Ride the Choo Choo Train: BN's Bread and Circuses

Here is an interesting article written by a very energetic social activist who, like many of us, is acutely aware of the Malaysian version of pork-barrel politics of UMNO and BN. you can sample more of her insightful and clinical analyses on a wide range of issues in her blog.

In its original meaning, the phrase refers to spending on projects in a particular area to enrich powerful sections of the community in that area. In Malaysia, areas overlap and powerful business factions scent-mark their territories as they desire and damn well please. As such spending on projects anywhere are intended to enrich the same powerful business factions aligned of course to the personalities who call the shots at that relevant time.

A baser and simpler version of pork barrel politics UMNO version is direct spending on recipients in exchange for the unspoken promise to vote the hand that gives. This is what the interesting topic by Nicole Tan is all about.

Don’t be Duped by BN’s Bread and Circuses

The term "Bread and Circuses" (Latin: panem et circenses) is a figure of speech for a fake sense of satisfaction or the “feel good” factor. In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the garnering of public approval through manipulation and/or the instant/quick mere satisfaction of the shallow requirements of the citizens. In other words, as "panadols" for quick fixes. Juvenal (a Roman poet) defined it as “a simplistic motivation of common people”. The phrase is taken to describe a populace that no longer values civic virtues and the public life. To politicians, it connotes the winning formula for the survival of the Roman Republic for centuries. Both the Roman Republic and China’s Han dynasty lasted for 500 years. The former used “bread and circuses” whilst the latter was an absolute monarchy. Instead of winning the citizens’ approval through excellent public service and policies, the Roman Republic gave cheap food and entertainment. The Roman Republic provided the bread and circuses in order to order to keep the Roman citizens from becoming too discontent with their lives. The Roman government provided the citizens with enough food (bread) so they wouldn't starve and enough entertainment (circuses) so they would be amused. Hence, the Romans elected them again and again.

BN’s breads are the 1Malaysia goodies and handouts (BR1M Part 1 & 2, free tyres for taxi drivers, smart phone allowances for young adults, FELDA’s RM15,000, pay rise for civil servants, etc.). BN’s latest “bread” was announced by Najib : “Najib Announces RM2.98 Billion for Sabah next year”(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/najib-announces-rm2.98b-for-sabah-next-year/).

BN's circuses shows are the alphabet soup management (ETP, GTP, NKRA etc); not forgetting tarring the roads before any General elections. Another great circus show was Najib’s "groundbreaking" announcement in his Malaysia Day's speech. He said the government shall repeal the 3 Emergency Declarations and the draconian statutes like ISA, Printing Presses and Publications Act and Banishment Act. They were BN's powerful weapons to curb opposition and Rakyat who do not accept the government's policies. Why should BN take away these powerful weapons ? It is actually for BN's political survival. Like the lizard's survival skill. The lizard will shed its tail in order to escape for its predator/death.

Food (or bread) for thought: is BN using the age old formula of “Bread and Circuses” to survive another general elections? Are we gullible enough to allow that to happen again?

 N.B : Steven Sim’s article “Is A Country A Brand?” also touches on bread and circuses.

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Fight like Churchill, Move like Jagger, the Party God Chose

At the close of the 2012 UMNO General Assembly, Dato Sri Najib reaffirmed UMNO’s hollowness. He was playing to the gallery. Now, this phrase unlike cutting off one’s ears is an idiom. It means performing in such a manner as to get the approval of the lower elements in the audience. What a powerful idiom. And Najib played that role to a hilt.

Najib performed to get the approval of the lower elements in the UMNO audience. Who are they? They are the riff raffs who bought themselves the right to become delegates; the empty vessels tripping over each other to get noticed by the president. He wants approval from the people who will fight like Churchill, who move like Jagger and from those who claim UMNO is the party chosen by God.

And Najib? It was he who started the bellicose tone of the UMNO assembly and at the end of the assembly, what he initially said got said back and he led himself to believe those were the spoken words from the people. He is like Caesar, an honorable man. He will follow the wishes of the people even though the ‘people’ means around 2500 delegates in the Hall.

It reminded me of someone who told a close friend that he will contest in the elections and the friend spread stories to this effect. The stories soon circulate that he will contest and he soon believes those are the actual sentiments from the ground.

The UMNO Assembly and its president has nothing to offer except fearful stories. Why is he shouting like a village headman conducting a meeting of the JKKK? Because the quality of delegates is not far from that of a JKKK committee. Those were the elements of Najib’s audience. Told they could not speak on sensitive issues. But they were free to talk of seditious topics of racial clashes; they can pour out venomous words on opponents. But they could never talk about sensitive issues on corruption, on the state of the economy, on why after 55 years, the majority of Malays earn less that RM1500 per month. The party for Malays cannot speak why after 55 years; they are still beggars in this country.

