Hantu Laut
At last UMNO took action against Ahmad Ismail.He is suspended from the party for three years. Better late than never.The action had saved BN from disintegration.
Rumours abound that Ahmad Ismail is a plant of Anwar Ibrahim to destroy UMNO from within.It's an ingenious idea to break up the BN.What better ways than raising racial remarks to infuriate your partners which may cause them to leave the coalition. A conspiracy theory of the inference kind.Improbable but not impossible.
I received the article below written in Bahasa Melayu (Malay) from one of my commentators.
Pahlawan Melayu atau Pengkhianat Bangsa?
Perwatakan dan gaya Dato' Ahmad Ismail menampakkan beliau seorang Panglima Perang Besar bangsa Melayu yang begitu garang dan tegas. Seolah-olah tidak ada seinci pun yang akan diberikan oleh panglima ini dalam menegakkan kedaulatan dan keagungan bangsa
Tetapi adakah ini kebenaran atau persepsi semata-mata? Kalau benar ia hanya persepsi, silat persepsi sebegini rupa hanya boleh diajar oleh seorang ahli politik sahaja. Ahli politik yang ketandusan prinsip. Ahli politik yang dahulunya berwajah pejuang bangsa dan kini sudah bertukar rupa untuk menjadi musuh bangsa Melayu nombor satu, Anwar Ibrahim.
Seni halus yang dimainkan oleh Ahmad Ismail berbau Anwar. Anwar dengan liciknya menarik perhatian orang ramai kenegeri Sabah dan Sarawak sedangkan pergerakannya banyak tertumpu di Semenanjung Malaysia, terutamanya di negeri kuatnya Pulau Pinang.
Fakta yang sahih menunjukkan Anwar Ibrahim telah mengambil Ahmad Ismail sebagai anak didik politiknya ketika Anwar menjadi Ketua Perhubungan Negeri. Dari ahli biasa, Ahmad Ismail diangkat oleh Anwar hingga beliau memegang tampuk kepimpinan Bukit Bendera. Dalam tempoh ini, segala kemahuan dan nafsu duniawi Ahmad Ismail dipuaskan oleh Anwar. Ahmad Ismail begitu terhutang budi dengan jasa yang telah ditabur oleh mentor politiknya.
Pada tahun 2008, Anwar meraih hutang budinya dari Ahmad Ismail. Namun, bukanlah kenangan kisah silam sahaja yang berjaya membuat Ahmad Ismail mengkhianat bangsa sendiri. Kerakusan dan ketamakan Ahmad Ismail menjadi pendorong utama mengapa dia sanggup menggadai maruah diri, maruah bangsa dan maruah UMNO.
Setelah Pulau Pinang jatuh ketangan Pakatan Rakyat. Dunia Ahamad Ismail menjadi semakin gelap. Dia seolah-olah karam dalam lautan politik yang bergelora ini.Hanya Anwar sahaja yang boleh menyelamatkannya.
Dengan sekelip mata, Ahmad Ismail dengan relanya menjayakan wayang dan mengupas agenda sebenar Anwar Ibrahim yang telah menggegar negara baru-baru ini. Ketika sidang akhbar itu berjalan, pesan Anwar Ibrahim bergema di dalam Ahmad Ismail – "Bakar semangat Melayu, Pastikan BN berpecah tanggal 16 Sepetember ini. Pastikan Gerakan dan MCA keluar dari Barisan. Bila aku kembali berkuasa kau akan menerima habuannya."
Tanggungjawab UMNO ialah untuk memperjuangkan nasib anak bangsa, dan dengan nada yang sama, kepada pemimpin yang sengaja membelakangi tanggungjawab ini demi kepentingan peribadi, UMNO harus berani menjatuhkan hukuman seberat beratnya. Kerana UMNO alaf baru ini tiada tempat untuk pengkhianat anak bangsa dan boneka Anwar Ibrahim seperti Ahmad Ismail ini.
Also read:
Hantu Laut
Despite all those earnest declarations by Anwar of taking over the government latest by 16th September there seemed to be something missing in his calculations of what he called "we have the numbers". There appears to be no logical progression to those numbers under the present circumstances.
