Is this Umno’s last hurray?

Let Umno now celebrate its mirage of victory at the 13th general election.

COMMENT

Let us all hold our positions while Umno hang itself in the euphoria of all the delusional grandeur that it had conjured up in its last general assembly before it is relegated to the opposition bench.

At every Umno general assembly, Umno gets intoxicated with its perceived greatness in being able to rule our country for the last 54 years.

And it thinks it can do so for another 54 more years.

We will let Umno think so. Let it celebrate now its mirage of a victory at the 13th general election.

But remember (Prime Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) had promised RM5 million to the people of Sibu. With sweat drippinng down his face, he (publicly) pondered if RM5 million was enough to persuade the people of Sibu to vote Barisan Nasional (BN).

As we now know, that it was not enough! Not RM5 million, not any amount of money because the people of Sibu have had enough of BN and enough of Najib.

If Sibu can make Najib sweat buckets, think what a general election will do to him.

What you now see at the Umno general assembly is Umno’s last hurrah.

It is a “us versus them” situation. You are either aligned with Umno or against them.

‘We are in it together’

I am against Umno. The people of Penang, Selangor, Kelantan and Kedah are with me, too.

Then there are those who are in PKR, PAS and DAP. Do not forget Bersih. Do not forget Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM), and the people’s power.

MCLM candidates have been urged to be faithful to the rakyat and not to MCLM. My heart swells at the selflessness of MCLM – the rakyat, always the rakyat.

Then there is Kita – who says “it’s not government that matters, but governance”. Malaysia Today, Barisan Rakyat Bloggers, Zorro Unmasked and me… do not forget me!

Everyone of you that has borne the brunt of being messed around by BN and Umno, remember we are all in this together.

For now we are restrained. No date has been set for the 13th general election. Even restrained we still rejoice as the time nears for regime change.

For Umno, the inevitability of having to face its nemesis is not a matter of if but of when.

Without Najib, Rosmah does not matter

Put yourself in KJ’s (Khairy Jamaluddin) place and ask yourself what is it that he is now fighting for?

You know he is just fighting for face. Do not talk about a position in Cabinet – holding on to his Umno Youth post would be hard enough. And everything you do now is money down the drain, never to be recouped.

And what about Muhyiddin Yassin (Deputy Prime Minister)?

In his mind’s eye he waits for the call to serve – not to serve Umno but to serve Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) and to serve himself.

If it comes, he knows that Umno is on life support and his work is only to execute Umno’s exit strategy to ensure the least amount of damage is inflicted on the thieves, thugs and robbers from Umno and BN as Umno leaves Putrajaya.

Without Najib, his wife Rosmah (Mansor) does not matter – to Umno or to us.

Like the last days of the Fall of Rome, the Last Days of the Third Reich and the end of the Americans in South Vietnam, history will record that Umno was a victim of its own arrogance and hubris.

History will record that no one caused the downfall of Najib more than Rosmah.

That it was Mahathir, not Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) or Najib, that started the descend of Umno into an abyss of deceit, lies and money politics which ultimately will lead to its defeat at the polls in the 13th general election.

Mahathir, the opportunist

We have the numbers and the resources to make this happen.

We are not talking about probable cause and not about possible outcomes. The critical mass within our rakyat is already primed and committed to ABU (Asalkan Bukan Umno/BN).

All they need is the spark – the match that will light the bonfire of Umno’s vanities.

Some say it will be Shahrizat’s (Abdul Jalil) doing. Some say it will be Muhyiddin’s doing if he moves prematurely to unseat Najib.

Mahathir, ever the opportunist, lurks nearby knowing his entry into the fray “is a given”.

So all is in readiness, bar the call to arms by Najib.

What will be different this time is that for Umno, victory at the polls, like politics, is the art of the impossible.

There will be many in Umno who are already packed to go. Those in Umno who do not have the stomach to stand and fight on a level playing field with Pakatan Rakyat will go through the motions secure in the knowledge that defeat will not necessarily mean a life too removed from the one they are enjoying now – courtesy of their plundering of our nation’s wealth while they were in government.

Threat of criminal proceedings

For some the threat of criminal proceedings will see them relocate to parts unknown where extradition proceedings are done at the pleasure of executives where money or the lack of it, will decide your fate.

A dry run of these possibilities has been done by Razak Baginda and Amin Shah.

Malaysia is far removed from the possibility of a Saddam Hussein or (Muammar) Gadaffi scenario but a (Hosni) Mubarak of Egypt theatre is a distinct possibility.

It is these thoughts that constantly disturb the tranquillity of Seri Perdana and the sleep of others all over Bolehland.

The natives are restless… now what will soothe their restlessness?

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.