The UMNO cultural deficit

I am attracted to the phrase used by blogger Zaharan Razak .

The phrase is 'culturally induced feeble mindedness'.

Finally I get one phrase that I can apply on the mindset of UMNO members. Their minds are conditioned to be pliant and submissive. And that state of mental stupor is not the result of some genetic defects. Thank god. It is the outcome a systematic encoding.

Take the oft repeated phase tradition. What does it mean? To the DPM it means the unchallenged ascension of the number two to number one. One moves up the ladder step by step. Why must this be so? The numbers one and two are accepted as they are for a specific duration. Once that period expires, those positions do so too.

Therefore, invoking tradition where none ever existed before is a crafty and clever manipulation of a cultural tool. Appealing to the Malay culture of obeisance to a hierarchical social structure, dispenses with the need to refer to legal provisions. And there is none. Use of this cultural conditioning fits very well indeed with the natural Malay aversion to formal and impersonal rules. Cultural conditioning calls for personal interactions and become more intimate and personal. The Malays like that.

Our UMNO leaders know the Malay psyche well. Use the soft approach rather than the formal and therefore hard method. It can be more suitably used to bludgeon the autonomy of the mindset for straying from expediently formed norms, which are upgraded to become tradition in the hands of the Machiavellian trickster. And tradition created out of political expediency is ephemeral and temporary by nature. UMNO’s tradition it seems , varies with the size of the bishops nose. And no two chicken backsides are of the same size.

And so from of the cesspool of this culturally induced feeble mindedness, we are to cheer on Tan Sri Muhyiddin for stating that vote buying is rampant in UMNO? I think not sir.

Vote buying is a cultural thing in UMNO. And that is happening at all levels. The ketua cawangan or branch head buys votes to retain his position. Some even hold kenduris. Prospective division committee members offer money to get nominations. And all contestants pay to get nominated by branches.

And all of these are happening at every UMNO division. In the Pekan division, in Pagoh and even in Kepala Batas, they occur. Because vote buying keeps recurring, it becomes an UMNO tradition. Thus what is UMNO if there is no vote buying?

Asking for proof is just like Anwar Ibrahim demanding you show him four witnesses who saw him doing whatever he was doing. Who would ever want to admit receiving money from any contestant? They would only if the second vote buyer pays more than the first one. Then the recipient will rat on the first vote buyer because he has paid below the market price.

Yes, for all their pompous showing that they are all above board, UMNO members in reality each have his or her own price. By saying if first, does not exclude Tan Sri Muhyiddin either.

That's cultural deficit for you!