13th General Elections – What next for Barisan Nasional

My view is that the Chinese voters have given their best shot to vote for the DAP and the Pakatan in this round of elections versus the Malay voters who did not turn out in full force. – OutSyed The Box

The results of the recent concluded general election revealed one pertinent point.

That with the majority of chinese in peninsular Malaysia voted Pakatan Rakyat in bulk, they could only secure 89 seats in Parliament. That is just ONE seat more than Umno’s ability to garner the votes from Malaysian voters. We haven’t even take into account the rest of component parties in Barisan Nasional.

UMNO – 88
MCA – 7
MIC – 4
Gerakan – 1
PBB – 14
PRS – 6
SPDP – 4
SUPP -1
PBS – 4
PBRS – 1
UPKO – 3

Total – 133

It is now imperative that Barisan Nasional look into their strategy of national reconciliation. Obviously, all the reconciliation efforts for the past 4 years under the Prime Minister in order to appease and mollycoddle the chinese community particularly in the peninsular Malaysia did not work.

All the money being pumped into their chinese schools, all the recognition given to their university and their exam certificates as well as uplifting their education system (to the detriment of national unity) and all the opportunities given to their businesses, has failed.

The PM must recognise that the advice given by his advisors on the chinese issue were miscalculated and erroneous.

With the MCA and Gerakan totally decimated by the will of their own community, it is therefore be concluded that the majority of chinese here in West Malaysia do not want to be represented by the federal government.

You are responsible for the consequences of your voting action.

What needs to be done now is for the PM to appoint more wakil rakyats from Sabah and Sarawak into the cabinet. There are many more communities over there that still appreciate what Barisan Nasional has given them all these years – development, peace, stability and economic prosperity.

Since we know the people in Sabah and Sarawak (be it chinese, iban, malays, indians, kadazans etc) care about Barisan Nasional, Barisan Nasional in return must focus more on East Malaysia.

Perhaps, more representation in cabinet is befitting. As the chinese here in West Malaysia rejects the concept of 1Malaysia, 1Malaysia should make a stronger presence in East Malaysia.

Why would we want to focus on people who do not want to be part of the ruling government?

It is also timely for Barisan Nasional to give direct membership to people who believe in the Barisan Nasional philosophy but quite apprehensive in joining Umno, MCA, MIC, PBB or other component parties. This will definitely appeal to the urban populace who are politically incline to contribute.

There is also a need for automatic registration to those who reached the age of 21. This is vital for the fight in the next general elections.

Barisan Nasional again has been caught sleeping. It has been sleeping since 2004. If they continue to sleepwalk their entire administration for the next 5 years, be certain that Barisan Nasional will lose Johor and East Malaysia as well.

Although Umno gained more seats this time around, do remember that they lost many, many more seats they had contested. The sense of accomplishment that Umno had performed better than 2008 is exactly the sense of false strength that will be their downfall in the coming years.

Although Umno and their East Malaysian component parties can rejoice about this false victory, they must be cognisant of the fact that Pakatan Rakyat is gaining ground. The opposition would just need to break the malay votes further and launch a campaign that will ensnare them to vote for Pakatan in the next general election since they have already secured the chinese votes.

This is the reality. If the effort to continue appeasing the chinese here in West Malaysia is looked upon as a sign of weakness by Umno, be sure that come GE14, there will be more spoilt votes.

Yes, we are talking about voting along racial lines as propagated by the DAP and its chinese community. Hence, the chinese tsunami of 2013.

And poor PAS with its 21 seats. That’s 2 seats less than what they had won in 2008. It seems that their sacrifice in being the accomplice of DAP has made their dream to institute hudud law in this country getting gloomier as the years gone by. Muslim malays just can’t seem to catch a break.

The next immediate step for the PM is to form a cabinet sans all the old faces we inherited from Pak Lah’s administration. No more Nazri Aziz and his ilk.

People say that the PM needs a Rottweiler in Parliament. But how many times this puppy went against the BN consensus and issued statements which are friendly towards Pakatan?

If the PM wants a Rottweiler, there are many more capable MPs which can do the task even better. It’s just they had not been given the chance. Belum cuba belum tahu.

As for cabinet posts, emphasis should be given to the Home Ministry as this ministry will have its hands full for the next 5 years. Hishamuddin Hussein failed in his task as Home Ministry and should be given the the job of Foreign Ministry so that he can learn to have more cojones while working abroad.

Hanifah Aman, should head the Home Ministry as he is seen as having more strength and determination in performing his task. He was fearless in engaging overseas protesters and perhaps, in the spirit of focussing more on leaders from East Malaysia, this move is perfect for both the PM and the West Malaysians.

The Umno Youth head with an increasing majority in his constituency should be made a deputy minister in a junior ministry, at most. There were talks that he should be made a full minister but this may not be a wise move as one should learn the ropes first. One must remember that Umno Youth failed to make inroads among the young voters despite organising many events trying to attract them towards Umno and Barisan Nasional. The social media unit of Umno Youth was abysmal and could not fight against Pakatan’s more organised social media users. As the result, Umno/BN youth lost the young urban votes.

Another vital ministry is the Finance Ministry where the PM should let go of the position Finance Minister I and give it to a professional. Zeti Akhtar for instance. Or perhaps Husni Hanadzlah should just hold the ministry in its sole capacity. I believe he is a good man and has performed his duty well.

These are just a few pertinent points in the cabinet issue. There is no point in discussing more of it until the PM has decided. Only then we can see if the PM is serious is improving and transforming his team.

Thank you.