Many Malaysians were not surprised that a Merdeka survey found that Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was the favorite to be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia. Hisham scored 19.8% of the votes from 1,008 respondents, while Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin could only garner 1%.
Needless to say, this doesn't bode well for Muhyiddin. There are signs within Umno that he is bidding to challenge Najib for the Umno presidency and reportedly has the support of former premier Mahathir Mohamad. The last thing Muhyiddin needs now is a rival for the PM's chair, which many Umno stalwarts see as a clincher for him.
So why did the DPM score so badly in the independent pollster's survey? Is it because of his infamous 'Malay first, Malaysian next' declaration? The latent racism in Muhyiddin's words on numerous occasions has not gone down well with the non-Malays, who do not want a Perkasa-type Ibrahim Ali helming the country.
But is the 'keris-waving' Hisham - who had insisted on appealing the High Court's lifting of the Allah ban - any better?
Frankly no. Neither men are the stuff that real reformists are made of. Neither men can do anything to put Umno back on the right path. How could they change Malaysia??
What has BN done but spend money & without bothering to account for it?
While more and more Malaysians of all walks of life begin to scratch their heads and puzzle over what the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is trying to do in the country, the ground reality is that millions of the population are beginning to start to face up to much hardship, pain and suffering.
It seems as if, on the surface, that BN are doing things right. But on the ground level, there is much discontent and dissatisfaction among the ‘rakyat” as the general sentiment is that they are facing struggles just to keep afloat and keep going in life.
It is these constraints and struggles that is creating and generating a large amount of unhappiness among the people. And the complaints abound from low wages and salaries to the rising costs of goods and services which the people are unable to keep pace.
While fuel prices have been kept in check, the price spiral still keeps going upward and it is usually after Chinese New Year that the annual price increases take place. This leaves Malaysians wondering how much more they will be able to keep up with in price increases.
BN has failed Malaysians
![](http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/748/f46965cab738a237b0f94d798709ea05.jpg)
Hishammuddin, who is also Najib's cousin, on the left with Muhyiddin on the right
Based on ground realities, it looks as if BN has failed Malaysians. BN now has carved for itself the image of a political party whose wishes and aspirations seem to be to take care of the governing elite and their cronies and sycophants only.
There is that clear cut impression given by BN to the ordinary folk that they will have to learn to help themselves, as in this era of globalization, the BN machinery is fully busy and occupied trying to pull off all the stops to try and stay in power.
The ground reality is that Malaysians realize this and this is why BN is unwanted and unpopular. BN leaders appear to be ganging up to try and cover each other against faults and wrongdoings and in the process try to cling on to power.
But more and more Malaysians are now wising up to the ill ways of BN as they are now better informed through social media and better educated. This is why they can filter the facts from the untruths and be able to discern for themselves what is actually happening in this country.
More heartache
While the majority of Malaysians are today faced with bread-and-butter issues, what is really a crying heartache is to see that more and more Malaysians have fallen into the disadvantaged and marginalized and unfortunate groups.
This is because of their inability to withstand economic woes and hardship, their difficulty in coping with financial hardship and their ill health and fragile households that are all contributing to make more and more Malaysians fall into the abject and helpless category.
The ground reality is that this should not be the case. But corruption, collusion, nepotism and cheating within the BN have contributed to the wealth of the nation being hoarded for the high and mighty and not being equitably distributed among the ‘rakyat.’
This is why there is a dichotomy in this country where about 20 per cent of the population or the elite control and own about 80 per cent of the wealth of the nation while 80 per cent of the population has access to only about 20 per cent of the nation’s wealth.
It is this disproportionate rate in the distribution of wealth that is really the cause of ill feelings and misery and unhappiness because although Malaysians toil long and hard at the workplace they are being denied their rightful dues.
This is why on the ground level the reality is stark and real that the people face much hardship, suffering and deprivation and it is really high time and imperative that something be done redress this imbalance in the nation.
Wielding the big stick
![](http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/assets/uploads/articles/UMNO_GENERAL_ASSEMBLY_271114_TMINAJJUA_02.jpg)
Muhyiddin in blue waits in the wings
Malaysians are now better aware and conscious as they witness the on-goings within the governing elite in this country and realize now that the leaders of this country are really those who are self-seeking and self-serving.
This is why Malaysians are running out of patience. Although the 14th GE is to be held in another three years, the feeling on the ground is that the country cannot wait so long for another general election for fear that BN will cause the nation to grow from bad to worse.
This is why the feeling on the ground is that there should be snap polls as Pakatan Rakyat’s share of the popular vote of 52 per cent in the 13th GE appear to have swelled further and it looks as if with growing certainty that they will form the next government.
Whatever it is the majority of Malaysian’s cry is loud and clear that they want the increasingly unpopular BN to be voted out in a free and fair polls void of any tinkering or foul play. This is why the ‘rakyat’ cannot wait to see the end of BN rule.
These are the ground realities in Malaysia today. - MAILBAG
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.