The ABC of Public Trust and Accountability.

 Let us teach UMNO people some ABC. How to conduct oneself in a transparent manner and show people we are committed to the principle of accountability.

The UMNO people are going to town ridiculing DAP for making an error in counting the votes for Zairil K Johari and coming out in the open, owning up to the mistake. They would rather keep people in the dark, stealing from the country, making stupid statements when caught. A party coming out in the open showing all that its committed to the principle of transparency and more important on accountability is demeaned because of that?  clearly then, it means transparency and accountability do not exist in UMNO’s vocabulary. Deceit and irresponsibility are.

What would UMNO do? Use mistakes to defraud people? It’s better to keep and hide things from people? It’s better not to answer or even pretend not to know, the whereabouts of Puspahanas? Where is that damn thing? The government is not answering despite having given the leeching lady RM27 million of taxpayers’ money. Is Raja Ropiaah milking money on behalf of UMNO?

It’s better to keep quiet and hide from people the whereabouts of the RM207 billion or whatever amount paid by Japan to some 30,000 death railway conscripted laborers? UMNO supports and condones silence and hiding malpractices such as the RM500 million commission earned by middlemen in the purchase of malfunctioning submarines. Or defrauding the people into believing that the proposed west coast expressway breaks new ground in the way piratization privatization is made? Whether the new west coast expressway of 223km costs RM31 million or RM 22 million per kilometer, people want to know what kind of stones and premix go into the building of the road? Why can’t JKR do it and make it toll free too? JKR can make it at probably a fraction of the cost. I am told by some JKR engineers, maybe at RM2.5 billion, much lesser than the soft loan given by UMNO to the contracting company. Are the bridges made of gold?  People want to know how could a person associated with failure to pay debts owning to the Selangor government and having a company with a dismal business record can get the award for the highway?

Even Muhyidin Yassin is talking a lot about the issue when there are so many other bigger issues. If Muhyidin takes over, the whole country is for sale. It’s a mistake to assume that just because Muhyidin seems to make the right noises in line what the majority of UMNO people feel, therefore MUhyidn in better than Najib. Muhyidin would serve as a better leader of the opposition in the next parliament compared to the political invertebrate people knows as Najib.

Why should UMNO be concern with the number of Malays in DAP or at the failure of 7 Malays to get into the DAP’s CEC? UMNO should be more concern at why over 1 million of their members rejected UMNO candidates in2008? Or more concern why more than 3 million Malays rejected UMNO in 2008.

The elections commission should take the willingness of DAP to own up and come out in the open admitting its mistake and correcting it, as an object lesson of public accountability and responsibility. If the people helming the election commissions have any iota of self-worth and understand the concept of accountability and public responsibility, they should resign from their posts. The people at the elections commission, answerable to the King must not actually be neutral but must be seen to be neutral as well. If they were UMNO members, they should come out in the open. We are not asking you to commit seppuku- just own up and be a man. But then you were the products of a party that eschews accountability and truthfulness.

Because UMNO thinks by focusing on DAP and making it out that DAP is anti-Malay and Malay interests, Malays will by default, come back into UMNO’s death embrace. You go back to UMNO, you die is my simple message. It will be another 5 years of being bullied into believing you cannot exist apart from UMNO. What has UMNO done that cannot be done better by other people? It’s impossible for anyone to do any worse than what UMNO has done.

The mistake made by DAP does not affect the welfare of the country nor solve many of the problems faced by Malays as a result of UMNO’s misrule and incompetence. The mistake by DAP does not alter the fact that for 55 years, especially so after 1981, UMNO has misled the Malays. For the same number of years, UMNO has also bullied and misled the Malay Royalty frightening the latter to believe that without UMNO, the institution is finished. So you find members of the Royal House openly supporting UMNO. If they make the bed, so they must lie on it. People will openly express their feelings on such political adventurism.

UMNO prefers defrauding people rather than owning up to a simple mistake. It’s in UMNO’s DNA- defrauding and hiding the truth from people.

It was a simple mistake or like the UMNO people say- a schoolboy mistake. UMNO should be applauding at the idea of owning up to a simple mistake. More important, it’s a matter of principle. DAP is willing to endure ridicule and mockery for the sake of being transparent. Now, that is something which is absolutely alien to UMNO culture. So we should not be unduly perturbed by UMNO’s sanctimony and sudden piousness about being truthful. They never are.