On Tuesday, there was one incident and this morning, there was another one. For both occasions, we decided to not go. There was also another invite last night at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur that we decided to not go.
Off late, political events have turned into staged drama and action movie than a mature exchange of views and thoughts. In both occasions, it was a case of pitting one leader against another.
Which one shall we start first?
This morning's Nothing2Hide was an event meant for invited NGOs for an explanatory session with the PM. The organiser is SukaGuam, a new group established within UMNO supposed to oversee legal issues.
However, they seemed to have overstretch themselves into partisan political issues. Sukaguam President, Khairul Anuar seemed overzealous to be in that limelight that he may have not heed warnings on the need to manage, and control the event meticulously especially on security matters.
Things were not looking good few days ago when certain NGO were promoting its members to come in large numbers to the "by invitation only" event. This morning it was told to us that its white shirted Secretary General was on top of his voice claiming he had invitations but via Whass App.
Yesterday, it was going viral that Tun Dr Mahathir will attend.
It was said he was challenged to appear and he accepted it. There are claims he was not invited but a picture of an invitation with his name hand written had gone viral to prove he was invited. He was going to ask Najib the 10 questions he had asked before.
When Tun M came, the organiser treated him with full respect as he was ushered to the holding room and provided front row seat.
Tunku has been making disparaging remark against Tun M and strangely for an ex DAP Vice Chairman, he was getting good coverage by TV3. It seemed he was being pitted against Tun M.
This morning we saw a statement informing of a cancellation but when checked with a certain officer in PMO and few of Sukaguam lawyers, it was denied.
There was intention to see the event cancel. Maybe for some political motive.
According to Khairul, Dato Najib was eager to face the crowd. Just days before at a political rally in Sarawak, he was talking about his Bugis warrior blood lineage in him.
There was some pushing and shoving done by a group at one of the door in to the hall. A little scuffle also was said to have broken up outside. Crowd was rowdy as one member of the crowd text us. Finally, police had to step in to cancel the event.
Dato Najib was also advised not to appear. Now that only worsened his image as he is being ridiculed as coward.
Some said he should soldier on. That we agree but come to think of it, no security of any country would allow the President or Prime Minister to appear in a hostile crowd. A commotion could break out and things could get out of control.
We will not see it as the way security people do. Someone out there could take advantage, IS maybe.
When the crowd was informed of the cancellation, there was a loud call from the crowd for Tun M to speak. The stage was hijacked by the uninvited.
Tun M will naturally oblige but midway into his speech, police grabbed the mike to stop. Media that had been crowding around him and ignoring the audience behind was asked to sit.
The crowd was asked to disperse.
Khairul was blamed for not heeding advise by some party seniors. He was blamed for allowing Tun M to speak. A reporter on site beg to differ. He send a message to us:
Mmg police did the right thing. And mmg sukaguam negotiated wt police to proceed wt juz tun wtout pm. But police tak bagi. In the hall clearly u can see 2 camps - Najib n tun. Had the event been allowed to go on it cud hv gone really nasty fr the 2 sets of supporters.There was intention in the crowd present to jeer and not so much to listen to the talk seriously. This is one side of the crowd:
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| Tentera Tun M? Was it not supposed to be an intellectual discourse? |
It is still a wonder as to who advised Tun M to address the crowd despite police having called off the event. It is sad as some commentaries in the social media people are calling him a kaki kacau or trouble maker as though he is an Anwar Ibrahim.
Really sad ... PM branded as a coward and Tun M described as kaki kacau. Does it serve anything? Is this what UMNO and Malay politics have succumbed to? Hooliganism!
On Tuesday, another ridiculous event happened.
Perhaps done by the same group of people as we notice and could identify the faces of some of the personalities in photo ops with the DPM in their Facebook.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin was to return from Australia on Tuesday night at KLIA after an R&R there. Prior to his return, this group tried to prop the public to receive him at the airport as though he had secured our independence from Britain.
In one image poster being viraled, it was written as Harapan Kami.
True enough, pro opposition media was happy to pit the DPM against PM:
When Muhyiddin appeared out of the arrival entrance, he looked surprised and awkward.
But, he did obliged to this heroic welcome to his return from a session of golf in Australia. He may have given independence to some golf balls at some ponds or sand bunkers.
The reason he is surprised and felt awkward is not so much the reception.
This is just a fake picture. There was no such crowd.
There were mostly reporters.
Muhyiddin knew the people receiving him are not his people. In fact, we could identify some of them, if not most, are Tengku Razaleigh supporters.
For the likes of him, Muhyiddin was never in the habit of being sent off or received by his supporters or political boys. None of his men or officer called that day were going to wait for him at the airport.
Not only that, as far as we could recall, he himself never sent off any leaders off for their overseas trip. Not even when he was a rising politician under Tun M and large number of aspiring leaders would sent off or received him at airport.
This is nothing more than attempt to pit one leader against another. In this case, pitting Muhyiddin against Najib. Worse of all, it is an Anwar Ibrahim-like deception created to fool the public or the political followers into a situation that never existed.
The reporter and blogger that have been pitting Muhyiddin against Najib themselves were not to be seen at the airport. So dream on dude. Muhyiddin will not take on Najib. He is more looking forward for more golf trips to Australia upon retirement.
There is one reason he will never do it and it will be made a posting. Do not believe any claim that some groups are moving down there or some leaders have been asked in private to get any movement going.
Having seen a political forum in Sabah weeks ago, the behaviour of current UMNO Semenanjung politics as reflected by the event today and deception on Tuesday pales in comparison.
Our political maturity seemed not even reached puberty. Just do not get us started with members understanding and expectation of politics.
Some political analysts, writers and reporters talks of politics without neither the understanding nor the interest to learn about economics, administration policies, and governance. It as though politics is only art of perception for the shallow minded without any scientific method or philosophy or ideology.
The Semenanjung had long been looked up to provide leadership for the nation. If this is reflective of the foolishness of our politics, maybe it is time we give up the leadership to the more sensible Sabahans and Sarawakians. They claim that many is due to them.