YOURSAY 'A true leader and a reformist is the one who changes the situation and not let circumstances change him.'

Umno has veered to the right, concedes Saifuddin

Lamborghini: What a breath of fresh air. Malaysians need to hear the voice and views of more moderate, courageous, sensible and right-thinking Umno politicians like former deputy higher education minister Saifuddin Abdullah who has the courage to speak the truth and not just be politically correct.

He is such an opposite to the right-wing, narrow-minded racial and religious extremists in Umno and Perkasa.

Homesick: Saifuddin is one of the very few decent Umno politicians. It's a shame he is in the wrong party.

Saifuddin, no matter how decent you are and as long as you are in Umno, my family and I and all my relatives and friends will vote against you. This is not personal. We respect you but we do not and cannot respect Umno and therefore cannot vote for your party.

Hang Babeuf: Former deputy higher education minister Saifuddin Abdullah makes the best case that can be made.

But you can judge the quality of this "best case" made by one of the best of the lot of them - and of everybody else and less good too - by the fact that they have all been taken by surprise ("ambushed by history", so to speak) by something that was not only "in principle" predictable but which, in fact, a number of us had consistently predicted.

It "could be seen coming" for at least a year before GE13. Yet these poor feckless dullards are still surprised, taken aback, nonplussed by it.

Please, it's time for a bit of real quality there in Umno: quality people, quality thinking... And high quality national imagination and sense of responsibility too. That is the core of the problem.

Wiser: The leaders of Umno has steered Umno to the right not for the Malays. Neither it was for the country.

Using the extensive machineries available, the convenience of "going right" and seemingly usurping the support of the silent majority amongst the Malays, there now is a licence to hide blatantly overpriced projects from the rakyat.

This is what happen when a group of lawmakers has gone rogue. As Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim stated, Umno has made the Malays poorer. Worst, Umno is sucking the life out of Malaysia. With our massive natural resources, we are but a fraction in wealth compared to Singapore.

Economically, we are the worst performing nation compared to our neighbours. Only Umno leaders, past and present, know what happened to our trillions of ringgit from our oil wealth.

Malaysia will continue to spiral exponentially downwards economically if these rogue leaders are left unchecked.

James1067: Saifuddin, there will come a time as most of the next generation becomes more educated. They will realise that the world is not going to wait for them and their outdated ideas.

As long as they live under the conception that the fight for race and religion will keep them in power then they are terribly wrong. A solid education is the way to go for there is a fact that the government cannot be providing jobs at the rate it is going.

Secondly, the mismanagement and corruption is another area that needs serious consideration. Thirdly, the gap between the rich and the average person is growing, which is going to be another area of discontent.

There are many other issues that needs to be corrected as the recent election should shed more light on the reasons for the loss. Sir, keep on your good work as Rome was not built in one day and we pray that in the end they will see the light.

Cala: Saifuddin earns my respect. He is known as a progressive Umno member and was also a deputy minister prior to the 13th general election.

The issue at hand is, can Umno change from one that is corrupted, racist, and immoral? And why should it change when to the ruling elites within the party felt the going is still good?

Recall the lesson learned from American history at the conclusion of its Civil War. Did the blacks in the southern states of America enjoy equality as anticipated? No. The politicians there devised another set of laws excluding the blacks from voting citing that the blacks did not own any asset.

In the same way, the ultras within Umno will do likewise in order to continue enjoying their privileges - all in the name of religion, race, and language.

Of course, it is a good thing for Saifuddin to make an attempt to change the mindset from one which is "absolutism" to that "pluralism". But for change to take root, it takes time. Can Malaysia wait?

Swipenter: Saifuddin, Umno has always been right-wing surreptitiously. Remember all the infamous "closed door meetings" to resolve issues between Umno and the component parties of BN advocated and insisted by Umno under Mahathir Mohamad's tenure?

The result was the perception that the solutions were always resolved in favour of Umno. Thus unhappy voices were raised and this led to the infamous keris waving and verbal threats by Umno leaders in their naked attempts to quell open dissatisfaction by MCA, MIC and Gerakan.

