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Friday 21 May 2010

Old and New UMNO- how the halves differ


One of the favorite topics of discussions/debates among UMNO people now, is the difference between OLD and NEW UMNO. The real UMNO people- those ordinary members, the cawangan members, - over 3 million of them debate on the essence of UMNO, the soul of UMNO, how to revive the UMNO spirit and all that.  
A larger number among them are just there hoping their fears, expectations are addressed. They are just there as waiting patients expecting remedies and cure.  They haven’t got the treatment yet, but the THOUGHT that remedies or cures are coming, is sufficiently comforting. That's UMNO for them.
Occasionally, the topic of their interest gets acknowledged with the award of their 5 minutes of fame. The topics they debate get treated by boring and drone of intellectual discussions by questionable intellectual windbags on TV. The topic which interests them gets glossed over by time-serving professors who nobody is interested to listen to.
I used the term time-serving to suggest that the professors get their professorship by serving their tenure not through publications of any serious intellectual breakthroughs, but by just surviving the passage of time.  
That's the preoccupation of the other and real half of UMNO. That’s the life of the UMNO lumpen-proletariat.
The other half of UMNO is made up of the leadership of UMNO at all levels. There’s the top consisting of the leaders who control the levers of power, aided and abetted by a whole phalanx of sycophants comprising of an invisible network of like-minded ketua bahagians, and other leaders at division levels.
This other half, insignificant in number, but extraordinary in the powers they have, looking good and pure in their APCO- like cultivated public image, has a different preoccupation.
Their preoccupation is in making hay while the sun shines.
Not for them, the discussion of nebulous ideals such as the soul, essence and spirit of UMNO. They do talk about the ALIF-BA-TA or ABC of UMNO’s weltanschauung, but only in monetized terms.  Only if discussions on UMNO’s Islam, Race and Nation state, generate profits, will they be matched by more than their cursory interest and involvement.
Otherwise, discussions of UMNO’s essence, spirit, soul or weltanschauung, are for the UMNO lumpen-proletriat.
The UMNO bourgeoisie talks about bleeding the country. It has come to a sad and sorry state.
The difference between OLD and NEW UMNO is reduced to the manner on how these halves of, the OLD and the NEW pillaged the country.
The half in the OLD UMNO has more finesse and a higher sense of guilt- to use a simpler notion. They took but never in Croesus-like proportions.
A friend once asked a late leading leader of UMNO. Are you corrupt? The man thought for a moment and answered. Yes, I took. The friend asked again, how? The UMNO leader answered- you see that kitchen in this house, when it was about to be completed, I was short of 400 bricks. I accepted a free gift of 500 bricks.

The vanguard of NEW UMNO however is almost consumed by an unconscionable persona.  I can see no better analogy between the OLD and NEW UMNO than the comedic film Ali Baba Bujang Lapuk by the legendary P Ramlee. You will remember in another film- Ramlee asked S Shamsudin what ALIF MIM-NUN-WAU means?- Shamsudin shot back the answer- SARKAS!
 I think this is an apt description of the present day UMNO- it's a circus with clowns, jesters, toothless tigers and lions and lion tamers and animal handlers.
See the filim Ali Baba Bujang Lapuk again. Ali Baba the younger brother looted the robbers Fort Knox and treasury. But he took one small box an dcarted the loot in a trishaw( old means) and later used the ‘sukat’ or measure owned by the older brother Kassim Baba. In that sense, Ali Baba’s thievery was measured and conscionable.
But Kassim Baba reflects the current UMNO leadership. He drives a lorry and looted the treasury clean. You watch the You Tubes.

Part 5


Part 7

Part 8

9 comments:

Blow d' whistle 21 May 2010 at 11:12  

Dato

Boleh saja jadi ahli UMNO tapi hati biarlah kat PR

Lets change and see first the result when PR are in total power of the Federation.

If they're short-minded...then we throw the vote back to BN.

That's the only way for them to be a 'better man'.

Quiet Despair,  21 May 2010 at 12:00  

Saudara

What more do you expect from UMNO politicians or any other politicians for that matter?
You are one and also an ex- Adun.
So you know better than us.
Old or New UMNO, same old, same old.
New people, same stroke, marching to the same beat.
Politicians are not supposed to help people.
They simply listen to us, nod their heads painfully, commiserate at proper intervals, promise to do all they can, and then do nothing.
You can get more action from a beached whale, washed ashore from the polluted sea.
Politicians are the same the world over.

Anonymous,  21 May 2010 at 12:32  

Dato',
An apt comparison to the Old UMNO and the current UMNO. I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the late Tun Razak kept a certain fund too which he used to reward his officers with gifts. One of the recipient was Dato Abdullah Ali the former Malaysian High Commissioner (or Ambassador?) to Britain where he was given a suit by the late Tun. His fund then was about RM100,000 ringgit, nothing much compared to what his successors keep.
Pak Tua

Anonymous,  21 May 2010 at 16:30  

"..a whole phalanx of sycophants comprising of an invisible network of like-minded ketua bahagians, and other leaders at division levels."

