Was Professor Ahmad Murad Merican referring to UMNO among others for the Malays be regarded as synonymous of being “negative, lazy, corrupt, hypocritical and racist”?
Was Professor Ahmad Muad Merican of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, International Islamic University Malaysia, referring to UMNO among others for the Malays to be regarded as synonymous of being “negative, lazy, corrupt, hypocritical and racist”?
Murad said this at the roundtable conference on “Rebranding of Malay Politics” held over the weekend.
The thought of UMNO immediately comes to mind, especially with Najib Razak appearing at yesterday’s Selangor Barisan Nasional convention as BN’s chief “poster boy” and main “hero” - where Selangor UMNO as compared to Selangor MCA and Selangor MIC called all the shots.
UMNO, whether national or state, has proven that it could not differentiate between right and wrong, in continuing to regard the former Prime Minister as their chief “poster boy” and main “hero” despite his being convicted of money-laundering and corruption and being fined RM210 million and sentenced to 12 years’ jail, although Najib is making his final Federal Court Appeal in the middle of this month.
It is also most unfortunate hat Najib is not prepared to free UMNO of this image of causing Malays to be synonymous with dishonesty, corruption and kleptocracy by announcing his withdrawal from the political scene until he had been cleared of his conviction.
It is tragic that UMNO has fallen on such times that it is considered as causing Malays to be regarded as synonymously of being “negative, lazy, corrupt, hypocritical and racist:”!
Najib said at the Selangor BN convention yesterday that BN is “tired” of being the opposition in Selangor and can put an end to its losing streak if it adopts a flexible approach.
Is Najib going to enlist the help of Jho Low, the other main protagonist in the 1MDB scandal, for BN to regain power in Selangor as he did in the 2013 General Election in his effort for BN to regain power in Penang – where Jho Low was described as senior strategist for BN’s campaign to retake Penang and who paid millions of ringgit for the South Korean pop star Psy for the “Gangnam Style” performance in Penang?
Is this the reason why Najib has up to now neither condemned Jho Low nor the 1MDB scandal - but the greater mystery is why UMNO and the other BN parties like MCA and MIC, had not condemned Jho Low or the 1MDB scandal?
Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who was announced as the new Selangor BN treasurer, is supposed to be the new “poster boy” with the “wow” factor for BN to regain Selangor.
But how can Zafrul be the “poster boy” with the “wow” factor when Selangor BN keeps up the pretence that there is no 1MDB scandal and Najib is innocent of money-laundering and corruption, when Zafrul told Parliament the very opposite last month - that the 1MDB scandal is no figment of imagination as the remaining 1MDB debt commitment is RM32.08 billion as at June 30, 2022, with an estimated foreign exchange rate of US$1 to RM4.50.
Zafrul told Parliament that the government had, between April 2017 and May 2022, channelled financial assistance in the form of loans or advances totalling RM10.85 billion via the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) to pay off 1MDB’s debt commitments and interest.
He said that as at June 30, 2022, 1MDB’s total funds recovered amounted to RM19.28 billion in various foreign currencies, including the United States dollar, Singapore dollar and Australian dollar.
Zafrul further told Parliament that the process to recover 1MDB funds is ongoing and that it is a complicated and lengthy process that could take years.
Is Zaful going to admit that there is the 1MDB scandal as Finance Minister but deny that there is any 1MDB scandal as the new “poster boy” with “wow” factor for Selangor BN to win back power in Selangor?