TTF: While I do agree that elitism and arrogance were pivotal in turning urban youths against BN (see news item below), the coalition’s defeat was contributed by a string of inter-related factors, primary among them being the spate of fake news and disinformation spread by the DAP.
History has proven time and again, that media, if used inappropriately, is a potent tool when it comes to overthrowing or subverting legitimately instituted governments.
Those with the means or resources to manipulate media can easily manipulate the minds of voters if given the right amount of time and space to do it.
Najib’s biggest mistake was that he left everything in the hands of an incompetent bunch of ‘strategists’ who were more interested in cashing their paycheques than they were strategising.
These ‘strategists’ were divided into cells that ended up being in tacit contention against one another owing to the influence of a ‘third party’ who should never have been in the picture.
These complications, coupled with the egotistical auras that smothered the conscience of these ‘strategists’, prevented some people of good conscience from emerging.
I can’t be absolutely certain of this, but something tells me that it had to do with the selfless attitudes these people of good conscience demonstrated, attitudes that may have threatened to undermine the credibility and sincerity of these ‘strategists’.
Basically, there were those willing to contribute for next to nothing, as opposed to the strategists, who took home very, very fat paycheques.
In a bid to maintain their lifestyles, some of these strategists shielded Najib from those well intentioned despite knowing that the contributions of these well intentioned people would have improved UMNO’s standing in society.
Pakatan, on the other hand, welcomed each and every volunteer with open arms and did everything it could to see to his (or her) needs.
All these factors ended up giving enough room for Pakatan leaders to swing elephants and dinosaurs, forget the cat.
As the years went by, these leaders succeeded in convincing the man on the street that the GST, which truly was a boon to the economy, was the cause of all the nation’s ills and the reason the rakyat would end up broke.
In a sense, Pakatan created a problem where there wasn’t one and convinced voters that they could fix it.
But as we’re now seeing, the abolishment of the GST and the reintroduction of the SST has put a dent on our coffers and is exerting extreme downward pressure on the economy.
I do not for a minute believe that Pakatan thought it would lose the general election, meaning, many of the pledges it made were contrived with the understanding that they would never be fulfilled.
People like Lim Kit Siang and Dr Mahathir Mohamad knew that the man on the street was gullible and could easily be bought with empty promises.
Voters forget, that PPBM and PKR comprise ex-UMNO leaders who are just as responsible as the current batch of UMNO leaders are for the culture of arrogance and elitism that plagues the party.
Those who left UMNO were either fired or exited the party on their own accord, disillusioned by the fact that their quest for control seemed to be getting them nowhere.
Seeing the manner in which UMNO is currently run, I’m convinced that the party is no different from PPBM as its leadership’s only concern seems to be the quest for total dominance and control.
Which is why, it no longer matters to me if you’re a Pakatan supporter or if you think that UMNO was wronged.
What matters to me is that we realise, that no matter what happened or which way the wind blows, UMNO deserved what it got.
KUALA LUMPUR: The elitism and arrogance of Umno’s leadership was a pivotal factor in turning urban-based youths from the rural areas against BN and cost it the GE14, said Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
The Umno stalwart explained that many of these youths worked in urban centres due to better employment opportunities, yet still retained a sense of identity of their rural origins.
“They still go back to their villages for the festive season, and more importantly remain registered to vote there as well,” he said during the launch of his book The End of Umno? New and Expanded Post-GE14 Edition.
Tengku Razaleigh, fondly known as Ku Li, said the past two general elections have seen considerable turnout of these youths returning home to vote.
“Living and working in the cities, they perceived Umno’s leaders as overbearing and elitist. In particular they are very angry at the lack of democracy in the party.
“They tend to feel that they are constantly dictated to (by the leaders) yet can never freely voice their thoughts and opinions at Umno-organised forums and events,” he said.
Due to this, he said the youths found other ways to express their dissatisfactions.
“Speaking for the East Coast, I can say many of them votes for PAS since they viewed the party as being more open (to criticism and speaking out),” said the parliamentarian for Gua Musang, Kelantan.
Unless Umno’s current crop of leaders change their ways, Tengku Razaleigh said this slide among youths will continue further.
The book’s editor Bridget Welsh said five core seats were identified as being Umno strongholds for the past five general elections.
“Over time you could see the erosion of political support (for the seats) was very acute, particularly in the last two general elections.
“A lot of this was due to defections from Umno’s own political base; cores who had for decades supported the party,” she said.
In contrast to the older generation of members, the number of younger Umno members leaving the party is more pronounced.
“Their levels are much higher, and such warning signals have been around for quite some time and not just immediately before the last general election,” Welsh said.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
