steadyaku47

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

I have my reservations about what President Duterte is doing in the Philipines today in his quest to rid that nation of corruption and drugs. Reservations because, the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" does seem to have fallen by the wayside in the attempts by the Police and other enforcements authorities to do just that. But I will not be true to myself if I do not confess that something within me is cheering Duterte on. He is empowering the authorities to do a "Dirty Harry" on anyone that seeks to do drugs and involve themselves in corrupt practices. Surely these dregs of society deserve nothing less?

Can you imagine a Malaysian Duterte? Only Anwar or Mahathir seems to fit the bill...two Malaysians that seems to have the political will and the "muscles" to do something about that most toxic of Malaysian ills : CORRUPTION.

But then you may ask : Are not both of them corrupt too?

If Anwar had succeeded Mahathir as prime minister what kind of prime minister would he be? Just as corrupt as Najib? Just as inept as Najib in government? Did not Anwar embark on a very effective campaign to shore up his political standing within Umno - culminating in his easy victory over Ghaffar Baba for the post of DPM? And did not Anwar had his own tentacles in business and the Media to advance that political agenda of his?

He has to plead guilty to both for these as there are all now a matter of public knowledge as to how he accumulated the financial clout through his various corporate maneuvering....but as it was then and more now, you need deep pockets to ensure your position within Umno is not only secured but also never threatened. Anwar had both. His position for as long as he was "faithful" to Mahathir was not threatened by any other individuals within Umno. He had the deep pockets to placate and "encourage" his supporters to advance the cause of Anwar Ibrahim.

But as we know now, it all came to a crushing end when Mahathir felt threatened by the political ambitions of Anwar Ibrahim - whether real or imagined.

What is different between Anwar and Najib is simply this. Anwars corporate maneuvering was in support of his political agenda. Najib's has only one cause : HIMSELF...well it is really his WIFE more than himself...but that was the extent of his political matalamat - to feed his wife, and his greed, in all things material. Such was his voracious appetite and greed for all things material that he carelessly pursued these ends to the exclusion of others...1MDB and that RM2.6 billion donation is indicative of the extent he has gone to and is prepared to pursue towards getting those ends.

All we can hope for is that the excesses of Umno and its leaders, including Anwar and Mahathir, will be lessons learned by Umno, the Malays and those who now choose to leave Umno and now fight Umno on the very issues that they presided upon when they were once the leading lights of Umno. Whether they will succeed in what they do is open to conjecture and discussions.

There will certainly be a war of sorts in the coming months - a war of consolidation rather than of attrition. A war of getting the numbers on your side and winning others that are still waiting on the sideline. Mahathir, Mahyuddin and Anwar are on the up and up because the momentum of setting up a new political entity with all that it promises already has within it a momentum all of its own. How many Ketua Bahagians will join them? How many Umno members will walk away from Umno and join them? Who within Umno will be the person of note, to stand up and announce his/her departure from Umno...and by doing so precipitate an exodus of Malays running away from Umno towards Mahathir, Mahyuddin and Anwar?

You can speculate and be brave enough to put names and numbers to this, but, for now, these are only conjectures. What I think will happen is that cooler heads and rational minds will broker a truce of sorts to allowParti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia,and Umno to exists in a win win merger of sorts.....for bangsa, ugama, king and country....and all this done without Najib Razak.

In the not too distant future, the presence or absence of Najib Razak will decide the well being of our nation, our people and ultimately, the lot of the Malays. And I dare put my money on Najib leaving sooner rather than later and on Umno and Bersatu coming to an arrangements of sorts "demi kepentingan negara, ugama dan bangsa"....and that last bit about "demi kepentingan negara, ugama dan bangsa" I say with tongue in cheek because as always, these politicians will come up with whatever excuses they need to validate their actions. Any port in a storm....and no port looks more inviting that "negara, ugama and bangsa" in a storm.