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THE LESSON FROM JAPAN chedet.co.cc September 11, 2009 By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad 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. 223 Comments By moy kok ming on October 7, 2009 2:52 PM The moderates and the non-moderates The failure of long ruling parties in Japan and other long ruling governments in Asia has prompted many people to fathom whether Malaysia will confront the same phenomenon in future. In fact if not for the strong support of the two East Malaysian states, Barisan Nasional might have fallen and the opposition took over in March 2008. Actually most Malaysians especially the non-indigenous voters support the moderate political parties especially the component parties of Barisan Nasional. That is why BN and the Alliance have been in power for more than half a century. When the DAP tried to team up with PAS some years ago, it was catastrophic for Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh who confronted dismal failure even in urban areas, because the urban voters punished them for co-operating with the politicians whom they did not like. In Malaysia the moderates were nationalist while the non-moderate has recently become internationalists, who will ban anything against their internationalist ideal including their own traditional culture. (e.g. makyong dance). Turkey is the most modern country in their religious world. The Turks even at one time banned the wearing of head scarf for women, but they cannot escape from the internationalism mentioned. Look at Indonesia, the non-moderates who had embraced internationalism, had created immense havoc for their country. They not only bombed Bali and Jakarta, they even planned to bomb the residence of their moderate President. Even amidst the earthquake calamity of Padang, Sumatra, there were shooting in Jakarta international airport. That is the peril of the existence of non-moderates in any country. Actually, for whatever religion or belief, as long you are a moderate, you are not dangerous to other people. For instance, China was ruled by the non-moderate Communist during the pre- Deng Xiao Ping era and there were much suffering for the Chinese. At that time Malaysian could not go to China or do business there. However, after Deng Xiao Ping came to power, China had been ruled by the moderate Communist until today. Not only the Chinese do not have any more pang, their country prospers and became the fourth largest economic entity in the world, after USA, Japan and Germany. Nowadays, Malaysians can visit, do business or study in China, whenever they want, because China is no more dangerous as in the pre-Deng Xiao Ping era. Even the President of Taiwan (acute foe of Mainland China) Ma Ying Jeou commented we should not compare the present Chinese leadership with the leaders of the pre-Deng Xiao Ping period, for they are as astute as any leaders of the present world power. Dr. Mahathir had written an article entitled “The Modern Middle Kingdom” in his blog which said that during Lee Kuan Yew’s visit to Malaysia, the Singaporean leader lectured to the Malaysians and said that MCA should help BN to win in election. We can fathom his worry. If Malaysia is to be ruled by the non-moderates, what happened to Kuwait might happen to his tiny country. Corruption, inefficient governance, anarchism (high crime rate and large number of illegal immigrants), haughtiness etc may lead to the downfall of the present ruling party of Malaysia. Rectification is significant to maintain their power in future. However, it is difficult for them to countenance the advance of internationalism as mentioned above. The case of Kartika (who drank beer) has made some people open their eye and ponder whether the moderates are advancing towards non-moderation. Just type the word Kartika in any internet search machine and you will see how many thousands of titles pertaining to her, because the Western hypocrites who always talked about human rights are staring at us. We do not know this is a boon or a bane to the Malaysian reputation as a moderate country. In conclusion, if the present legislator wants to avoid what had happened to Japan, the above rectification is not insurmountable, but the internationalism which spread from Iran to Turkey, Afghanistan, Indonesia etc are the most challenging. By azizul-ariff on October 5, 2009 2:26 PM To argue that one should remain loyal to a political party simply to its efforts towards independence is weak. BN & UMNO will always be remembered as the responsible parties behind Malaysia's independence - no doubt. But truth be told, they have only their arrogance, inconsistent administration (esp. on corruption matters)and lack of warmth are to be blamed for the recent inclining losses. By threesixtynine on September 30, 2009 10:07 PM salam 1. empayar islam dahulu pun begini, apabila diuji dengan kebendaan, kemewahan, perlahan- lahan ia bergolak & akhirnya terlerai. 2. namun jangkamasa ianya berlaku sangat lama, kerana sahabat, para tabiin & ulama-ulama sentiasa berusaha menjaga amal, ibadah & dakwah. 2. sahabat ra tetap dengan kerja dakwah, membawa kalimah ke pelusuk alam, demi menyebarkan islam, satu-satunya agama yang diterima, diperintah Allah swt. Kasih mereka pada manusia sama seperti kasih Nabi saw pada umat. 3. UMNO silap dalam banyak perkara, namun untuk menceritakan satu persatu tiada berguna lagi, melayu sudah tepu dengan ideologi kebendaan, sehinggakan agama itu dianggap penghalang. 4. Yang lalai itu semakin lalai, dalam hati tersemat cita-cita untuk terus mengorek kekayaan negara untuk kepentingan diri sendiri. 5. Mungkin che det akan lihat, kejatuhan parti memerintah itu bukan kerana kurangnya bilangan pejuang tulen, tetapi bertambahnya bilangan pejuang palsu. 6. Dalam islam mereka ini digelar golongan munafik. 7. Parti pembangkang hanya menunggu masa untuk memperoleh mandat yang lebih besar, tetapi perolehan mereka kerana rakyat tiada pilihan bukan kerana parti itu benar-benar hebat. Apa ada dengan kelantan? 8. sekiranya ia benar-benar berlaku, janganlah che det bersedih, kerana sedar atau tidak che det terlepas pandang ISLAM sewaktu che det diberi kuasa dahulu & perkara ini sukar untuk berulang lagi.

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