Those who cried over a song such as Anak Kecil Bermain Api obviously forgot the song was played to incoming ITM students. Which also means that if you have not heard of that song, your education level has not even reached ITM entry level. UMNO wants the future of Malaysia and the Malays to depend on such heads.

It was a song meant to galvanize students into action namely studying very hard to liberate themselves from oppression and colonization.

The song is also a reminder for all students to be vigilant against the actions of the running dogs of imperialism and oppression. Zaaba warned as early as 1923 that the worse oppressors sprung from among the Malays themselves. He meant those who used the government machinery to alienate the Malays, enriched themselves and deceived Malays into believing they are fighting for the interest of the greater good.

In reality, they fought for the interests of the selected few and of the privileged class. No other political party epitomizes what Zaaba meant other than the party he helped come into existence- UMNO.

That great deception allowed Najib to shout at the close of the Assembly- one vote for PKR means compromising the Muslims beliefs. One vote for PAS means hell breaking loose. One vote for DAP means doom for Malays. Everyone is to blame except UMNO. What was the big word he used? Fata Morgana? It was a word probably understood by Najib alone.

He must have been watching reruns of Merlin. Morgana is the female witch who created mirages to lure unsuspecting victims to their fatal ends. The only mirages created are those witch-crafted by UMNO. It created a group of pliant and servile Malays deceived into believing that their fate lies with the mirages UMNO created.

That is the main agenda of the 2012 UMNO General Assembly. To whip delegates into a frenzy believing that good can only come to Malays by way by surrendering personal liberty and individual will to a central authority known as UMNO. We would have accepted such a proposition, if it is supported by facts. The reality is, the facts revealed that UMNO has deceived the people especially Malays.

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UMNO General Assembly 2012: All Thunder, Little Rain

In a moving passage in his book, The Road to Serfdom- Hayek wrote: when the course of civilization takes an unexpected turn- when instead of continued progress which we have come to expect, we find ourselves threatened…..we naturally blame everything but ourselves.

It appears UMNO has done just that. They blame everyone else except themselves. It was a climate of either them or us. UMNO leaders are doing a Bush Jnr on us- either you are with us or you are against is. UMNO is behaving just like this- we UMNO are the good guys, you the others are our enemy. It was that mindset that produced some of the most pugnacious statements ever to come out from PWTC. Overall, the speeches were fiery, seditious and hostile.  

Here is the inconvenient truth for UMNO. We are not intimidated. Let us have clean elections. We promise not to cut off anyone’s ears.

The overall tone of the assembly was a call to the UMNO supporters all over, to actually assault their opponents. Shahrizat  the embattled Wanita leader said something that was utterly irresponsible. If she thought her utterances can salvage her impending exit, she is wrong.. Even the UMNO people at the Assembly knew she was saying something to stay relevant. Nowadays, the only way for UMNO people to stay relevant is to play the bigot card- religious and racial bigotry.

Shahrizat played that card unashamedly. She alluded to the infamous May 13 racial clashes. If Chinese are allowed to dominate political power, they would make lives horrible for Malays. UMNO keep forgetting, MCA is more racist than DAP.

Clearly, this was a desperate attempt by UMNO leaders to create a climate of fear. Right thinking Malaysians must reject this type of leaders and the political party that spawns the hate culture. It is important for Malaysians to know that if UMNO lose the elections, it is they who face terrible days ahead.  If something like May 13 happens, UMNO will be behind it.

The equally strident voices of most of the delegates, unrestrained and bellicose serve to further add to the creation of a climate of fear in the country. UMNO is responsible for creating this climate of fear.

Najib and the UMNO speakers offer nothing but slogans and a shouting contest. Did anyone hear of any articulation of the major issues facing this country?

How do we make this country improve our democratic process? No one spoke about this. In Indonesia, a country seen as a supplier of maids to Malaysia, all political leaders have equal access to articulate their thoughts on TV. People debate issues in the open as opposed to a one- sided version of events. UMNO campaigns all year round, yet it is not ready to grant access to fair media coverage to the opposition.

All we hear over the 4-5 days are the outpouring of fears and threats if UMNO is out of power. This is the worse UMNO GA to have taken place- it was a festival for the outpouring of adulation to the great leader, a man who is more skillful at managing his public persona.  As to running the country, he has no clue.  The adulation and worshiping of Najib are exceeded only by the attacks on the opposition.

The most important elements of the democratic process include giving equal access for the opposition in government controlled media. Why? Because it offers the public choices. And choices is what democracy is essentially about. Making informed choices as to who is the better party suited to manage this country?