Anwar may have to wait until the next elections to try capture the Federal government.His sudden realization that it would be almost next to impossible for him to takeover the government this term unless there is a big exodus from almost all of the non-UMNO and non-PBB components of the BN or a mixture of all including significant number from UMNO.
The biggest stumbling block for him would be lawmakers from UMNO, MCA and PBB in Sarawak who are not likely to switch camp at the moment.
Without the full thrust of MCA and those from Sabah and Sarawak, he wouldn't have a chance of taking over the government.He may only get some of those from Sabah and Sarawak and, maybe, some from MCA, but wouldn't be enough to grab the trophy from Abdullah.It is not as easy as many of us would like to think.
With the exception of Yong Teck Lee of SAPP, other leaders in the BN components may not want to jeopardise their already well-rewarded positions. Only those who have worked out the risk factor, disgruntled and have nothing to lose would cross over to Pakatan.
Without deserters from UMNO and PBB, the maximum he could get from Sabah and Sarawak would be at best only give him 11 from Sabah and 16 from Sarawak, giving him a maximum of 26, not enough to form a simple majority.With only Sabah and Sarawak and without massive defections from MCA, he has very little chance of success.
MCA has 15 parliamentary seats , MIC 3 and Gerakan 2.He has to take at least two-thirds of those seats including the 11 from Sabah and 16 from Sarawak to have a comfortable majority.It is not going to be an easy task for him as he had made it clear he is not offering any monetary benefits or positions to those who wish to cross over.
Politics in Malaysia is all about money, positions and status.Even those who started with a noble value would eventually ended up licking their conscience.It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find a politician with one honest bone in them and with strong conviction to only serve the people and nation. Anwar should know this, he came from the same political school.
Would MCA get better treatment if it joins PR (Pakatan Rakyat) with arch rival DAP in there with 28 seats compared to MCA 15 assuming MCA moved over en-bloc? With the two tigers in DAP, Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang, MCA would be food for the tigers.
The political landscape would take a drastic and scary change if MCA and all the other non-UMNO parliamentarians crossed over to Pakatan Rakyat. It would be completely new dawn in Malaysian politics and the end of 'ketuanan Melayu' that our former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad kept reminding the Malays to safeguard.
Below would be the scenario if Anwar can successfully wrestles the Federal government away from Abdullah on the assumption that no UMNO and PBB parliamentarians joined in the crossover.
Pakatan Rakyat new profile:
Non-Malay seats
------------------
DAP 28
Sabah(non-UMNO) 11
Sarawak(non-PBB) 16
PKR(non-Malay) 11
MCA/MIC/Gerakan 20
--------------------------------
Total 86
Malay seats
------------------
PKR 20
PAS 23
----------------------------------
Total 43
That would give him 129 seats, just enough to form a weak coalition and for the first time a government without Malay majority. A true Bangsa Malaysia government widely promoted by Anwar Ibrahim.
The above scenario is based on UMNO and PBB not losing any of their parlimentarians to the crossover and would stay as opposition until the next elections.
Another hypothetical scenario, remote but not impossible, is the making of a new and more powerful all-Malay coalition comprising UMNO, PAS, PKR and PBB with 147 seats in Parliament.
Without significant numbers from UMNO and other BN components joining him there is little chance of Anwar taking over the government in the immediate future.
Another stumbling block for Anwar is from his own coalition partners, PAS and DAP.
Lim Kit Siang of DAP had made it clear that his party would not support defections from the BN if based on promises of money and positions.Without these two incentives and knowing the true nature of our politicians, how many would want to cross over to ground zero ?
DAP knew bringing in other coalition partners would erode their power and influence in Pakatan.They are prepared to wait till the next elections to increase their intake of Chinese seats which they are highly likely to succeed as by then Gerakan and MCA would probably be history.
They have waited for this day of glory and are not going to let a moment of greed to destroy what they have fought for over four decades.With Penang and Perak under its control and significant influence in the Selangor state government and well represented in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur they are not in a hurry to be a player at Federal level.
