COMMENT | Faith is belief in the absence of evidence. By this token, the argument that Umno will fall must seem like a fanciful notion. It appears to be based on faith since Umno has not and never collapsed before.
With the National Security Council Act instituted in 2016, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the home affairs minister, indeed, the defense minister and the multimedia minister, as well as the head of the civil government, and the inspector-general of police, can by a vote of majority suspend the election.
Yet, Umno will fall in spite of such powers. This is because not all ministers in Umno and Barisan Nasional can stand the stench of corruption, malfeasance, and abuse of power -- even if a large majority of them are. And the latest example of why Umno will fall come no other than Singapore, ostensibly the cleanest and corruption free republic in the world.
Take the dynasty of Lee Kuan Yew, for instance. For a good measure of half a century, Lee Kuan Yew created this aura of invincibility. That he and his family were clean and always above board.
That everything he built would turn to due process and fine laws, some literally; which led to Singapore being occasionally seen as the "fine" state since every indiscretion would lead to a fine.
With a focus on turning all government-linked companies (GLCs) into the coffer of the government -- a template which Malaysia borrowed -- Singapore cornered the whole economy, literally.
Even Taoist and Buddhist temples were not spared. To run efficiently, each temple would be taxed. In turn, a small portion of Muslims' salary was deducted to help maintain the mosques, free from the general income tax of the secular Singapore government.
Indeed, Lee Kuan Yew himself once said that if he saw something was wrong with Singapore, he would "rise from the grave to set it right." Yet the truth is, without democracy in place, things do go wrong.
Thus, his three children are now publicly fighting over his will. Should the house in 38 Oxley Road be demolished or kept as it is? And, that's just a house built on damp, with the barest essentials inside.
Imagine Umno. A political dynasty that luxuriates in an obscene amount of wealth spliced with an astonishing level of greed, and one built on sheer hand over of power from the top to top...