UMNO & NIKE

You'll Never Walk Alone, itulah harapan rakyat pada PR. Begitu juga didlm UmNo (ApCo Benjamin Netanyahu ) depa pun Never Walk Alone didlm menjayakan modus operandinya.

Duit Duit, Diman Kau Duit, itulah budaya Parti Benjamin Netanyahu

Nike has JUST DO IT! UMNO has Just DU-IT.

On many occasions, I needed only a chance or casual remark to write an article. This article is one of them. it was a chance remark by that remarkable brain box, Walla.

After being on the ground at Hulu Selangor, I did write that I believed UMNO/BN will win this by election. I added however, this victory will leave a bitter and unpleasant aftertaste. Here is why I think so.

Who doesn't want to win? Victory is all the more important, more so, when the PM regarded this by election as a referendum to his leadership and his vision of creating 1 Malaysia. It is also a verdict on his resolve in implementing a new economic model and transformation of government and all that. UMNO/BN simply had to win this election at all costs.

All of us are familiar with the sports shoes- Nike (pronounced Naiki). The shoes are produced by Nike, the company founded by Phillip Knight and his coach Billy Bowerman. The trademark of the company with the swoosh logo, is Just Do It.

Just Do It represents the core spirit of Nike. It explains why the company isn't long on nebulous ideals and catchphrases- all they want is to get on with it, plough along and correct any mistakes while on the way.

UMNO, the present one, the one reformed by Dr Mahathir with his membership being at number 1, also has its trademark similar to Nike. It is Just Du-It. Just duit. This can't be the old UMNO. This UMNO doesn't list Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Jaafar Albar, Dato Harun Idris, Tun Dr Islmail as members. So, it can't be. This UMNO is Dr. Mahathir's UMNO.

It's the conduct of UMNO in winning elections. We are fast being normalized in seeing the PM, leader of this country and leader of UMNO gong around dishing out cash here and there; here RM3 million for a Chinese School, there a few million for some outstanding promises. The only way UMNO seems to be able to win is by using money. In this Hulu Selangor election, it spent more than RM100 million. Expressway, universities, roads, hard cash, development projects etc. It was a feeding frenzy.

We have the UMNO president, bowl in hand, appealing to FELDA settlers to give him a chance. Here- take this money, give me a chance and there will be plenty of this where it came from. What has it done to UMNO?

Here we have our party president with money in hand persuading commercially opportunistic Chinese to vote for BN. There we have our president promising the world to Malaysian Indians. Everywhere, we have our president appealing help from Malaysian Malays who are expected to have a natural inclination to UMNO but who now have to be induced by cash.

It has reduced UMNO to a mechanical being devoid of its soul.

Where is UMNO's soul? May I remind UMNO members, that the soul of UMNO is expressed clearly in Fasal 3 of UMNO's Constitution:

Mempertahankan kemerdekaan dan kedaulatan negara.

Mendukung dan mempertahankan Perlembagaan Negara, Perlembagaan Negeri-negeri dan Raja Berperlembagaan.

Menegak, mempertahan dan mengembangkan Islam, agama rasmi negara serta menghormati prinsip kebangsaan beragama.

Mempertahankan kedaulatan rakyat dan keadilan sosial dengan mengamalkan Sistem Pemerintahan Demokrasi Berparlimen serta memajukan ekonomi rakyat Melayu dan Bumiputera khasnya dan rakyat Malaysia amnya.

Menjamin kedudukan Bahasa Kebangsaan (Bahasa Melayu) sebagai bahasa rasmi yang tunggal dan Kebudayaan Kebangsaan yang berteraskan Kebudayaan Melayu.

Mewujudkan kerjasama antara kaum bagi melahirkan satu bangsa Malaysia yang kuat dan bersatu berasaskan kepada hak-hak Asasi Manusia dan Hak-Hak Istimewa Orang Melayu dan Bumiputera.

Did we win allegiance, respect and goodwill by leveraging on these principles? UMNO people hardly talked about these nowadays. They are focused on wining by the mechanical way- spending their way though.

This is disturbing to me and all right thinking UMNO members. I hope the UMNO president, vice presidents, read this. If UMNO's victory is now predicated and dependent on the amount of largesse and money it can dish out to voters, then there is something terribly wrong with UMNO.

Instead of winning the hearts and minds of the people on its principles of struggles, mission and purpose for which UMNO was formed in 1946, it is now actually just a company doing business. Its relevance and legitimacy being is now measured by how much it captures market segment by spending to secure it. It's no longer appealing to the rakyat on the values that it preaches. The way UMNO wins an election is how it conducts its party elections.

Winners just buy their way through.

Posted by sakmongkol AK47