Matthias Chang
Future FastForward, Sunday, 22 June 2008 06:04
Giving Up Hope On Barisan Nasional
No one is perfect.
No organization is perfect.
But the Barisan Nasional under the leadership of the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had direction and a powerful vision. There was an urgency to get things done and more importantly, the realization that we must anticipate events and plan ahead.
Thinking and planning requires discipline and hard work and the ability to see the big picture.
These skills cannot be acquired overnight. Fortunately for Malaysia, in the last twenty two years, we had the benefit of a “thinking leader” who motivated his Cabinet colleagues to do likewise in some measure.
Many a times, when someone asked me for my view of Mahathir’s Cabinet, my response and explanation was that, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was the sun and the Cabinet, the moon. The moon’s glow is the reflected shine of the sun. Hence, the ministers were perceived to have been effective.
Sadly, today, we are experiencing a total eclipse!
There is no shine coming from the Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi and as such how can we expect any reflected glow in the Cabinet?
This is in essence, the problem of the Barisan Nasional.
If you take the view that I am too harsh on the national leaders, please ask the following simple questions:
1) Name me a leader, who in your view is a thinker.
2) Name me a leader, who in your view has full command of the issues, challenges and future direction of his/her ministry at his/her fingertips?
Rebranding of Barisan Nasional
Soon after the General Elections debacle, the component parties of the Barisan Nasional took pains to tell the electorate that they have realized their mistakes and would turn a new leaf.
They would even rebrand to meet the expectations of the people.
A hundred days have gone by and I see the same old status quo:
1) A tired and listless Abdullah Badawi, hanging on to an impotent and fearful UMNO;
2) A tired and befuddled Ong Ka Ting and a humiliated MCA;
3) A tired and devastated Koh Tsu Koon and a floundering Gerakan;
4) A tired and irrelevant Samy Vellu and a hopeless MIC; and
5) Tired and frustrated “second cousins” of the Barisan Nasional from Sarawak and Sabah.
Self-interest and the “cari makan” attitude prevail!
National interest is on the back burner. To survive and enjoy the perks of office is paramount. There is the endless spin by Badawi’s spin doctors about serving the people, but no one is walking the talk!
The Rubbish About “Core Values”
The flavour of the month and justification for inaction is that one must uphold certain “core values” such as “I am a party man” and “loyalty to party takes priority”.
One would have thought that a political party is but a vehicle to serve the people and the nation, so that if a party fails to live up to the people’s expectations, it must reform and renew.
And if its leadership have, through corruption and utter irresponsibility, brought about a state of affairs that is endangering the viability and social stability of the state, one would have thought that a member’s paramount duty is to remove such malignant leadership.
But the Barisan Nasional is in a state of denial. They are content with a torchlight running on low batteries when the nation is demanding full sunshine!
I have therefore come to the sad and painful conclusion that the Barisan Nasional is not fit to lead and rule our country.
The Future of Malaysia
The future of Malaysia cannot be left solely in the hands of UMNO, the backbone of the Barisan Nasional. Since March 2008, UMNO has failed to provide the leadership expected of them as the “backbone” of the Barisan Nasional.
The members, by their cowardice, have allowed the political cancer to spread throughout the body politic.
The component parties are equally guilty in the present state of affairs and by their inaction have abandoned their responsibilities as component members of the ruling alliance.
Given the above scenario, and the urgency of the challenges faced by the country, the entire nation must now come together to effect massive change and remove the cancer that has afflicted our country.
Events As Forecasted
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend two hours with a friend from the U.K. who was on a visit to Malaysia. He remarked that all the issues that I wrote and forecasted in my e-mails to him and others since 2007 have been spot on. He added that when he first read the numerous e-mails in the comfort of his home and in the cosy environment of “Mother England”, the analyses were too dire to be true.
The recent announcements by the Bank of International Settlements (the Central Bank of all central banks) that the threat of a great depression is upon us and the alarm by the Royal Bank of Scotland that the global financial meltdown will intensify to phase two within the next 90 days was a wake up call to him.
There is now an on-going currency war.
The Daily Telegraph of U.K. reported that Morgan Stanley has warned of a “catastrophic event” as the European Central Bank (ECB) fights the Federal Reserve.
Another leading financial journal warned that Asia will suffer a double whammy – inflation and export collapse! The recent petrol price hike is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Barisan Nasional government is in a state of paralysis, totally devoid of any ideas as to how to prepare and confront the impending crisis which will turn extremely acute in the second half of 2008 and spilling over to 2009. They are just too busy dividing the plundered loot than to care for the ordinary people.
Replacing Badawi
Any leader that replaces Badawi cannot do worse, but there is a good probability that he can do better.
Recall the time when Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad indicated his intention to retire. The trillion dollar question then was who can replace Mahathir? No one gave Badawi a thought. Yet, when he was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister, the aura of the office gave him the legitimacy and the people were willing to afford him a chance to prove his worth.
Sadly, he has since betrayed that trust!
Let me assure you, that whosoever replaces Badawi will enjoy a similar endorsement, until and unless the new leader abuses power and commits blatant corruption.
The people have the remedy at hand – remove him and his cahoots by the ballot.
If we failed to effect change now, do not complain when the shit hits the ceiling fan!
Future FastForward, Sunday, 22 June 2008 06:04
Giving Up Hope On Barisan Nasional
No one is perfect.
No organization is perfect.
But the Barisan Nasional under the leadership of the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had direction and a powerful vision. There was an urgency to get things done and more importantly, the realization that we must anticipate events and plan ahead.
Thinking and planning requires discipline and hard work and the ability to see the big picture.
These skills cannot be acquired overnight. Fortunately for Malaysia, in the last twenty two years, we had the benefit of a “thinking leader” who motivated his Cabinet colleagues to do likewise in some measure.
