Press Statement by Charles Santiago in Klang on
Friday, 5th September 2008:
Dr M and Keng Yaik should accept
responsibility for the mess in UMNO/ BN and country
The Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi, has drawn flak since the March upset election which saw the
ruling coalition lose its stronghold in Parliament. His position within
UMNO and as the country's chief has become highly uncertain and fragile.
Dissidents in the ruling UMNO have demanded his resignation placing the
blame for the shocking defeat solely on the premier's shoulders. The
strongest call comes from former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who
has made little effort to disguise his displeasure over Abdullah, his
chosen successor.
Mahathir is now on the prowl to lobby enough support to oust Abdullah
and restore the image of UMNO and BN. Whether booting out Abdullah will
solve the problems faced by UMNO remains to be seen. But it is an irony
to see Mahathir vow to soldier on to find the crucial solution after
having wrecked the image of UMNO during his grip on power.
It is given that Abdullah has not done much about his rhetoric to wipe
out corruption and clean up the country's administration. But his is not
an enviable task as Abdullah inherited a corrupt government from his
former boss. Mahathir has gained quite a reputation for single-handedly
ruining the judiciary, closing an eye on the abuse of power by the
police force, domesticating the media, manipulating the electoral system
and ignoring rampant corruption and money politics in UMNO and Barisan
Nasional.
His 22 years in power was possible with the use of various laws like the
Internal Security Act, Sedition Act, Official Secrets Act, Printing
Presses and Publications Act and the University and University Colleges
Act to curb any form of dissent in the country.
While Mahathir now claims that Abdullah is a liability to UMNO, the
origin of his wrath might stem from the Prime Minister's refusal to
carry out Mahathir's projects or self-styled legacy. The public brawls
and insulting remarks started with Abdullah's reluctance to continue
Mahathir's pet project of building a bridge linking the causeway to
Singapore.
Mahathir might feel saddened to see UMNO lose the support it once
enjoyed among the people and especially Malays but his hatred for
Abdullah comes from seeing his legacy crumble.
In the same light, Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik's sudden reprisal
of UMNO is amusing. It's as if Dr Lim just woke up from a deep sleep
that lasted years. During his tenure as a minister, never once did he
suggest that UMNO must re-brand itself to stay relevant to the people.
UMNO's corrupt leaders and racial politics suited the political
aspirations of Dr Lim then. Now he is taking the high moral ground and
is subtly threatening to quit the ruling coalition after his party's
humiliating defeat at the general elections.
Whether it is the MCA, MIC or Gerakan, leaders of these respective
parties played along to curry favor with the ruling elites within UMNO.
But now that Abdullah's position is shaky and UMNO is losing its lock on
power, we see the sudden mushrooming of dissidents within and outside
the party.
In reality, all leaders like Dr Mahathir and Dr Lim must share the
responsibility for the downfall of UMNO and the ruling coalition
government. While Abdullah inherited the rot, Dr Mahathir created and
presided over the rot. Dr Lim, meanwhile, was a mute spectator.
* Charles Santiago, MP for Klang
http://dapmalaysia.org