Bullying tactics will bring about Umno’s downfall

I have no choice but to take time off from my studies amidst preparing for the examinations in a fortnight’s time to write this article.

Another incident stirred up by Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos in front of Perdana Leadership Foundation yesterday clearly shows that the biggest political party in this country continues to condone bullying tactics and encourage a culture that is alien to both the Malays and moderate Muslim community in this country.

It has certainly now made the moderate Muslim community a ‘minority’ in their own country. Every other day, we read what some of the thug-like leaders are talking. How often is it that we hear, for example, Noor Farida Ariffin or other members of the G25 Group of Eminent Malays speak up?

What angers me all the more is that, in the latest incident, the target is a man already in his nineties - Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose actions must have stirred up a hornet’s nest in Umno.

In previous incidents, where this Umno chief from a division in Selangor who is behaving more like a gangster than a leader worth his salt has created chaos, no police actions or even party disciplinary actions were taken against him. In fact, there appears to be some form of backing from the top.

In this latest incident, it tells us two things which should be pointed out.

Umno’s disintegrating culture

Firstly, this appears to have become Umno’s fast disintegrating culture where good common sense and moderation no longer prevail.

Because the moderates in Umno have become silent spectators, what comes across to us more often than not are Umno faces in the likes of Jamal Mohd Yunos, Malay Armed Forces Veterans Association president Mohd Ali Baharom (known as ‘Ali Tinju’) and Wan Mohd Azri Wan Deris (or Papagamo).

Both Jamal and Ali Tinju featured prominently in the chaos in front of Chinatown in the aftermath of Bersih 4 street rally. They also appeared in a distasteful and shameful manner in front of former Bersih 2.0 co-chair Ambiga Sreenevasan’s home in Bukit Damansara.

Most of us cannot forget how Ali Tinju and his few veteran army men performed the buttock wagging dance which has made us wonder how debased we have become as a nation, that someone like Mohd Ali should be allowed to take the stage.

Ali Tinju was also caught on video that went viral, making what I consider to be a highly seditious speech in front of Low Yat Plaza, yet to my surprise, all charges against him were dropped.

What does it say about the way justice is being administered in this country? When DAP’s Teresa Kok released a simple video clip during Chinese New Year last year, she was immediately charged with sedition. Similarly, Tian Chua from PKR was also charged with sedition, when he uttered the words, “mati katak”.

In both cases, both Kok and Chua were either acquitted or the charges finally dropped, implying that there was indeed no ground for such a charge.

We know now that Papagomo is the former policeman Wan Deris, who fiercely attacked jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim through his blog postings; and lately, he was also featured on a video clip that went viral, slapping a Pakistani foreign worker who had disturbed his sister. Although he pleaded guilty, his actions clearly show what kind of people are now supporting and defending Umno.

Is this the kind of culture that Umno is capable of promoting these days? This is a question I would like to ask Umno’s disciplinary board member, Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas and its chairperson Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail, why is it that no disciplinary or even enforcement actions were taken against them when they staged a demonstration without even giving the 10-day notice so often talked about by the police?

For Umno information chief Annuar Musa to say that whatever Jamal does is in his personal capacity is as good as as saying that despite being an Umno division chief, Jamal’s actions will not reflect badly on Umno. But, in reality, it does!

When Muhyiddin Yassin (like most other people would do) questioned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal accounts, he was sacked, first from his office as deputy prime minister and then suspended as Umno’s deputy president, without even going through the proper process of inquiry.

It is obvious to most of us that consistently, whenever people disagree with Umno, or Umno leaders feel uncomfortable or their positions are threatened, the only thing that they are capable of doing is not debating it intelligently with their opponents but creating or allow their supporters to create chaos.

In the latest incident, even former Umno president and prime minister, Dr Mahathir was not spared from Umno’s thug-like behaviours. How can you intimidate someone who is twice your age?

So, Dr M is still powerful after all

This clearly shows that Dr Mahathir still has a large influence among Umno grassroots.

On one hand, we are told that Dr Mahathir no longer has influence over Umno members; on the other hand, it is obvious from yesterday’s incident that the nonagenarian indeed has a very powerful influence, especially amongst his own fans.

This is something that Umno leaders cannot deny, that Dr Mahathir still has very strong influence on ordinary Umno members. He is being revered by many in the past, and he still has his following even amongst the veterans, especially those who had served in his cabinet, and are willing to speak up.

Rafidah Aziz is one good example. The steely woman and others should continue to make her voice heard for the sake of projecting a moderate Umno, rather than allow Umno’s image to be splashed with red all over.

I went to survey his blog chedet.cc and found that, on average, he is still getting some 100 to 300 responses to each post. For example, for ‘Najib dan Pembohongan’ (Najib and his lies), there were 143 posts by his readers, and the comments by one particular reader, johigh, stand out:

“Sarawak Report investigators are 1,000 steps ahead. Google and you will find detailed forensic evidence of e-mail communication snapshots, money trails, etc. It was a handful of people who misused their influence, connection and trust to bypass rules and authority to cheat 1MDB of billions.”

In short, Dr Mahathir is reaching more people after he championed the Citizen’s Declaration. Now, there is a common platform for all concerned citizens to work towards a common goal.

My suggestion goes beyond just Najib’s resignation - I think at some point, the Umno grassroots should punish their leaders in the coming general election.

Umno has to lose big in the polls so that they learn that power in the hands of the arrogant cannot last very long. With the help of Dr Mahathir and other Umno rebels, let the rural Malays and East Malaysian natives understand fully what is happening to the nation.

Let us realise that there is always a price to pay for people like Jamal for creating chaos (now or later). Let this voice of a concerned Malaysia resonate in the hearts of my fellow moderate Malaysians, especially those who were traditionally Umno supporters but now have begun to see what other Malaysians are seeing.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. -Mkini