UMNO, BERSIH and The New Malay Agenda

I acknowledge with great dismay the statement by Datuk Johari Baharom, the deputy minister for internal security, on the rejection of BERSIH application for their gathering this coming 10 November.

The ministry with the agency under it, the Royal Malaysian Police, decided not to grant a permit for BERSIH to organise a peaceful demonstration for promotion of a fair and just general election. I was made to understand, that BERSIH had intended to submit a memorandum to Yang Di Pertuan Agong later that day.

I would believe that, senior UMNO politicians, being the party in power had exert influence in the rejection of the permit application.

I must say that, if UMNO consider itself being a matured political institution, and proudly saying that their are actually representing the malay population, UMNO should then (through their powerful influence) let BERSIH carry on with the gathering.

Only then UMNO and those people in power, will gain respect from the people they claimed are representing. The police should at this instance be non partisan, and should make decision that are fair to all political parties in Malaysia.

I am sure those people out there have no intention of creating troubles what so ever. My gut feeling is that UMNO itself now are experiencing post 'inferiority complex' syndrome after what had happen in 1998-99, when they lost support from the malay community (luckily the non-malays voted BN and subsequently BN won durinmg that election year)

Pak Lah won the last election, when most malays saw Pak Lah as somebody who is clean, religious and perhaps somebody who will bring changes in the way this country is being govern. I am not sure, if those earlier image is still in perspective.

My mind now lingers, would the non-malays come to BN savior again this time around?

When the malays are hoping for a fresh development and a strong leader to continue the so called ' malay agenda', the malay community saw Pak Lah as a weak leader (contrary to the earlier perception), and to make matter worst, his son in law 'political determination' had Pak Lah to a corner on the issue of cronies and favoritisms.

I also noted the way our Information Minister treated www.malaysiakini.com, and it was very sad to have such behaviours from somebody who once was out of favoured (then was forgiven by Tun Mahathir) and subsequently appointed as Minister by Pak Lah.

For the records, I also disagree on certain malaysiakini.com reporting (I think they sometimes trying to be sensational to keep on the number of clicks!) but such behaviours from a minister is really unaccounted for.

Happy Depavali to my Indian Friends...