General Elections by AMBUSH: Latest 'BRAINWAVE' from UMNO strategists

Prime Minister Najib Razak has said it many times - loud and crystal clear - that UMNO-BN must win the 13th general election at all costs even if it mean "crushed bodies" and "lost lives".

For diehard UMNO people, many of whom may actually take Najib's exhortation literally, the die is cast. In the conversation, they even term the political Opposition as “musuh” or enemies. That is how they have set their minds to be.

Now, when you treat someone as your enemy, the things you do and the actions you take towards them are very different from the responses you would make towards a rival or competitor. When engaging your competitor, you know you should compete in a healthy way based on rules that have been set by convention or public expectation. You would even be able to respond rationally and sportingly if you lost.

But when facing the enemy, you would not only condemn your enemy, you would also face him or her with vengeance, ferocity and hatred in your heart. You would hit hard and even hit to kill whenever there is an opportunity. And this is particularly so when you enemy is gaining ground and you have so much to lose.

"Musuh"

Without doubt, UMNO members have been brainwashed by their elitist leaders to believe that the stakes are too high lose GE-13. Such an attitude has been intentionally honed and cultured by warlords including Mahathir Mohamad, Daim Zainuddin and of course Najib himself. They have the most to lose and as such,they need to ensure they have enough 'foot soldiers' who are willing to sacrifice themselves ostensibly for the sake of the party but in reality, it is to help keep them in power.

Why is staying in power so important to UMNO that it is willing to see "crushed bodies" and "lost lives"? What is 5 years on the reserve bench if they are voted out in GE-13? Can they live to fight another day?

Perhaps not. And this is the fault of their top leadership who have focused only on schemes to benefit themselves and their families. Not only did they fail to recruit talented young successors, they actually barred new blood from joining so as to 'protect' their monopoly of the party. Obviously, the 'pickings' from politics is rich indeed. After 5 decades of unchallenged rule, supplying the country with 6 of its prime ministers, creating and establishing vast networks of wealth, money and businesses, UMNO's ruling elite won't be calling it a day so easily.

Still bickering after all these years

Yes they are all thinking of themselves, not the people or the country. If UMNO had been thinking of the people and the country, Malaysia with all its natural and human resources coupled with its strategic geographical location would have been one of the greatest nations in Asia. A healthy and viable Opposition would find it hard to make headway too.

Unfortunately, after 55 years of UMNO-led rule, Malaysians are bickering amongst themselves for everything - money, scholarships, jobs, education, schools, universities, electricity, water, housing, cars, land, languages, religion and even the word ALLAH!

This is why the latest survey from the Merdeka Centre revealed such astonishing results. Not only is Najib the weakest prime minister, holdings the lowest popularity rating of a mere 64%, his UMNO-BN plunged 6 percentage points to 42% satisfaction in June. The greatest and most alarming shift in support was clearly from the Malay section of the population, which incidentally constitutes the largest segment of the Malaysian electorate.

Yes, UMNO is losing is hold on its traditional voter base. The Malays are deserting it, disgusted by its greed, corruption and 'sex sex sex' gutter politicking. Frankly, which citizens in which country in this world would want to vote for UMNO-BN, when its leader has been publicly unmasked on the international stage to be a "false democrat", a "new autocrat" and a "champion of doubletalk"?

The answer is obviously, very, very few.

Cheat

Therefore how on earth would UMNO be able to win GE-13 which is crucial for Mahathir, Daim and Najib? If UMNO-BN lost, the implications are huge. The recent life imprisonment imposed on Tunisia's former dictator Ben Ali must have created a shudder throughout the UMNO top leadership although they won't admit it - not yet, that is.

“Cheat”. This is what they will try their best to do first. It has been written by so many people and so many times that UMNO will cheat. They have been using all government machinery at hand. Every single officer they can order to do their bidding, they will. The Election Commission, the police, KEMAS, the Welfare Department, postal services, the newspapers and TV channels, the Registry Department, even the religious institutions will be co-opted. Already, UMNO has been using the clerics - the Imams and Muftis - and the mosques throughout the country as if these were their private belongings.

The next move would then be to make it as awkward as possible for the opposition to prepare for the elections. Restrict all political activities. Limit the time for ceramahs (small political rallies), harass the audiences and demoralize the supporters. Let the Opposition keep guessing on the date of the GE-13 so that it will deplete its resources and energy on marathon polemics, and finally be left with nothing - dehydrated and drained - when the date is finally announced.

Ambush

Then, ambush the Opposition without any warning. When the Pakatan is unprepared and preoccupied with other matters, announce the date for GE-13. Give the minimum number of days notice, and keep the campaigning period as short as possible so that the Pakatan won't be able to have enough time to convince the electorate.

The Hari Raya celebrations will begin on August 19. School holidays are also due to run from August 18 to 26, while key holidays Merdeka will be celebrated on a grand scale on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16. Let the festive mood and the people feel happy.

This then is when the unethical Najib is likely to dissolve Parliament and call for polls. UMNO will ambush the Opposition and the people of Malaysia by having the GE-13 around this time.

The Opposition will have less than 10 days to campaign and get fully prepared for the GE-13. Still in holiday mood, the people won't be very keen to participate and in fact, UMNO hopes that many won't turn up to vote because they have already set up their own plans.

As critics have warned, hundreds of thousands of illegal workers who have been promised citizenship if they voted BN are in place and waiting to execute UMNO's order. More than a million RELA personnel are also on standby allegedly as 'phantom' voters to pad the count for the BN.

The people must remain steady and calm: The country belongs to them, not UMNO

But will it all go according to script. UMNO has no choice. Its back is to the wall. Najib has failed and done a worse job than his predecessor Badawi. Clutching at straws is all that is left for the ruling elite in UMNO.

Will UMNO get violent if they don't win. They certainly will try to keep power even if there "crushed bodies" and "lost lives".

But chances are much higher they won't succeed. The UMNO elite are completely stupid. They know better than to trigger the same ending for themselves as has been the fate of Ben Ali, Mubarak and Gaddaffi.

Ambush, surprise and cheat – the UMNO way - will be their thrust. The Opposition must parry. It is left for the people to remain calm and steady and to ensure that the MIGHT that comes from them, and them alone, rules the day and is not hijacked by political pirates on board the Najib & Co.

Malaysia Chronicle