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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright February 2023
The Good
We know everyone sympathises with Khairy Jamaludin for being kicked out. That's the good part. It shows how popular he is with the masses.
He might not be popular with UMNO's leadership or those who adore the President. That does not matter. What matters is that everyone knows KJ did not get a fair deal or given a fair hearing. He was just kicked out unceremoniously with others who felt that the practice of democracy within UMNO is questionable.
In KJ's own words, he was “summarily and unilaterally sacked from a party I have been loyal to for 23 years.”
That the top leaders are afraid to be challenged by this man who sees democracy as being a better option than autocracy for the party and its future. They are threatened by this man whom the general public feels is not just a good guy but a great guy that the party needs to rejuvenate UMNO.
The Bad
UMNO is already a weak party after suffering a massive loss in GE15 and is now leaning upon the goodwill of Anwar and Pakatan Harapan for its future survival.
The bad part is UMNO's position is weakened even further with the dismissal of people like Khairy and 48 others whom the top leadership considers as threats to their very own existence and survival. UMNO's hope to return to power through the upcoming six state elections will definitely be affected without the 48 who could contribute effectively towards this objective.
The Ugly
Referring to what happened to KJ and 48 members that night, UMNO Malaysia Student and Youth Education Committee Member Syed Mohd Syed Nasir said the party's fate was in the hands of those who has been boot-licking the president; and raised him so high to the sky up to a point where he was unaware of the destruction happening below.
The unsettling feeling about this ugly side of UMNO is that baddies in the party are maintained at the expense of the good guys who have been summarily chopped off for good which demotivated many young men in the party. For example, UMNO Youth exco Datuk Muhamad Muqharrabin Mokhtarrudin says, "it's useless for young people to fight for the struggle of their ancestors, religion and nation when irresponsible figures are leading the party."
He further declared that the democracy in the party had died and that its Supreme Council leaders were now the most cowardly in the history of UMNO.
That's really ugly. It's even uglier when the youth too have lost faith in the current leadership. Uglier still when a young guy like Syed Mohd Nasir has to remind the old leaders to distinguish between political revenge and the struggle to balance the power so Pakatan Harapan will not silently destroy UMNO.
The ugliest of all is that the current leadership allows political expediency to override the party's missions, goals and objectives in the intetest of indivual leaders who are struggling to cling to power to safeguard themselves and allow the party to die.
On the "night of the long knives" when many were chopped off, you could see the good, the bad and the ugly side of UMNO. It will be long remembered as the worse of times for this grand old party which has ruled the country since independence.
Sadly we might be watching the demise of UMNO itself after 65 years of independence.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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