A tale of treachery

TSETSE FLY AND UMNO

Everyone has heard about the tsetse fly. It lives in Africa. You pronounce it as set-see. Sometimes it is also pronounced tits-ee. How apt are both the pronunciations during these trying times in Malaysia. We have suddenly become a land of Sodom and Gomorrah-ing.

Statutory declarations which are cheap to produce cost only RM5. The contents however can bring down an entire nation. They can affect the economy. The Malaysian stock exchange has reacted negatively from the SD contagion.

Back to the tsetse fly. It causes sleeping sickness. In infects cattle with fatal diseases. One saving grace is that it attacks only vertebrate animals. In this context, Dato Najib who is a political invertebrate is safe. But it is not necessary to infect an invertebrate like Dato Najib. Tan Sri Muhyidin, now you know what it feels to have any pakatan with Najib. It’s all about him. You have been screwed my friend.

Others, you and I are not protected. The world in unfair right? Of late, the disease uniquely associated with the set-see fly, has infected a large portion of the UMNO leadership. It has slept over the results and implications of the 12^th general elections. UMNO wished its problems would go away while it succumbs to the set-see fly’s disease, but alas, the problems have since become monumental.

Allow me to bore you with some minor details.

seats	2004	2008	%age
UMNO parliament	109	79	(28%)
UMNO-State	302	239	(21%)
BN(parliament)	198	140	(29)

Compared to its performance in 2004, UMNO lost 30 parliamentary seats or a drop by 28%. At state levels it lost 63 seats or suffered a drop of 21%. UMNO’s losses not only affected the Malays but it would appear that UMNO’s fortunes affected the country as well. Using the figures 2008/2004, there is a proportional relationship between UMNO’s showing with that of the BN as a whole. This is hardly surprising. Other than being its main component, the other parties are actually dependent on UMNO for political survival.

What’s Wrong With UMNO.

Lack of leadership is on top of the list. The problem is the system that stifles the emergence of upright and capable leaders. Its time UMNO realise that what makes a good party and a good government is the quality of its people.

During the last elections Dato Najib countered the Perlis mufti who called on the people to vote on the basis of the quality of the candidates. Look at the person’s credibility he said. His educational background, his disposition whether he panics under pressure or can remain cool and collected, his morals and so forth. Not necessary said Dato Najib. We have the party with the system. A good system can smooth out ineptness. That my friend is nonsensical.

The system is good only if it sets in principles that can assist the emergence of quality and upright leaders. It if renders the process impotent and prevents the emergence of good leaders, then the system needs changing.

There’s only one major impediment that prevents the emergence of capable and upright leaders in UMNO. The quota system. This is the most undemocratic element in the UMNO system. Not only you have inserted a provision that can prevent any aspirants going for the top leadership, you have conducted on overkill by asking the 191 divisions in UMNO to accept that there will be no contest for the top two posts!. Now, doesn’t that suggest a desperate act of self preservation?

By declaring that Dato Najib takes over his position in 2 years time, Dato Seri Abdullah is saying that they are a team- an item. If that is so, then no one can fault UMNO members if they now consider both Dato Najib and Dato Seri Abdullah stand in the way for the betterment of UMNO. Then both should be ousted.

The UMNO leadership is no longer about who stays or who goes. The question is to secure a leadership with resoluteness to make things better for UMNO. Pak Lah with his debilitating ineptness and Dato Najib with his lack of resolve. He is after all the political invertebrate. Pity you Tan Sri Muhyidin.

Now you know the meaning- ANGUIS IN HERBA!- A SNAKE IN THE GRASS.