The last two GEs saw Umno under siege by Pakatan Rakyat and now Umno doesn't bother to hide nor curb its right-wing politics and tendencies. In fact now they are doing the opposite to try to gain Malay support at the expense of national unity but pin the blame on others.

Umno is responsible for manufacturing an atmosphere of fear by manufacturing crisis after crisis in the country but cleverly put the blame on others, especially the Chinese and Pakatan. Remember you can't fool the people all the time.

Dr Suresh Kumar: "Saifuddin, you are a jewel...", "true blue democrat...", "a moderate Umno leader...", "Sir, keep on your beliefs and direction...", "one of the very few decent Umno politicians...", "what a breath of fresh air...".

Nice phrases, aren't they? Well, the above are some of the praises heaped on Saifudin by Pakatan fans here. Similar praises were also heaped on Zaid Ibrahim and Tunku Abdul Aziz when they spoke out against Umno's tyranny.

Pakatan courted the duo to join them. Join they did with a very warm welcome. Unfortunately, they were no longer allowed to 'keep their beliefs and direction...'; they were not allowed to disagree with the Pakatan tuans and towkays.

They had to tow the 'line', but when they refused. Instantly, they were branded 'bought over', 'trojan horse', 'bodoh', 'power crazy' 'Umno mole'; the list goes on.

Suddenly, all the praises and grandiose words the Pakatan supporters heaped on them during the 'dating' period flew out of the window.

With due respect to a handful of reasonable and mature Pakatan supporters, most of the other Pakatan supporters are mere hypocrites with their grandiose delusions and write-ups. They need the change that they seek, seriously.

Keropok Lekor: I voted against BN not because I like Pakatan but BN needs to know it cannot keep on cheating the country with its rampant corruption and treating taxpayer's money like it's their personal candy barrel.

Rightist or leftist or centrist, Malaysia is (maybe was?) a rich country that would do very well except it is run by a den of thieves who pretend to wear a Islamic face.

Abasir: Let's get this straight. Saifuddin is very much a part of the problem. In the face of the right-wing onslaught, the blatant racist and religious bigotry spewed almost everyday by his friends and colleagues, he chose to remain silent ... motivated perhaps by self-preservation.

A true leader driven by ethics and an abiding sense of fairness would have demonstrated courage and fortitude in the face of unfettered racism. Saifuddin showed no signs of either quality.

He, like his spineless, gutless friend PM Najib Razak, took cover to wait out the ‘ketuanan' storm created and sustained by the bigots and semi-literate racists in his party.

To emerge now spouting inanities after the damage has been done, says a lot about the man. He is in fact more despicable than the lowlife he has chosen to run with.

Ferdtan: Saifuddin, you say that Najib had good intention to set out an agenda to steer Umno into more moderate waters, while at the same time attempting to introduce inclusive policies but failed due to increasing voices of party's right-wing members.

So what does that tells you of Najib's calibre as a leader? How can he let the radicals hijack is agenda of change? It is like Najib in a driver seat who wants to turn left but was forced to turn ight.

A driver with no control? A true leader and a reformist is the one who changes the situation and not let circumstances change him.

Kubang: If Najib's serious about reforming Umno, he should appoint Saifuddin as the editor-in-chief of the Utusan Group. That way, Saifuddin could rein in the likes of Ridhuan Tee Abdullah and other extremists and ensure that their inflammatory articles do not see the light of day.

More importantly, he could introduce more progressive tone to the paper and effect a paradigm shift in the mindset of the readers.

Anonymous #85701391: I beg to differ. As a Malaysian who had lived through the times of British Malaya to Independent Malaya led by our founding father TAR (Tunku Abdul Rahman) to today's Malaysia, the root cause in Umno is not going right, left or centre.

It's the culture of abuses, corruption, money politics and accountability that are now the hallmarks of Umno leaders. This is perhaps the legacy of Dr M's politics. If Umno members allow this legacy to continue, it may eventually destroy Umno as a political institution.

And that's for Umno members to decide. Meanwhile, Malaysians now have a choice.

Malaysiawatch: If the moderates do not regain control of Umno, I hope moderate Malaysians vote them out in 14GE.

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