A Diagnosis Gone Wrong

Raggie Jessy

“Don’t ask from us if you support Pakatan”, says Najib.

Now, while pro-Pakatan factions are a tad too preponderant and somewhat racist with contemptible demands, the vast majority from the Chinese community may be reverberating deep rooted dissent, something from the vault left collecting dust since the 70’s.

The fault lies across the spectrum. That is to say, I blame both BN and Pakatan.

While BN took its fame for granted pre-GE12, it became complacent and arrogant, when it assumed rank as frontrunner in a battle of political wits.

And while Kit Siang denigrated Malay special rights and the Malay language since Serdang, UMNO took a taciturn stance. They thought they had their turf well secured with picket fences.

But GE12 tossed the odds against BN and particularly, UMNO. Even if it was MCA that had suffered more, it was at UMNO’s expense. The culture of preponderance led to submissive politicking, with MCA overshadowed by UMNO’s apparent repressive ways.

UMNO failed to read writings on DAP’s wall. They failed to anticipate a gradual decline of support that was not apparent then. They relied heavily on poll results, while political thinkers misrepresented landslide victories to mean unwavering loyalty.

In the process, they usurped the rights of a community to express themselves, and charged non-conformists with contempt. They did not communicate circumstances that had led to moral and ethical decays among a Chinese community. They did not feel the need to do so.

But today, they’re being preponderant and arrogant once more. Just how would one tackle an angry mob of dissenters, when it refuses to comprehend issues afflicting the community? Just how would you subdue them, when you’re not willing to communicate rationally with them? Just how would one diffuse a bomb, when one isn’t prepared to read the manual?

You may disagree with their demands. But you can’t dismiss chanters in dissidence emanating from their camps. And neither can UMNO dismiss the Chinese, whichever side of the fence they may be.

Bad move, Najib. Seriously, bad move.