Barisan Nasional is falling like the Berlin Wall
Most Malaysians will not mourn the extinction of Umno or Barisan Nasional. And that is because Umno and Barisan Nasional are from the Merdeka era and only 10-15% of Malaysians are from that era. 85-90% of Malaysians are aged below 55. And to them PKR or Pakatan Harapan is of their era and the party that they want to rule Malaysia.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
I have said this before. When you hunt a vicious animal, do not just wound it. That would only make it more vicious and desperate. Kill it or else leave it alone.
Many tigers that roamed villages killing humans, and were later killed or captured, were found to be wounded. Because it was wounded it lost its ability to hunt so it resorted to killing easier prey such as humans.
Barisan Nasional and Umno are wounded animals. And they can be very vicious when they want to, as I myself have personally experienced. So, if you leave them wounded, they might become even more vicious. And that is why Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan may be making moves to terminate them totally rather than leave them around to lick their wounds and plan their comeback.
GE14 was not really a Malay Tsunami or a Chinese Tsunami per se. It was a Youth Tsunami. Just under 30% of Malaysia’s population is 14 years and below. 17% are 15-24 years of age. 41% are between 25 and 54. Only 15% are above 55.
The median age of Malaysians is 28.5 years. That makes Malaysia a very ‘young’ nation, although not in terms of nationhood, which is 61 years.
Umno and Barisan Nasional belong to the Merdeka era. And only 10-15% of Malaysians (such as I who is 67 years old) were born in that era. I was seven years old when I witnessed Merdeka-in-the-making — the marches on The Padang and the fireworks at Lake Gardens. 85-90% of Malaysians were not around yet at that time.
How do you expect 85-90% of Malaysians to support an institution that belongs to their grandfather’s era? That was the same question posed in Taiwan and Japan.
It is inevitable that Umno and Barisan Nasional became outdated in time. Forget about corruption, GST, 1MDB and so on. Even if all those issues did not exist there would have been other ‘reasons’ to retire Umno and Barisan Nasional. It is just that corruption, GST, 1MDB, etc., were conveniently around.
The seniors in Umno say Khairy Jamaluddin sabotaged the election by not mobilising the youth. Or else Umno and Barisan Nasional would not have lost and even if they did it would not be as bad as what happened. Is this true or are they merely looking for a scapegoat to pin the blame on?
Time will tell but Umno Youth all over Malaysia are beginning to rise up and demand ex-Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s resignation and for Khairy to be made Barisan Nasional’s Opposition Leader in Parliament, a position reserved for Barisan Nasional’s Chairman.
In a disastrous general election such as GE14 (disastrous for Umno and Barisan Nasional, that is), there is bound to be a major post-election shakeup. And that is what we may be seeing now with people and component parties leaving Barisan Nasional to cross over to Pakatan Harapan.
There is talk that Umno may be deregistered, yet again. For people like me who have been supporting PAS since 1977 — and have been arrested and detained by Umno five times and had to leave Malaysia to avoid my third detention without trial — there is really nothing of sentimental value in Umno. I am gladder that PAS won Kelantan and Terengganu, and with an impressive or higher margin, than I am sad that Umno and Barisan Nasional lost GE14.
But did I not support Umno and Barisan Nasional for three years from 2015 till GE14? Actually, I supported Najib from 2015 till GE14 and I explained to the PAS President, Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang, plus to the new Terengganu Menteri Besar, why I supported Najib and they understood my reasons behind that.
Basically, DAP is an enemy of PAS. DAP is also an enemy of Umno and Barisan Nasional. So, we need to support one enemy against another for the political survival of PAS. What do you call that? You call that politics — just like how DAP now works with its bitter enemy, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for a common cause.
That is done every day in politics. And now PAS has got Kelantan and Terengganu and enjoys a higher majority than before. And that happened partly because Najib allowed Hadi to table RUU355 in Parliament as a trade-off.
Anyway, Barisan Nasional may no longer be viable. Sabah and Sarawak may abandon Barisan Nasional. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and myPPP may in time do the same. If that happens, that would mean Barisan Nasional would be reduced to just Umno. And if Umno is deregistered, like how it is rumoured will happen, then Barisan Nasional will automatically no longer exist as well.
Most Malaysians will not mourn the extinction of Umno or Barisan Nasional. And that is because Umno and Barisan Nasional are from the Merdeka era and only 10-15% of Malaysians are from that era. 85-90% of Malaysians are aged below 55. And to them PKR or Pakatan Harapan is of their era and the party that they want to rule Malaysia.