How about giving access to the media for Pakatan to explain its budget proposals? How do we do know, their budget is not worth the paper it is printed on?

How about ensuring only Malaysian citizens, properly registered will vote in the coming elections? Get rid of the aliens who are non-citizens who have been given licenses to vote by way of making them instant citizens.

Did anyone talk about  demanding the government  take measures to ensure fair elections are free from threats of physical violence?

Let us be clear about this. The exit of UMNO means just that- the exit of UMNO and not the demise of the country. It will be the end of world where a selected few gets rich riding on the manipulated emotions of the majority. It will be the end of a world where one gets ahead by cutting corners and leveraging on political connections instead of getting ahead using your own abilities. It will be the end of a world dominated by one person having probably 100 Class F licenses and cornering contract works from the government. It will be beginning of a world where ministers having homes on the French Riviera and London  and Australia will be made to account for their wealth.

Who is the hermit who asked me what is there in Sungai Buloh? Sungai Buloh houses the biggest prison in Malaysia. We will make it bigger by adding 1Malaysia shops, a subsidiary of Johor Premium Outlets, and a Ferrari showroom not costing RM20m managed by Naza of course.

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Who are you with? The Oppressor or the Oppressed?

Tunku Aziz’s crusade against PR in particular the DAP has received wide publicity in the mainstream media. He is docking at every jetty available even ones that are hastily constructed. Most of them in fact are- constructed by UMNO and its sycophantic and servile press. Tunku Aziz is only useful as long as he continues to pour invectives against DAP and PR. Minus all that- he will not even be considered to become an UMNO member at cawangan level. Moreover and more importantly, Tunku Aziz, true to his nature, will consider an offer to become a ketua cawangan, an insult to a man of his stature.

And that was the reason actually that started Tunku Aziz on his current crusade. The man with an inflated sense of importance felt insulted that a 29 year old person conveyed instructions from the party secretary general.

What are we to do with Tunku Aziz’s tantrums? We must not take Tunku Aziz seriously over his crusade to demonize Pakatan Rakyat.  It stems from his injured sense of overrated self-importance. Here is a representative of the old world feudal order trying his best to recapture the master-servant social setting. The feudal lord from a world already lost, demands respect where respect must be earned and gets offended when a 29 year old simply did as he was instructed in a matter-of-factly manner.

He can’t survive in a political setting that eschews status-linked inference of leadership simply because; the modern progressive world does not recognize such inference. In a progressive society which Tunku Aziz and the lords of UMNO do not understand, people are evaluated in terms of what they can do rather than in terms of who they are.

This is what UMNO and Tunku Aziz are not capable of understanding. The world does not revolve around UMNO or around people like Tunku Aziz. DAP does not in relation to him. He failed to adapt to the culture in DAP which is essentially egalitarian. Tunku Aziz would have been more at home, is a caste-system like setting like UMNO.

In such a world( ie a world disliked by UMNO and Tunku Aziz), any person or group is capable and able to compete for any role. Hence DAP, PAS and PKR in unity can compete to offer better rule to the people. Any person can compete and offer himself to become the elected PM of Malaysia. The reality is, if Najib can become PM, anyone can too.

The world that Tunku Aziz wills and demands is a world where only people with particular surnames and specific groups such as UMNO are fit to rule and govern.

That world is replaced by a newer world that accepts the principle which sociologists refer to as universalism. It an ideal worth supporting that says that anyone ought to be able to compete for any job instead of being restricted to do a specific job as in a caste system. Which is what UMNO wants to instill. UMNO and people like Tunku Aziz have a monopoly over the job of ruling this country. Others are only capable of being minions and servants to Tunku Aziz and UMNO.  And to preserve that monopoly, UMNO is willing to say that God is an UMNO member!

People who oppose a system that pre-arranges our roles in society therefore oppose UMNO and people like Tunku Aziz. Democratic peoples are for a world that holds the universal truth that it’s not a Tunku, or people with specific family names- the bin Mahathirs, bin Razaks, bin Onns, bin Najibs who are the only people who can govern and rule the country. Anyone can. Any party other than UMNO can.  

Haji Hadi, Anwar Ibrahim, Mat Sabu or even a Karpal Singh. The fact that some of these names are treated with vehement objections does not remove the idea that anyone else other than the persons endorsed by Tunku Aziz or UMNO is all capable of governing Malaysia.

It follows then, the exit of people liked by Tunku Aziz from the seat of government, or the ejection of UMNO from Putrajaya, do not end our world. It ends only the world that Tunku Aziz and UMNO people know of.

Good leadership does not spring from inherited status.

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