LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Events over the last few days seem to indicate the impending demise of the UMNO led government. That the lame duck PM will have to go soon is a foregone conclusion. The question is who will lead UMNO in the future and how long can they hold on to power. It is looking more and more unlikely that they are able to rule the country the full five years!

There seem to be chaos among the leadership and of late, it is not unusual to find some of the leaders contradicting each other! Yes, differing opinions have surfaced, giving the impression that the leadership is fragmented and in total disarray! While there are some who are still beholden to the clueless Prime Minister, there are also others who have openly challenged his relevance to the party! To make matters worse, some are of the opinion that prolonging his stay may result in the immediate demise of the party, which is a good thing because that would spell the end of race-based politics in the country.

After 51 years of abuse, I guess the citizenry has had enough! From a naturally cultivated sense of goodwill and harmony, through years of interaction with each other, the UMNO led government after the Tunku, has successfully polarized the various communities in the country. It would be unfair to put the blame solely on UMNO. Equally guilty of the crime of fanning racial polarization are the MCA and MIC as well. Using culture as a camouflaged, they divided the nation into Malays, Chinese and Indians! While Mahathir encouraged us to look east, he was employing governance skills from even further east, i.e. to divide and rule! Even as I write, this senile old man is still saying that Malaysians do not mind race-based politics! Frankly, after 22 years of misrule, I wished he would just shut up and go play with his grandchildren, and may I add that it’d be best if he play dead! After all, his services are no longer required and soon we are going to have more honest, capable and responsible people running the country.

While the Home Minister has unleashed the dreadful Internal Security Act (a draconian law that allows detention without trial) on 3 people, one of whom, a journalist who has since been released, the de facto Law Minister has resigned, citing the abuse of the ISA, which makes his position untenable! Apart from him, both the Information Minister as well as the Education Minister had commented not so favorably about the use of this horrendous piece of legislature. Partners in the ruling coalition have also come out with guns blazing, speaking against the use of this law! BADawi is in bad shape! The most inept President has been tasked to keep UMNO and the ruling coalition from falling apart. A job he is ill equipped to accomplish, he neither has the skills nor the knowledge to do so. Ironically, this bungling Prime Minister has been credited with the largest mandate ever in UMNO’s history during the 2004 election.

Today is the 16th September 2008, a day when Anwar Ibrahim is suppose to take over the government. No, it has not happen, not yet, but I am hopeful. Malaysia on the threshold of a new era, one can just feel it. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel!