Mahathir’s Racist Agenda - Dynasty’s Survival Series

Mahathirism is set to come back and it will be back with vengeance. The old former dictator has enough of the so-called retirement. There’s much work to be done to ensure his dynasty continues to prosper and take over the throne after Najib Razak completed his premiership as to the R.A.H.M.A.N political prophecy. For the first time ever the country’s economy has to take the back seat despite the recession sweeping the country with thousands more to lose their jobs in months to come. But who cares about this low-class of people? The survival of a handful of powerful warlords and their descendants are the top priorities. The stock market won’t go any worst than the 1997-1998 Economic Crisis because most of the blue-chips are in controlled. Heck, the foreign investors have already dumped their holdings or maybe they’ve not actually return the same way pre-1997 crisis.

The coming UMNO general assembly will probably goes down the history as thefiercest and racist of all. And if you think the previous assemblies where the cousin of PM-coming-to-town Najib Razak, Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, was the most disgusted of all with all those keris-waving asking for bloods then you have not seen the ugliest side of UMNO. To debate on economic challenges during such trying time in UMNO general assembly is like asking them why Proton cars still have power-window problem after more than two decades in automobile production. They’re simply clueless on this topic so be prepare for more temperature-rising racial cards to be played throughout the assembly.

And former PM Mahathir has just set the tone on what to expect from the delegates and leaders from UMNO. At a gathering organized by Malay group Perkasa, Mahathir started the ball-rolling by warning the ethnic-Malays that they could lose their political power *yawn* because of threat from “various parties”. Although the writing was on the wall that Mahathir was the architect that adopted the “divide and rule” policy that successfully separated the ethnic-Malay, Chinese and Indian so that they are suspicious of each other for as long as it takes, Mahathir is a person who seldom admits his past mistake. His policy was liken to apartheid but the old man who was labeled as senile once denied but instead diverted the blame on others such as the Chinese educationist group Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ) as racist instead. But what do you expect from a person who only thinks highly of himself (not even his own sons) as if he was the Great Pharaoh of Malaysia?

Mahathir, under which the cronyism, corruption and nepotism flourished under his 22-year iron-fist administration and are still very much alive and kicking till today is playing his infamous racial card again for obvious reason. His UMNO Baru (current UMNO party) is dying a natural death since Mar 2008 General Election. For the first time, the ethnic-Malay, Chinese and Indians have all voted in favor of opposition parties in the last general election in retaliation to the worsening corruption practiced by UMNO and their component parties. Outgoing PM Abdullah Badawi might be one of the reasons voters voted out the arrogant BN coalition but he was the direct production of Mahathir’s assembly-line in churning out low quality leaders. His preferred choice of Najib Razak was met with oppositions from all walks of life, some in silence and some openly because this PM-in-waiting is tainted with not only corruptions but also murder – in reference to Mongolian Altantuya.

It’s puzzling that Mahathir never talk about Altantuya’s case in relation to Najib in public as if he was trying very hard avoiding the disastrous topic. Mahathir does not have much time to waste and his primary focus now is to ensure Abdullah vacates his seat for Najib who in return have to make sure Mahathir’s own son, Mukhriz Mahathir, secured the UMNO Youth Chief position in order to springboard the junior to probably the premiership in not so distance future. In a “You Scratch my Back and I Scratch your Back” agreement, the people may see Mahathir dynasty after the Razak dynasty completed the cycle. But that can only happen if the voters think UMNO has changed for the betterment of the people instead of their own cronies. The coming UMNO assembly also may witness the return of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin besides Mahathir as special advisors who would influence the country’s policies. It would be fun to see Mukhriz wave the keris (dagger) in imitation to the previous actor, Hishammuddin Hussein. The question is whether Abdullah Badawi’s son-in-law, Khairi, will allow his competitor to do that first.

The racial card was being used with great success in the past and basically every UMNO leaders you see today has play that game in one way or another. But that was before the explosion of internet and blogging. It cannot be denied that the majority of Malay voters who voted against UMNO in the general election were the educated youngsters who read the “truth” from the net. Mahathir is playing a losing racial game if he thinks he can rally this important group of Malay youngsters to back UMNO as the ultimate party in ruling the government forever. Nevertheless if you believe what some fortune-tellers are saying about Mahathir to live till the ripe age of 88-years-old, Mukhriz Mahathir has to secure the Youth Chief comes rain or shine else without his grand old daddy the junior may just ended up as another UMNO ordinary member.

With police force, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Election Commission, Judiciary and to some extent even the Royalty deeply entrenched in the “UMNO Culture”, chances are higher for Mahathir dynasty to become a reality than to have opposition coalition (PR) taking over the federal government. If you think a sleepy and mumbling Badawi government is bad enough, wait till you experience once again the dictator government of Razak (Najib) and Mahathirism. The combination of the Three Musketeers Najib-Mahathir-Daim would blow all aspects of democracy to pieces. The opposition parties that control the states of Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan, Penang have better enjoy what they’re doing now to the fullest because they may not to see their administration lasts till the next general election. But the part that we will miss the most is the Master of Keris-Waving episode of which former Youth Chief Hishammuddin Hussein has repeatitively used in barbaric way as if asking for bloods. He's retiring from UMNO Youth and is expected to tone down his act of playing with the weapon.