By CLIFFORD TAN aka ghostline

August 28, 2008


Reeling from the humiliating defeat in Permatang Pauh, a desperate UMNO is pulling out all the stops to act against anyone it thinks is a threat to its survival - and it’s beginning to attack  Malaysian cyberspace.

They have now instructed the MCMC - Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission - another running dog statutory body - to block all Malaysian internet access to the Malaysia Today website. The original website is no longer accessible from Malaysian ISP’s. The new alternate website is here: http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008

In doing so UMNO is tacitly acknowledging that Malaysia Today - run by Raja Petra Kamarudin - has done enormous damage to UMNO-BN, by publishing incriminating documents, news and insider revelations about the corrupt inner workings of UMNO. With an estimated readership of 1.5 million, Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini are the two foremost independent news portals in Malaysia and wield enormous influence, as witnessed in the build-up to the March 8 political tsunami.

The person most likely behind the current assault on Malaysia Today is Najib Tun Razak, who has gone from PM heir-apparent to a political pariah, hounded by the ghosts of Altantuya, defence kickbacks, his 1987 ‘we-will-bathe-the-country-in-Chinese-blood’ keris-waving stunt, the intimidation of PI Balasubramaniam (in relation to the Altantuya case) and attempted intimidation of Dr. Mohd. Osman (whose refusal to ‘amend’ his leaked medical report is a pain in the arse for the Sodomy 2 conspirators) and many, many other scandals.

Najib is also widely seen as one of the prime movers behind the ‘Sodomy Part 2? conspiracy against Anwar - after all, who was this failed student Saiful Bukhari who could approach the Deputy Prime Minister himself for a ’scholarship interview’? Just as damaging, the ‘imam’ who witnessed the sodomy swearing ceremony chickened out in the face of eternal damnation and confessed that he had been ‘acting on instructions’ - a trail that points back to IGP Musa Hassan, AG Abdul Gani Patail and ultimately Najib.

Najib’s rapid reversal in fortunes is due in no small part to the extraordinarily damaging allegations levelled against him by Malaysia Today - particularly with regard to the Altantuya murder, where a continuing series of articles, published documents and statutory declarations have tightened the noose on Najib.

Of course, this being Malaysia, the ‘law enforcement agencies’ chose to persecute the whistleblowers rather than investigate the allegations. Najib and his police thugs managed to silence Altantuya, Razak Baginda and the hapless PI Bala, but he could not intimidate Raja Petra. The revelations have proven to be so damaging that Najib himself had to swear on the Quran that he had nothing to do with the murder and he did not know Altantuya.

But we all know how effective swearing on the Quran is: a cheap, desperate publicity stunt. Permatang Pauh proved that people can see through the charade. Any dumb shit can swear on the Quran (or other holy book). Money is the greatest religion of all; Saiful Bukhari forsook Allah for the God of Holy Ringgit.

In the aftermath of Permatang Pauh, the dogs are turning on their master, and the same fractious voices (Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Mukhriz, Muhyiddin) are once again openly calling for Badawi to step down. But - as some astute MSK readers pointed out, it was Najib - the Prime-Minister designate - who led the UMNO-BN campaign in Permatang Pauh, a campaign that quickly and predictably descended into the blatant ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ racist rhetoric that UMNO always falls back on in its intellectual bankruptcy.

The victory is especially significant for all Malaysians, as the Malay-majority electorate bluntly rejected the ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ rhetoric in favour of Keadilan’s multi-racial platform.

Without discounting the personal charisma and ‘home-ground advantage’ of Anwar Ibrahim, the overwhelming rejection of UMNO-BN in the primarily Malay constituency of PP was not only a rejection of the UMNO agenda, it was also a personal rejection of Najib Tun Razak as PM-in-waiting. Ground reports indicate that Najib’s ceramahs drew as few as 50 people, mainly UMNO members - a situation previously faced by Samy Vellu in his home constituency of Sg. Siput.

The message is clear: the time of UMNO-BN is over. Najib Tun Razak is persona non grata. We are tired of race politics and this corrupt, fascist government.

We want our country back. And we will take our country back.

These are our thoughts for Merdeka 51.