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One thing that Prime Mnister Najib Abdul Razak has to take cognizance of is that he is now the captain of a very large ship known as UMNO Baru.
Almost all its passengers on board are the UMNO Baru elites who could no longer differentiate between land and sea after being on the oceanliner for so many years. How tragic as they cannot tell between right from wrong anymore!
Although time and again the pundits have said that the GST is the last straw that will finally break the camel’s back, Captain Najib appears oblivious. The result can only be drastic, when even a seemingly minor action can spark off an unpredictably catastrophic reaction.
This is the result of a build-up of vented anger and the cumulative effect of a series of small actions that supporters of the Opposition have been harbouring in their hearts.
Double AA and double MM
After Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sent to jail, one by one the Opposition lawmakers and activists were charged for sedition and “illegal” assembly.
They were detained, and humiliated, while others who are aligned to the elite UMNO Baru, are being mollycoddled. They appear to enjoy political immunity under the patronage of UMNO Baru leaders.
But the blatant crackdown against the Opposition to grab power - a slap to Malaysia's democracy - won't save Najib. Jailing Anwar was his fatal political and moral mistake.
The same goes for the murder of Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaaribuu - whom some have alleged was Najib's former mistress and which he has denied - by his ex-bodyguards. Whatever the motive for killing Altantuya, Najib finds himself more and more perceived by the public as the man to blame for the controversy.
Why were his bodyguards involved, why were his brothers accused of 'paying off' P.I. Bala, the private eye hired by his confidant Razak Baginda to stop Altantuya from harassing the latter. Too many links end up at Najib's front door and he cannot expect Malaysians and former premier Mahathir Mohamad to shut up just because the murder happened '8 years ago'.
In fact, another great question should be - why for 8 years did the police, the Attorney General and other authorities sit on the case despite having been informed by one of the killers Sirul Azhar that he was acting 'under orders'. Who gave these orders to kill, who is responsible for murder?
The Iceberg
All these controversies, coupled by the escalating cost of living, is enough to cause a revolt that may finally cost Captain Najib his job.
But, if Captain Najib chooses not to abandon the ship immediately, UMNO’s end may only be as fatal as the Titanic after it collided with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.
On 14 April 1912, near south of Newfoundland, the Titanic collided with an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. ship's time, causing its hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard side. Without a doubt, this opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea.
Just one collision with the iceberg! Titanic was gone forever. And that iceberg is none other than former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The tip of the iceberg may appear harmless, but it is the impact of the collision that will finally tear UMNO apart. As it is, there is already an apparent split within the party between those who are loyal to Najib and others who are aligned to Dr Mahathir.
History has always given us many lessons that we can learn from, so that we will always remain humble and treat our fellow human beings (including our political foes) with respect and dignity, failing which, we ourselves will reap what we sow.
Big ships, including the Titanic, take time to sink, but sink they will! When the cracks started to appear in the oceanliner, its captain Edward Smith proudly told the ship’s passengers that the Titanic was safe. Titanic was the Mother of all ships in the last century. Surely, it would not sink!
It was with such pride that even the newspaper headlines screamed, “This ship in unsinkable, even God Himself can’t sink it!” This was just before the Titanic sailed off but in less than one week, over 1,500 people died in the tragic accident.
We recall what one of Umno’s own strongman and former Melaka chief minister, Ali Rustam had made a similar statement back in October 2007, but in 2008, the mighty UMNO was thrashed.
The wedding by Najib and Rosmah’s daughter recently has dwarfed the lavishness in which Ali had celebrated his eldest son, Ridhwan’s wedding in September 2012, with over 130,000 guests and food allegedly costing RM200,000. Today, Ali is replaced by Idris Haron. Najib has to be prepared to face the same fate when his time comes.
When the Hindraf movement went to the streets in 2007, the UMNO-led government used the police force to suppress the people. It did not see fit to deal with the Indian grouses. Subsequently, when the first Bersih event was organised, UMNO again did not give a damn to the people’s complaints that the elections are rigged.
The result? Former Prime Minister, Abdullah A. Badawi had to step down and five states fell to Pakatan Rakyat after the 12th General Election on March 8, 2008.
Now, after the collision with the “big iceberg”, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, especially over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and Altantuya’s murder, Captain Najib should have immediately stepped down to allow another person to take over. After all, the grandmaster of Malaysian politics is no simple person to trade barbs with.
Dr Mahathir apparently is not showing his trump card yet. He is punching on the 1MDB, hoping that Captain Najib would abandon the ship. But, it could be worse if Captain Najib chooses to stay put.
With Sirul Azhar’s mysterious escape to Australia and Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali saying that she is praying hard for Najib, the signal appears to be very clear that things can only get worse if Najib continues with his stubbornness.
Few Worst Case Scenarios
The worst case scenario painted by Dr Mahathir is that Barisan Nasional will be lose in the 14th General Election if Najib continues to remain as UMNO president.
Of course, no one would expect UMNO to lose in the coming General Election. After all, UMNO is mighty and UMNO is unsinkable.
Anyway, who would expect the British oceanliner to sink in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of April 15, 1912. After it was sunken, the Titanic was never found until seventy three years later.
Will the same happen to UMNO after it is defeated in the coming General Election, in much the same way that Selangor’s UMNO has become hollow?
Are there other worst case scenarios that Najib should also consider? For argument sake, the answer is, “Yes!”
In the case of President Ferdinand Marcos, whose wife Imelda was the cause of his downfall, even Ferdinand was deposed. Marcos was in exile until his death.
Another story which was floated by former de factor Law Minister, Zaid Ibrahim is the ultimate fate faced by King Louis XIV and his wife, Marie Antoinnette as a result of the French revolution. Let us pray that we do not have to come to this stage.
But, after all the warnings given, would Captain Najib heed the people’s voices and resign soon? END. - MAILBAG
Full article: 'TITANIC' NAJIB SINKS: Umno-BN 'rats' jump ship as tide swings to Dr M's favor
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