THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Then came the 2008 general election and the impressive results gave everyone a lot of hope. So everything that was said earlier was now forgotten. But what they forgot is that Barisan Nasional won 63% of the seats on just 52% of the votes. In 1969, they won 66% of the seats on just 49% of the votes. How many percent of the votes do you think Barisan Nasional would need to garner in 2013 to still win more than 50% of the seats?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Chinese who kept Taib in power were rewarded for their support and all the transgressions, abuse of power and corruption that is being perpetuated by Taib and his family, and which you are complaining about, is being perpetuated in collaboration with his Chinese cronies.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

So they are now embarking on an asset-stripping exercise. Chua Soi Lek, Tan Chai Ho, Vincent Lee Fook Long, Kat Swee Sang, and a few other MCA taikos are shifting MCA’s assets so that they can eventually bury an empty shell that was once the second-most powerful and richest political party in Malaysia. They will then ride out into the sunset and all live happily ever after while the Malaysian Chinese continue to argue about who should hold power and who should be represented in the government.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

While Barisan Nasional was confident it is guaranteed no less than 130 parliamentary seats -- with 145 as an achievable target -- Pakatan Rakyat, in turn, was equally confident it could win 135 parliamentary seats -- the worst-case scenario being at least 120 seats. And, just like Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat, too, did its maths and had a basis for this confidence.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

If I were to hazard a guess I would say that Khairy is the man to watch. He is going to be the ‘face’ of the reformed Umno who will be interacting with the younger generation to try to win back their support, which Umno lost in the recent general election.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

They recently did a poll in Pakistan and 11% voted in favour of a democracy, 22% in favour of military rule, and 53% in favour of the Khalifah system. The Khalifah system would basically mean a Monarch as the head of religion plus head of the nation. “What has Pakistan got to do with Malaysia or the Malays?” you may ask. Well, many Malay ulama’ (religious scholars) received their education in India/Pakistan (Nik Aziz Nik Mat included).

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Out of the 89 parliamentary seats that Pakatan Rakyat won, 53 are non-Malay/Muslim seats while only 36 can be said to be Malay/Muslim-majority seats. Umno, however, won 88 seats just by itself (almost the same as for DAP, PKR and PAS combined). Then there were another 12 non-Malay/Muslim seats with 33 from the native areas in East Malaysia.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

You may argue that the Chinese voters have rejected the Chinese from Barisan Nasional and hence the Chinese should not be in the government. But if the Sultan says he wants Chinese in the government then Barisan Nasional will have to make sure that there are Chinese in the government. And if the Sultan says he does not want certain people in the government then these people will have to be dropped from the EXCO list (or as the Menteri Besar).

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Hence the percentage in votes has never matched the percentage in seats. This has always been the case since Merdeka and is called gerrymandering, perfectly legal all over the world unless that particular country passes a law where the variance between seats must be within plus-minus 10% or 15% (something I have been talking about since 1999).

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The problem is not so much what to do with Najib. If Najib were to be ousted, just like Pak Lah was soon after the 2008 general election, then Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would automatically take over as Prime Minister. The problem is: who would then become the new Deputy Prime Minister? By convention, once the Prime Minister retires/resigns/dies and the Deputy Prime Minister takes over, then one of the three Vice Presidents of Umno becomes the new Deputy Prime Minister. And who would this person be?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin