Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Miscalculated move by Dr M?

Since Dr Mahathir Mohamad's resignation from Umno, it has failed to spark off a mass resignation from the party. Only his immediate family members, excluding Mukhriz, have quit but there has been no big names. Certainly, his "shock and awe" tactic in quitting Umno has jolted Umno members but it has not led to the kind of effect that the former Prime Minister would surely want to see. But many Malaysians are also worried at the line he has been using lately, particularly his remarks of possible racial unrest and allegations that groups were making demands because a weak government. Malaysians, regardless of their races, simply want to have a bigger say over the kind of government they want. They have voiced it loudly at the elections, that's all. Even BN leaders have acknowledged that times have changed. There's nothing racial or religious when Malaysians speak up, if they do so within the legal boundaries. Even Dr M is trying to sound like a democrat these days, calling for bigger democratic space including press freedom.
No one can argue that during his 22 year leadership, he brought massive development to Malaysia but we also paid a heavy price for it, compromising our institutions. But that's over. Whatever his weaknesses, his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has opened up the country. Whether it was due to the political environment or his willingness to open up, Malaysians certainly enjoy greater freedom. He allowed the Lingam inquiry and got the BN burnt big time during the elections. It was the last straw for Dr M. For many Umno members, they find some of Pak Lah's reforms disturbing and a threat to their positions. Ministers Zaid Ibrahim, Shahrir Samad and Ahmad Shabeery Cheek, for example, have been openly criticised at Umno functions for their reforms. Will the reformists get their way in Umno or they will be put on fire?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dr should have known that the UMNO putras are there for the gravy train ride. There is no way they are gonna quit UMNO as long as there is hope a little gravy dropping on their plate. It only way there could be a mass resignation is when UMNO have lost control of the government to Pakatan, and the gravy has dried up. In his anger emotional state, he must have missed that point. If they resign from UMNO, what are they gonna do? Join PAS or PKR? Maybe we should wait & see if that comes about.

Anonymous said...

Datuk Wong,

The old man has come full circle.

He started his political career as a racist, fighting for Malay rights, despite being only half-Malay.

The ultra tag served him well in building up his image among the Malay masses.

His sacking from Umno, only added to his growing stature. Che Det became a hero overnight.

In the big picture, he did do a fairly good job as PM.

Among his obvious shortcomings include the damage he did to the judiciary, failure to check the rise of Islamic fundamentalists emboldened by Mahathir's endorsement of Anwar Ibrahim and his Abim zealots, failure to check corruption in high places,cronyism,and failure to undo the screwed up education system.

Towards the end of his tenure, he did look statesman-like but now that the kacang semua dah lupakan kulit, he is back to his old racist self.

Why can't he stop being a champion of ketuanan Melayu racism and try to be a true Malaysian?

He should forget Umno cos it is a dead men walking party.

He may be 83 but it is still not too late for him to change tack

The people will surely support him if he drops his racist stance.

He should fight this half-past-six/flip-flop government for the right reasons - effective leadership to bring about a united and progressive Malaysian Malaysia.

Sekian,
Ex-rumour monger, now fish monger

Anonymous said...

Awak,

Terlalu lewat mengulas isu yang hampir basi, terlalu dangkal dalam membca politik Mahathir.

Mahathir hanya menggertak meminta ahli UMNO keluar parti tetapi dalam masa yang sama meminta mereka jangan memasuki mana mana parti politik lain jika keluar UMNO dan isyarat ini amat jelas untuk akar umbi tidak mengambil tindakan apa apa.

Jika kita ingin melihat ahli UMNO keluar parti ianya akan berlaku secara berduyun duyun jika Mahathir menubuhkan parti baru atau menyeberang ke parti lain, khususnya PAS.

Tindakan Mahathir adalah terlalu advance untuk dibaca hari ini, tetapi senario perubahan telah mula berlaku, asakan dan tekanan makin terasa, ketidakstabilan bukan sahaja ujud di UMNO tetapi kesannya juga kepada parti lain.

Itulah Mahathir, 'move'nya mempunyai dua atau lebih percaturan, kawan dan musuh keliru - kluangman

PRAY,IT WORKS. joe's blog said...

Tengku Abdul Rahman must be laughing at this guy up in heaven. Hopefully Tengku prays for him for this guy is going to live long to see all the SH'T he made ooze out malaysia.

Anonymous said...

Bro,

Dis is a case of shooting oneself in de foot. Diagnosis correct, but prognosis wrong. One slip of the tongue and he land in de big shit. Game Over lah. Please insert coin.

Anonymous said...

your godfather? dr m? will he be sad to read this? sigh. realpolitik. or rather BN realpolitik.

Anonymous said...

Please old man, use what has been given you to sow good, don’t destroy the nation.

From our elders we can rely to receive gems of advices gleaned from their years and years experiences. These experiences are normally filled with wisdom which the younger generations can use as their living-guide. They definitely would not be words which teach hatred, division and chaos. They would more likely be words that encourage unity, love, harmony and peace.

How sad we have in our midst, an old man sowing discord and disunity, yet has the cheek to say he is doing what he is doing for the good of the nation.

To paraphrase Abe Lincoln -" You can hookwink all the people, some of the time, some of the people, all the time but not all the people all the time'. Many of us have now wise up to your self-serving ways!

The Malaysian Hypocrite said...

I think it is too early to speculate on a 'miscalculation.' At the very least, I respect Dr M for sticking to what he believes in and acting on it. The rest, I must say, are just NATO cowards.

Anonymous said...

comment from Malaysia Today

Contrary to what the MSM says, there have been significant numbers of resignations according to my UMNO friends.

According to them, the significance is not in the number of members resigning but the quality and type of people resigning.

Most of those who have left and are leaving are the ACTIVE members who are always in the thick of UMNO activities.

Unknown said...

i think its better if he just dies.
save the country from the racial incitements he is trying to provoke

Robert Teh said...

Chun Wai,

You used to write glorious accounts of this man when he was in power. I remember he once blasted you (after he handed power to Pak Lah) when you didn't show the same awe, praise and respect you once showered him in your writings. Dr. M is one bitter man even though he had once ruled this country with an iron-fist and made rich his many cronies (some of whom I'm glad are no longer 'rich' or no longer his die-hard loyalists).

He says he's no racist as long as you (non-Bumis) do not question his wisdom, his policies, his decision on how to distribute the wealth of the country. We (non-Bumis) should be grateful we are given citizenship, a place to stay, a place to work, a place to earn money. It doesn't matter if we are 3rd or 4th generation Malaysians, loyal to King and Country - we are still without the special "priviledges/rights", even given to 2nd generation immigrant bumis whose parents, like our parents migrated from another country.

How sad we still have leaders like Dr. M who continue to demand that this country remains divided along racial lines, the way he had designed and ruled the country when he had held the power in his hands.

How sad.

Cruzeiro said...

Dr should have known that the UMNO putras are there for the gravy train ride.

==============================

Old joke told differently...........
General Musharraf, Dr Mahathir, Gloria Arroyo & Lee Kuan Yew were
sitting in a train.
The train goes through a tunnel and it gets completely dark for the
next 8 seconds.
Suddenly there is a loud kissing sound and then a slap !

The train comes out of the tunnel.
Arroyo and Musharraf are seated across each other, both looking
perplexed.
Mahathir, seated across LKY, is bent over holding his face,
which is very red from an apparent big slap.
All of them remain diplomatic and nobody says anything.

Musharraf is thinking : " These Malaysians are all crazy after
Arroyo.
Mahathir must have tried to kiss her in the tunnel.
Very proper that she slapped him ! "

Arroyo is thinking :
" Mahathir must have moved to kiss me,
but kissed Musharraf instead and got
slapped. "

Mahathir is thinking : " Damn it, Musharraf must have tried to kiss
Arroyo ;
she thought it was me and slapped me instead. Shit !! "

Lee Kuan Yew is thinking :
" If this train goes through one more tunnel, I could make another kissing sound and slap Mahathir again !! "

Anonymous said...

Datuk Wong,

Dr M was our PM. He claimed to champion us Malaysian of all races.

Whats is happening today. HE HAS JUST COMMITTED HARAKIRI by being an old fool to show his true color..a racist.Can The Star just write his "before & after" story to tell whole nation. We WANT to progress as Malaysian to face the challenging global world and NOT malays, chinese, indians & others

Unknown said...

Wong chun wai,

With due respect to you, you have failed to read Dr Mahathirs move and you underestimate Dr Mahathir,what you read in main stream media are all being spin by Pak lah spin doctors.

What is happening on the ground is completely different, not only the older generation quietly supporting him, the internet community from the younger and highly educated group supports him openly .This can be seen in most political website among others mykmu.net,tunkuasia,bigdog,rockybru ,apanama and many others.The 1 million hits Tuns get through his blog comes from mostly younger generation voters,is this not a manifestation of how much they love Tun ? just a point of interest how many hits have you got in your blog.idon