"Umno Leaders' Arrogance Among Reasons For BN's Loss," Says Mat Taib. Racism & Corruption Too

Feeling comfortable and arrogance by some Umno leaders after Barisan Nasional's (BN) resounding victory in the 2004 general election sent the wrong message to the other races.

These were among reasons for the BN to lose votes to the Opposition in last month's general election, according to Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib.

"Knowingly or unknowingly, some of the decisions made by Umno leaders had hurt the feelings of other races, especially the Chinese and Indians, in Peninsular Malaysia.

"Some of our Umno leaders, whenever they speak, focus only on issues pertaining to the Malays, tenders for the Malays and brandishing the kris (Malay dagger). When the other races see this, they get scared. To them, we appear as arrogant," he said when speaking at an information and dialogue session with Petaling Jaya Selatan Umno division members here last night.

Muhammad said when a sensitive issue was politicised, it created uneasiness in inter-racial relations, making other races to easily sway to the Opposition, which is seen to be more liberal in their inter-racial relations despite having a vague agenda.

"The situation is compounded when the Malays themselves did not lend their full support to the BN, particularly in Malay-majority seats," said the Rural and Regional Development Minister.

He said Umno leaders must re-examine their political approach and be more sensitive to issues which could create racial tension.

"Although Malaysia can be regarded as a Malay-majority nation, Umno leaders had no right to talk and act according to their whims and fancy, without taking the feelings and interests of the other races into consideration," added Muhammad, who is also Selangor Umno and BN chief. (Bernama)

***** So it took a devastating loss in the general elections to drum some sense into at least a few umnoputeras that what they have been doing all this while is utterly contemptible, racist and not in consonance with the claims of administering a genuine democracy.

Whether they can actually change their ways is debatable and I don't think that a majority of the citizens are willing to give them another chance anytime soon. Let's stick to Pakatan Rakyat so that we may relish living in a truly democratic nation enjoying real inter-ethnic harmony instead of the fraudulent hype that was propagated by Umno.
Image - Source