By P Ramakrishnan
None of the Umno-Baru politicians care about the rakyat. What is at play is the selfish interest of these Umno MPs and the greed of Ismail Sabri to hold on to power as PM.
Ignoring the inherent dangers and ignoring the possible loss of lives and livestock, Umno successfully forced the hand of a feeble Prime Minister and won the day for disaster!
It is important to take note that the PM did not lose a vote of confidence when he advised the Agong to dissolve Parliament; neither was a government bill defeated to force an election.
What was abundantly clear was the indisputable fact that the PM still enjoyed the crucial majority support; a united cabinet did not vote unanimously for the dissolution of Parliament. The Opposition was solidly backing him to continue with the administration of the nation. As facts stood, there was no urgent need for a fresh election at this juncture.
Why then this foolish move to hold an election during the anticipated rainy period of the annual monsoon season? Wasn’t it apparent that this was a foolhardy course to pursue?
What is clear is the work of a small coterie of Umno politicians facing court charges or having pending cases hanging over their heads with the possibility of others facing the wrath of the law for their misdeeds! The work of this vested interest group is behind this move to compel an early election by forcing the hand of a very weak PM!
The PM, who is also the Umno vice-president, knows he is beholden to the 37 Umno MPs because they put him there. Given the thin majority, they can easily pull the rug from under his feet by sacking him, if need be, when he fails to bow down to their bidding. What is at play is the selfish interest of these Umno MPs and the greed of Ismail Sabri to hold on to power as PM.
Each for his own selfish end decided to call for fresh election, come what come may. They are not bothered if voters have to wade through floods for a livelihood or have to squat on rooftops for help that takes days to come.
It doesn’t seem to concern them that we have a history of people drowning in their hundreds in the past and this scenario is likely to repeat itself.
Is it Umno’s position: You can drown in the flood for all I care – I only want your vote? Lest we forget, in that famous novel, Dracula sucks the blood of his victims dry so that he can live. His survival transcends the very life of his victims!
(The views expressed are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rebuilding Malaysia.)
First published in Aliran on 13 October 2022
P Ramakrishnan is the long-serving former president of Aliran who served three and a half decades on its executive committee, and has been with Aliran since its inception in 1977. Now an ordinary Aliran member, he continues to highlight issues of public interest to a larger audience.