"You are either with us or against us"

The Patriot, the blog of Johor Assemblyman, Putra Haron Aminurrashid bin Tan Sri Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat quoted the words of US President, George W Bush in his 2001 speech, "You are either with us or against us" in his latest posting here.

It is not intended to support Bush's deceptive justifications to invade Muslim countries, but the approach Bush used to secure full support for his actions was something to be thought off.

With 1MDB dying off as an issue and the visible support to Dato Najib at the UMNO General Assembly, the subsequent decisive and strategic action would be to remove any dissenting voices from within the "troops" to prepare for the way forward.

As Tengku Putera see, it is time "to eliminate the enemies within and move forward as a big, strong and united coalition under one flag." After last weekend's "No Retreat, No surrender" message at the UMNO General Assembly, it is a natural follow-up.

Some may not agree that Najib has the party support in his hands. So do read the following extract from a confidential report dated December 17th from a certain foreign media:

After a scandal-ridden year, the support the Malaysian prime minister received at the recent Umno general assembly proves his position is secure following the resolution of 1MDB’s debt crisis.

Summary

1. The voluminous support Prime Minister Najib Razak enjoyed at the recent United Malays National Organisation (Umno) general assembly proves his position is secure, and we reaffirm our call that Mr Najib will remain in power and contest the 2018 general election.

2. In a sign of the control Mr Najib has over his party, influential former Umno leader and prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed, his most prominent critic, was forced to speak outside the assembly.

3. The resolution of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) debt crisis, following the sale of its energy assets to China General Nuclear Power, has played a vital role in cementing Mr Najib’s grip on power.

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If there were still any doubts that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to hold onto power following a tumultuous year, then the reception he received at the recently concluded Umno general assembly put those concerns to bed once and for all.

We reaffirm our expectations that Mr Najib will lead Umno and its Barisan Nasional coalition into the next general election, which must be held by August 2018 (Asean Jul 29, Macro).

There is more from the source that will remain confidential.

Despite few noisy Branch Leaders including fake ones, there is nothing obstructive in the horizon. Tengku Putra wrote:

The words "There will be no retreat! No surrender!, No retreat! No surrender!" kept on ringing in my head until today. It's a strong signal, nay, a stern warning to the detractors and instigators that we will finish our term as ordained by God with the same team that was voted in by the citizens of Malaysia.

Let that time decide on our fate after the rakyat has seriously gauged our performance with intellect not emotions and stacked it against the promise of the opposition coalition, that is in shambles and looks unable to rebound on time to lead this blessed nation after the next elections.

With only two and a half years left on the clock, it is time we employed the George W Bush doctrine of "Either you're with us or against us". No two ways about it.

We have to eliminate the enemies within and move forward as a big, strong and united coalition under one flag. Flag it through!

The president has shown magnanimity. Now it's time to exhibit commanding leadership.

After giving time for those misled to understand the issues, the phrase "You are either with us or against us" will force detractors, bystanders, and other unaligned to either return back to the fold or forever hold their peace outside. 

The challenges ahead for UMNO does not afford dissent or to quote Wikipedia, "the luxury of neutrality."