Many a times, when someone asked me for my view of Mahathir’s Cabinet, my response and explanation was that, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was the sun and the Cabinet, the moon. The moon’s glow is the reflected shine of the sun. Hence, the ministers were perceived to have been effective.
Sadly, today, we are experiencing a total eclipse!
There is no shine coming from the Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi and as such how can we expect any reflected glow in the Cabinet?
This is in essence, the problem of the Barisan Nasional.
If you take the view that I am too harsh on the national leaders, please ask the following simple questions:
1) Name me a leader, who in your view is a thinker.
2) Name me a leader, who in your view has full command of the issues, challenges and future direction of his/her ministry at his/her fingertips?
Rebranding of Barisan Nasional
Soon after the General Elections debacle, the component parties of the Barisan Nasional took pains to tell the electorate that they have realized their mistakes and would turn a new leaf.
They would even rebrand to meet the expectations of the people.
A hundred days have gone by and I see the same old status quo:
1) A tired and listless Abdullah Badawi, hanging on to an impotent and fearful UMNO;
2) A tired and befuddled Ong Ka Ting and a humiliated MCA;
3) A tired and devastated Koh Tsu Koon and a floundering Gerakan;
4) A tired and irrelevant Samy Vellu and a hopeless MIC; and
5) Tired and frustrated “second cousins” of the Barisan Nasional from Sarawak and Sabah.
Self-interest and the “cari makan” attitude prevail!
National interest is on the back burner. To survive and enjoy the perks of office is paramount. There is the endless spin by Badawi’s spin doctors about serving the people, but no one is walking the talk!
The Rubbish About “Core Values”
The flavour of the month and justification for inaction is that one must uphold certain “core values” such as “I am a party man” and “loyalty to party takes priority”.
One would have thought that a political party is but a vehicle to serve the people and the nation, so that if a party fails to live up to the people’s expectations, it must reform and renew.
And if its leadership have, through corruption and utter irresponsibility, brought about a state of affairs that is endangering the viability and social stability of the state, one would have thought that a member’s paramount duty is to remove such malignant leadership.
But the Barisan Nasional is in a state of denial. They are content with a torchlight running on low batteries when the nation is demanding full sunshine!
I have therefore come to the sad and painful conclusion that the Barisan Nasional is not fit to lead and rule our country.
The Future of Malaysia
The future of Malaysia cannot be left solely in the hands of UMNO, the backbone of the Barisan Nasional. Since March 2008, UMNO has failed to provide the leadership expected of them as the “backbone” of the Barisan Nasional.
The members, by their cowardice, have allowed the political cancer to spread throughout the body politic.
The component parties are equally guilty in the present state of affairs and by their inaction have abandoned their responsibilities as component members of the ruling alliance.
Given the above scenario, and the urgency of the challenges faced by the country, the entire nation must now come together to effect massive change and remove the cancer that has afflicted our country.
Events As Forecasted
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend two hours with a friend from the U.K. who was on a visit to Malaysia. He remarked that all the issues that I wrote and forecasted in my e-mails to him and others since 2007 have been spot on. He added that when he first read the numerous e-mails in the comfort of his home and in the cosy environment of “Mother England”, the analyses were too dire to be true.
The recent announcements by the Bank of International Settlements (the Central Bank of all central banks) that the threat of a great depression is upon us and the alarm by the Royal Bank of Scotland that the global financial meltdown will intensify to phase two within the next 90 days was a wake up call to him.
There is now an on-going currency war.
The Daily Telegraph of U.K. reported that Morgan Stanley has warned of a “catastrophic event” as the European Central Bank (ECB) fights the Federal Reserve.
Another leading financial journal warned that Asia will suffer a double whammy – inflation and export collapse! The recent petrol price hike is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Barisan Nasional government is in a state of paralysis, totally devoid of any ideas as to how to prepare and confront the impending crisis which will turn extremely acute in the second half of 2008 and spilling over to 2009. They are just too busy dividing the plundered loot than to care for the ordinary people.
Replacing Badawi
Any leader that replaces Badawi cannot do worse, but there is a good probability that he can do better.
Recall the time when Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad indicated his intention to retire. The trillion dollar question then was who can replace Mahathir? No one gave Badawi a thought. Yet, when he was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister, the aura of the office gave him the legitimacy and the people were willing to afford him a chance to prove his worth.
Sadly, he has since betrayed that trust!
Let me assure you, that whosoever replaces Badawi will enjoy a similar endorsement, until and unless the new leader abuses power and commits blatant corruption.
The people have the remedy at hand – remove him and his cahoots by the ballot.
If we failed to effect change now, do not complain when the shit hits the ceiling fan!
1 comment:
BERPUTUS ASA TERHADAP BARISAN NASIONAL
Tiada seorang pun manusia yang sempurna.
Tiada satu pertubuhan pun yang sempurna.
Tetapi Barisan Nasional dibawah pimpinan mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr. Mahathir mempunyai hala tuju dan wawasan yang kukuh. Banyak perkara yang disegerakan dan yang lebih penting, dalam merealisasikan sesuatu kita harus mengambil bahagian dan merancang untuk masa depan.
Pemikiran dan perancangan memerlukan disiplin dan usaha serta kemampuan bagi melihat gambaran sebenar.
Kemahiran ini bukan diperoleh dalam masa sehari. Malaysia amat bertuah, dalam 22 tahun kita baynyak mendapat faedah dari “ yang menggalakkan rakan Kabinet beliau untuk mengambil pendekatan yang sama.
Selanjutnya... http://raptorology.blogspot.com/2008/06/barisan-nasional-tidak-layak-memerintah.html
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