More than that. PDRM, MACC, The Judiciary, EC, civil service and the monarchy are also within this network.
I would say visible network.

bat8 21 May 2010 at 18:07  

Dato,

1. Hati ini begitu hiba bila mengingatkan bagaimana ahli biasa UMNO(Baru) mencurah ketaatan dan mengangkat pemimpin pemimpin mereka tanpa mengetahui bahawa mereka hanyalah alat , perkakas dan korban untuk kepentingan diri golongan pemimpin.

2. hati ini begitu marah, membenci sikap pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO(Baru) menipu ahli-ahli biaa mereka dengan habuan taik gigi sedangkan mereka mengaut berjuta-juta.

3. Apalah yang nak disayangkan lagi UMNO(baru) hari ini. Ceritakan apa kebaikan yang dibawa oleh UMNO(Baru) kepada orang melayu dari sejak ditubuhkan hingga hari ini?

4. Dato telah mengatakan TDM telah canabalised UMNO lama dalam tahun 1988 ( dimatikan is more appropriate). jadi there is nuthing sacred anymore about UMNO since then.

5. Elok kita biarkan berkubur sahaja. Kita bina UMNO yang lain yang lebih menghampiri dengan UMNO yang ditubuhkan dalam tahun 1946.

6. UMNO telah lalui peristiwa paling menyayatkan hatiseluruh umat melayu dalam tahun 1988, jadi another round of canabalisation dah tak menjadi hal lagi.

7. Allah tidak akan mengubah nasib sesuatu kaum itu melainkan kaum itu sendiri yang mengubahnya.

bat8

Abdul Haq,  21 May 2010 at 21:16  

Dato,
Salam,
My grandfather was a founder member of UMNO ( Lama) Penang.
Dato Onn used to come to lodge at my grandfather's house whenever he came to Penang for UMNO meetings... No 5 star hotels..E & O was already there..
They did'nt have money in those days and were sincere in their struggle for the upliftment and betterment of the Malays and Muslims.

UMNO (baru ) is made up of thieves as leaders and the poor kampung folk are being hoodwinked by them...

They purposely keep Malays entertained with mindless and soul destroying entertainment via the likes of Akademi Fantasia etc...

bat8 21 May 2010 at 23:13  

Dato dan Sdra Abdul Haq,

1. terlintas apabila membaca komen sdra Abdul Haq - apakah rupa UMNO hari jika keputusan pemilihan jawatan presiden dalam tahun 1987 dulu adalah sebaliknya... i.e tengku Razaleigh memenangi jawatan presiden UMNO mengalahkan TDM?

2. bagaimana pula nasib kita orang melayu hari ini. dimanakah kedudukan kita dari segi ekonomi, pendidikan dsb.

Apakah negara kita hari ini sudah setanding dengan korea selatan, taiwan, singapore?

3. Rasanya elok juga kita renung perkara-perkara ini. Setidak-tidaknya kita buka minta kita kepada alternatif yang ada, agar tidak terperangkap dengan usaha menghidupkan bangkai bernyawa aka UMNO(Baru). No point og flocking a dead horse lah!

4. l still hold to my view diatas. Lupakan UMNO(Baru), kita bina wadah baru. suka tidak suka, UMNO lama dan UMNO(Baru) adalah 2 entity yang berbeda, baik dari segi perjalanannya maupun dari segi perundangan.

Kita telah kehilangan UMNO yng sejati, yang sinonim dengan perjuangan umat melayu. to loose what comes after the original is nuthinglah jika itulah sahaja cara untuk kebaikan orang melayu.

bat8

flyer168 22 May 2010 at 04:36  

Dato',

Alif Mim Nun Wau = UMNO = Sarkus = the Wayang Kulit Show...

The Modus Operandi is to Divide & Rule...create Team A & Team B...

Jibby will always be "Beholden" to Madey...for his DPMship & PMship!

For as long as Madey is alive, he holds the "Mighty Pen" that Rules Jibby & thus UMNO.

Either way Jibby is "cornered" on all sides including from the No 2 & Fat Mama...

Isn't it obvious that Madey's "Final Dream Agenda" is to be "Equal to or Better" than his "Former Mentor PM Tun Razak."

To have his sons "Mokzani as a Senator/Businessman & Mukriz as Senior Minister, followed by being the next DPM & maybe the next PM"

So he has to "Play/Kowtim" both "Jibby & DPM" to see which is the "Weaker Victim" to "use & possibly eliminate" in the first round, followed by the "End-game round" to achieve his "Final Dream Agenda"...or else....

Time is running out for Madey...

Soon we will see the signs...

Cheers.

Anonymous,  22 May 2010 at 20:48  

Dato,
Over 40 years ago, when I was a university student, I attended a ceramah at a small village. The speaker, wrote the letters Alif Min Nun Wau on a blackboard, and asked the audience what they meant. Then he gave his version, as Orang Melayu Nampak Wang. I smiled and thought that this small time village politician did not get the issues right and that he was only trying to reach to the villagers. Today I must admit that he was much sharper than that.

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