at all in regaining public support for UMNO despite his much-touted RM300,000 monthly budget. Not surprisingly, his efforts in cooling things down has not silenced The Unspinners, who continues to call for NST's Jalil to be SACKED.
Like Rais, those who eat chilli feel the heat
Another UMNO blogger Zakhir the 'Big Dog' who is also known as 'The Thirteen Million Plus Ringgit' man is now under fire for his continuous attacks against Information Minister Rais Yatim. The one shooting at Big Dog is Melayu Atas Pagar of Gelombang Wangsa Maju, the Wangsa Maju branch of the UMB UMNO.
APA is also not happy with Big Dog's attacks on Rais Yatim. But Big Dog is not about to let go. Upset at Rais for sidelining him and his 'elite' team of top bloggers, Big Dog posed an insulting question to Rais “Why do ministers love their top people to be around them all the time” instead of being with the voters.
Coincidence or not, it was Rocky Bru who also wrote an article on Rais' purported rape of his maid and guess what? It was Big Dog who then asked the authorities to investigate!
The bloggers who service the UMNO-BN leaders appear to live in an environment that is as chaotic and self-destructing as the parties they serve. Their official mission and vision are nowhere on their radar - only personal agenda. Sounds familiar? As they say, birds of a feather flock together and those who eat chilli feel the heat indeed!
But more than that, the intensity and hatred the UMNO bloggers display towards each other is symptomatic of what is happening across the length and breadth of the party.
From branch to division all the way to the Supreme Council, infighting which has always simmered below the service is now SERIOUS. With the 13th general election delayed to next year, the battle for UMNO will be the most exciting event after the Olympics 2012!
On a more serious vein, it is interesting to ponder, that given the infighting will be the most intense ever, will UMNO be able to survive its latest civil war?
Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.