PAS have also sounded the same sentiment albeit on different issues.If there should be racial imbalance in the Pakatan line-up where Malay representation is not adequately met,PAS is likely to stay away from such move.
Both DAP and PAS are not in a hurry to grab the Federal government. Only Anwar is prepared for a coup de grace against Abdullah's government, all for his secret agenda, under the guises of equality for all Malaysians.
Bangsa Malaysia, maybe, an elusive dream after all.
The month of October will see the massive shifting of support from the Abdullah/Najib's camp to the Mahathir/Razaleigh/Muhyiddin's camp.
The only possible scenario that going to happen before the year end is the ousting of Abdullah and Najib as President and Deputy President of UMNO respectively, if they can't stabilise the tense and dangerous political climate the next few months.
Now Abdullah has to face a bigger problem to his already mounting and insurmountable problems.
Not only he has to play kung-fu with Anwar Ibrahim, he has to face an even more potent opponent, his old guru, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad who had declared to rejoin UMNO.
Hantu Laut
Although I do not wish to be branded an alarmist or prophet of doom, I would urge Pak Lah for the sake of the nation and the safety of the people not to ignore Khir Toyo's warning of possible ugly racial clashes if as Prime Minister he couldn't control people like Ahmad Ismail to stop spewing racist remarks against other races in the country.
The situation is getting tense and would be out of control if Pak Lah doesn't take remedial action to stop it from deteriorating further.
Now is the time for him to show to the Malaysian people that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians and issue an ultimatum to Ahmad Ismail to stop, apologise or face arrest.
Ahmad Ismail is defiant because he thinks the Prime Minister is weak and dare not take action against him and he has shown little respect for the Prime Minister.He wants to go down in the history book as the defender of 'ketuanan Melayu' and Malay rights.He is trying to rile up the Malays against the Chinese.The tearing of the picture of former Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon by Ahmad Ismail's supporters should not be taken lightly by UMNO and the PM.
Pak lah should put the nation and the people safety first.Refusal to observe this supreme responsibility as head of the nation would render him a lame-duck prime minister and should consider stepping down.
I am sure Pak Lah doesn't want to go down in history known as the man who destroy this nation.
Don't just say you are unhappy with him, do something and do it quickly.
Hantu Laut
Throw out a good man and bring back the crooks.
That's what exactly the Pakistani voters have done to their country.
The return of Asif Ali Zardari , the widower of Benazir Ali Bhutto to Pakistani politics and President was nothing less than emotional sympathy of the Pakistani people.A dangerous trend in many Asian countries.
His wife assasinated in December 2007 by suicide bomber while on a campaign trail to make a comeback to Pakistani politics brought him back from the dead. Her death was the cause celebre that catapulted Zardari to the nation's highest office.
This is the man dogged with shady commercial deals that landed him in jail for 7 years.Known as "Mr Ten Percent" his shady deals included charges of money laundering in Switzerland, shady deals in Dubai and mysterious real estate acquisition in Britain and France.The worst allegation against him was the murder of his brother-in-law, Benazir's brother Murtaza Bhutto in 1996 in Karachi.
In 2007 under American and British brokered deal, President Musharraf dropped all charges against Zardari and allowed his wife to return to Pakistan to participate in the elections.
Musharraf, seen by the American and British as coming to an end of his shelf life and usefulness convinced him to return Pakistan to civilian rule and to allow not only Benazir Bhutto to return but another crooked politician ex-Premier Nawaz Sharif who was in exiled in Saudi Arabia.
It's turbulent times in Pakistan,inflation is running over 25%, the country foreign reserve is dwindling fast over the past few months and there is acute shortage of fuel and electricity.
Zardari biggest headache and challenge would be the restive Northwest Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan where the Talibans have gained a strong foothold and had Talibanizied the province with extreme form of Islam.
With two crooks running the country we would have to wait and see whether Pakistan would see true democracy and better economic development or would suffer even worse....
...a state of disrepair and despair.
