UMNO ELECTIONS RUNUP: “FUNNY” THINGS HAPPENING!!!

Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, when contacted, said he felt things were getting very “funny” lately, reported the Star. Well, he is not the only one. Many of the delegates and some of the candidates I spoke to also have been echoing the same “funny” feeling. In the Malaysian context, “funny” does not necessarily mean comical. It may mean “weird”, “uncommon”, “peculiar”, “something not right” or “out of the ordinary”.

Obviously, even non-UMNO members who have been observing the run-up to the elections have been having “funny feelings from the start. For starters, the election was shifted from December to March – one very long campaigning period! Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was against this from the start and his voice still counts very much.

Secondly, we have MACC and the disciplinary committee also playing roles in the run-up. Some have been charged in court for money politics just before the elections–first time in Malaysian history. Even though those charged are innocent until proven guilty, the practical damage is obvious. UMNO DC have found some guilty with severe punishment and others guilty without punishment. “Funny”. Tengku Razaleigh probably found it “funny” too that the UMNO DC is not making any police reports if indeed they found some members guilty of money politics. He correctly pointed out that it is an offence under the penal code not to report a criminal matter.

Rocky Bru has posted something that many have been having “funny” feelings about for a long time –Mahathir and Daim factor coupled with Sanusi Junid’s comeback for service. A few groups of UMNO members are still trying to stop the election from taking place next week on various grounds – ranging from reasons of money politics to “funny, funny” things. Tengku Razaleigh reportedly said that Ali Rustam can ask the ROS to stop the elections if he feels he is unlawfully deprived of his eligibility for office. The “funny” thing is will ROS even consider the application if one is made?

There is talk of as many as 6 to 10 usul tergempars (emergency motions) that may be tabled at the commencement of the UMNO Assembly next week. Even “funnier” things are being spoken about that is supposed to happen by the time next week is up.

One thing is for sure, “funny” that all these should happen now when it was just supposed to be a smooth transition. Do these “funny” things make UMNO and its current president a joke? Hope not because UMNO is the backbone of the government – otherwise people will perceive the cabinet as one sitcom.