You know Umno-Baru/BN is in deep trouble with simple things like a proposer for a prospective candidate going AWOL, and last week's Astro's TV channel racist broadcast.
In some places, nomination day had a carnival-like atmosphere, but behind the scenes, the Umno-Baru candidates are gripped by fear. Fear is definitely in the air.
For the 15th general election (GE15), the prospect of losing his seat (for the Umno-Baru candidate) is not an option.
He needs to win for his party to survive. Umno-Baru politicians have managed to cling on to power in these six decades, not because of good governance, sound economic policies politics, or good policies. They survived because they are good at promoting fear and loathing - by spreading the politics of fear.
Losing in GE15 is not just about losing a seat, a loss of face, or being denied a chance to represent the constituents.
For Umno-Baru candidates, losing means not having access to a privileged lifestyle and the funds that their dear leader can magically provide.
Losing also means being unable to generate more income from lucrative contracts, and being denied highly prized commissions from government projects. Umno-Baru politicians may call these projects "investing in the future - theirs" but the rakyat calls it, "The curse of the three generations”.
It is a curse because the duration of the project involved is sufficient to provide jobs and a steady 'no-questions-asked-income' trickling in for the politician and selected family members for several years.
Politics in Umno-Baru is not for the faint-hearted. There is everything to lose.
The Umno-Baru politician did not get rich from hard work and intellect. Many will have allegedly purchased their degrees. Most of them, or at least the generation of politicians from the 1980s onwards, became eye-watering wealthy from corrupt activities.
When one is not used to working to earn one's keep, losing the source of income, despite having millions of ringgits stashed in the bank, will not be easy.
"Easy come, easy go," as they say.
The townhouse in London, luxury New York penthouse, or riverside Perth mansion may have been bought with illicit funds, but once he, or she, is no longer a politician, the maintenance and upkeep would be a struggle for the person who is used to free handouts.
Frisson of excitement in Bagan Datuk
On nomination day, Saturday, Nov 5, there was a frisson of excitement in one of the most hotly contested seats in Malaysia. The town was Bagan Datuk and its incumbent is Umno-Baru president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has held the seat since 1995.
One of Zahid's contenders is Tawfik Ismail (above), the co-founder of Gerak Independent (GI), but what most Malaysians were not aware of at the time, was that Tawfik almost failed to be nominated. BN's dirty tricks department was operating in Bagan Datuk that week.
Few, especially the younger generation, even those in their mid-forties and fifties, will recall Tawfiks' father, Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, a former deputy prime minister. Sadly, our history as taught in schools is cherry-picked by our political masters.
Ismail was both respected and feared. He refused to grant favours to relatives and close friends. He had a strong work ethic and was strict, but fair. He was a stickler for rules and had a non-ethnic approach to issues. He was concerned about racial polarisation, but sadly, died in office, in his capacity as acting PM.
On nomination day, Tawfik alleges that Bagan Datuk was teeming with news that BN was running scared of him. He said that although he and his team arrived early for nomination, 30 minutes before the deadline, his proposer was nowhere to be seen or found. Their calls to him went unanswered.
With minutes to spare, the proposer allegedly contacted one of Tawfik's team members and said, "Game Over!" The proposer who disappeared did not realise that 15 minutes before the deadline closed, a substitute proposer had been found. The alleged sabotage had backfired.
Umno-Baru/BN has been in control of the media for many decades, apart from a brief 22 months after GE14, when we had media freedom. All that disappeared with the Sheraton Move.
Irresponsible journalism
Last week, Awesome TV (Astro channel 123) angered Malaysians, when its newscasters urged Malays to vote in GE15 and fulfil their responsibility to the nation if they did not want the other races to seize control of political power.
Why is a national TV news channel promoting racism and the politics of hate? This is not responsible journalism. Besides the incumbent Klang MP, Charles Santiago, voicing his disgust on Twitter on the morning of Nov 6, where are the other voices of condemnation from the remaining politicians?
Why is the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission silent on this incident? Why is the caretaker PM also quiet? This nationwide racist broadcast has destroyed Ismail Sabri Yaakob's Keluarga Malaysia concept.
There is no Keluarga Malaysia, only Keluarga Melayu.
What do Malaysians, of a mixed marriage of Malays and non-Malay backgrounds, tell their children? Will their children believe that the non-Malay family is out to undermine them?
Poisoning the hearts and minds of the electorate with fear, loathing, and sabotage is nothing new. Be aware of BN's dirty tricks, take countermeasures and expose the cowards. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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