Dr. Mahathir Mohamad: THE LESSON FROM JAPAN

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Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
on September 11, 2009 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (218) | TrackBacks (0)
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1. The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan which had ruled the country since World War II has been trounced by the Democratic Party of Japan in the recent election.

2. This follows the trend which many political parties which had struggled and achieved independence had undergone. The Mashumi Party of Indonesia, the Muslim League of Pakistan, the parties which wrested independence for numerous African countries have all but disappeared.

3. It seems as if the people no longer cared for the struggles and the sacrifices that had been made by those parties and their leaders. It seems as if the beneficiaries of these struggles do not know how to be grateful.

4. But is it true that they are ungrateful? There is some truth but if we care to examine we will find that the independence fighters, and their successors, the builders of the countries after independence have changed almost completely.

5. They have almost all become greedy and arrogant. They no longer care for the country or the people.They are almost invariably preoccupied with their status and their selfish needs. They have lost touch with their followers or the descendants of their followers. The spirit which had moved their founders seem no longer to be there.

6. Will UMNO and the BN - the successors of the Alliance which had wrested independence for Malaysia escape the fate that had befallen all these pioneer parties? From present showing it is likely that they would share the same fate.

7. That the rot has set in there can be no doubt. Corruption is now rampant in UMNO and the other component parties. Power struggles have emasculated them. Leaders have a strong desire to stay in office even though they have outlived their usefulness.

8. With such leaders the country and the people have been neglected. In the last decade despite talks of billions of Ringgit being allocated for corridors etc. there is no visible or tangible evidence. There is nothing to show for the 250 billion Ringgit extra that Petronas had paid to the Government.

9. It is strange to find that Malaysia has been outstripped by its neighbours. It is no longer the leading nation in the region. Certainly it is no longer regarded as a model.

10. Malaysia's voters, especially the Malays have always been strongly loyal. Yet there is evidence that in 2008 many of these loyalists had voted for the opposition. States which had been Barisan Nasional strongholds are now ruled by the opposition.

11. Will the next election see the same phenomenon as in Japan? It is not entirely impossible. The younger voters are said to be disenchanted by the party that won the independence. That was history and it has less meaning for the young.

12. The only thing that would save the BN is the lack-luster performance of the opposition. The alternative is not a real alternative. But if the performance of the BN Government and parties fails to gain confidence, the frustrated voters might just do what the Japanese voters did - dump the party they had supported for more than half a century.

13. It behoves the BN to take notice of the inevitability of the demise of the party which had gained independence for the country. It had staved off the fate before. Can it do so again?

14. In just three years' time the new elections will be held. Time is obviously running short. Unless some drastic change is shown in the way the country is run and the people are served, the BN will join the other grand old party in the rubbish heap of history.

Taken from http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/