PILLAGED & PUNDERED: ON ITS BIRTHDAY, MALAYSIANS WEEP FOR THEIR COUNTRY

On our Merdeka anniversary day we had to march peacefully to reclaim justice and democracy. We ended up figuring out how widespread is the public sentiment that cast a long shadow of distrust in the leadership of the nation.

Now on Malaysia Day’s anniversary, we have red shirts threatening a race-based vengeance. Again it marks a lack of trust in the leadership of Najib Abdul Razak although a main actor here from Umno unfortunately thinks otherwise and backs all the way the red shirts as a show of power.

Yes, those in the good books of the prime minister and benefiting from the ‘you help me, I help you’ mantra practice will vouch that the red shirts are out to show their support for Najib.

But they forget that the red shirt held a demonstration of muscle prowess, breaking tiles with their hardened nuts and a time-frozen silat display.

They forget the truth on ground level about this 916 event. Many traders are quite decided that they anticipate unwarranted problems and are intending to close shop for the day.

Indeed if the Najib administration is strong, there would have been no need and reason to go this extreme distance for an intimidating street protest. Let us not dismiss the rational fact that this red shirt do is also being condemned by the eminent Group of 25 Malaysian personalities.

If Najib was a miracle for Malaysia what we would be witnessing is not a red shirt prortest and support march but something more assuring and placating.

We would have seen a strong currency. There would have been an absence of global media exposes on the country’s alleged scandals. Praises from established global press like Aljazeera and Asia Sentinel including the Wall Street Journal would have been the order of the day to reflect Najib’s innocence and ingenious success and celebrated victories.

In the first place, even Bersih 4 would never have happened if Najib had taken pains to match his word to the global audience with right action back home.

If Najib was doing a perfect job – better than his two predecessors, we would all have had only one shirt color pulling ranks for Merdeka and Malaysia day, in jubilation.

But that was not the case.

As Umno fights for its life, scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas seems so desperate and obvious by his defenders.

Wonder what more liability antics will be brokered in the six months of life line extension that Najib has fenced-up for himself with support from just his coterie of beneficiaries and paid or sponsored crowds?

Indeed the days, weeks and months ahead are as oppressive and suffocating as the current haze that blankets the nation. In the meantime, good, caring and patriotic citizens weep for Malaysia for a miracle while pro-Najib camps and decoys seem to muscle their way with intimidating actions and inactions. - MAILBAG