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Wednesday 20 January 2010

UMNO Juara Rakyat-2

Last week I spoke with a former deputy chief minister. I asked him, did he go to the big do in Hulu Selangor, where the PM launched the UMNO Juara Rakyat? He said he did. So I asked him, how large was the fleet of vehicles used to transport the faithful? He let out a guffaw and I laughed together.

I saw the faces of the various MBs on TV at the bash and I deduced they have asked divisional heads to send in contingents. They provided transport and maybe some travel allowance. Makan sikit. Minum sikit. But please- no dangdut. Itu sendirian berhad.

You see, when we see a large crowd at UMNO gatherings, we are not so confident their presence is voluntary or paid for. The normal thing to do is to ask the various state heads who will ask the various division heads to arrange for transport. I am not saying this is a wrong thing to do, some of the venues are far away and party supporters need to be transported. Where we have problem is to ascertain, the spirit of voluntariness.

Let us put forth an argument. See whether this makes sense or not. Let's use an argument a fortiori. Let me illustrate.

Several years ago, the political scientist Robert Putnam wrote a now-famous essay called "Bowling Alone." In the essay, he pointed out that, in general, Americans today seem to participate in far fewer civic associations—bowling leagues, Rotary Clubs, PTA, and other voluntary groups—than they did decades ago.

He supported this observation with statistics on membership in such groups over time. That fact on its own was not terribly interesting, of course, but the broader point Putnam was trying to make was essentially an a fortiori argument. He held that if Americans did not participate in community-based associations (groups which clearly affected their daily lives and could potentially make their local communities better places to live), then they were certainly not likely to participate at the national level where events did not affect them directly—such as voting in national elections or having strong views on national politics or foreign policy. That is an argument a fortiori.

Now, apply these observations on UMNO members. If UMNO members did not participate in UMNO activities voluntarily, then it would be very safe for us to infer they will not likely to participate in events that do not affect them directly such as voting for UMNO in national elections. How many times have we heard UMNO people say, whether we vote or don't vote, we remain like this too.

Have the UMNO leadership apply their thinking on this fundamental issue? The erosion of the spirit of voluntarism?

3 comments:

dzieta 20 January 2010 at 11:55  

mmg pun mcm tu..ingat depa nak p sangat ka berpanas tu?at least dpt RM20 baru nak p..kalau mcm ni mentaliti orang muda UMNO,depa sure akan lari if UMNO tak sua..saya setuju yang dengan kenyataan yang depa tak rasa bersalah pun tak undi BN sebab lepas election,depa balik hidup mcm tu jugak and yg berubah hanyalah YB serta kroninya..opppsss...nanti orang UMNO marah kata dengki pulak..tapi saya pun ahli UMNO jugak cuma sedih dengan ahli-ahli yang sering ambik kesempatan untuk kaya dengan menggunakan jawatan dan cable dalam UMNO..

Kemendorian,  20 January 2010 at 13:43  

sy memerhati seorang JKKK yg juga superior di tempat kerja sy, yg akan menghadiri mana2 gathering/ kursus jika sekurang-kurangnya boleh mendapat t-shirt, topi, dan/ beg dan tentulah mkn minum ditanggung

Quiet Despair,  20 January 2010 at 23:13  

Kendorian

Ilah tu boss you. I memang suka pergi kursus, seminar, kem motivasi, kem bina diri etc. Apa sajalah, janji miss kerja. Dahlah dapat makan minum free, elaun harian, elaun minyak, tidur hotel, makan di restoran class. Dapat cenderahati seperti bag, topi, payung etc. All in my store-room. Tak lama kena buat satu bilik lagi.
Takkan you tak cam bila I adakan mesyuarat, I saja panjangkan from 1hr to 3 hrs. Tup-tup time makan, tup-tup time balik.
You tak kira ke dalam sebulan berapa kali I ada di ofis. But you allpun suka kalau I tak adakan.The mouse can play right. Boleh lunch lama-lama. Hari Jumaat boleh pergi shopping kat Sogo.
Ai, kan I orang Umno. I bangga apa I orang Umno. Dapat kenal menteri dan rub shoulders with them. Kalau kena gaya, dapat projek, brother.
Setahun dua lagi dapat Datuk.
P.S. Jangan mengata boss tau. Nanti tak naik gred. Tapi takpe. I ni kan boss baik hati, kesayangan semua. I tak makan seorang. Semua anak buah dapat merasa. Share the wealth sister.

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