This Aidilfitri season is the best time to reflect on our past, be grateful for our present and pray for our future. Everything happens for a reason and Allah SWT knows best.
BN has been punished losing control of the government for the first time since its inception.
Many have attributed this to the 1MDB affair and the blatant excesses of Umno leaders while a good number have blamed the it on their arrogance during speeches and events.
As I had predicted and conveyed to the leadership well in advance, their dangerous desire to see the impossible has occurred: Firstly, the oldest party in the world has fallen; Secondly, a 93-year-old man is once again prime minister.
But God is Great. While BN may have lost, Umno is still the single party with the most number of seats in Parliament.
The fable which tells that the Malays have rejected Umno for the alternative party Bersatu is just that: A fable.
Fact 1: Umno has 41 more seats than Bersatu in Parliament (Umno - 54, Bersatu - 13).
Fact 2: Umno has 111 more seats than Bersatu in state assemblies (Umno - 139, Bersatu - 28).
We, Umno, are still the preferred party of the Malays and are far from dead and buried.
The only reason why Bersatu is perceived to be the better Malay party is because the prime minister of the day is from Bersatu.
Monarchy under scrutiny
Little do they realise that their chairperson is a minority prime minister, who can be kicked out by the Pakatan Harapan coalition once he clears the messy details of sacking allies of the former regime and forming a fully functional government.
After all that is done, his days as PM are numbered if he stays put in that coalition without a plan. But fortunately, Mahathir is never without one.
While this “temporary correction in the political market” puts Umno in the “sin bin”, it has also been a major wake up call for the monarchy with daily calls to question their role in the country at the expense of the people.
Since 2015, in my capacity Kempas representative in the Johor legislative assembly, I have repeatedly advised the palace to stay away from politics and business to avoid the abuse of power and possible backlash by the rakyat.
Today, as I foresaw, where my counsel was not heeded, the monarchy is now being scrutinised by the people.
Civil servants might snitch
Under the new government, every business transaction and “decree” upon civil servants that went beyond the boundaries of the law is not free from scrutiny.
I’m sure when political muscle is flexed, even the civil servants will snitch on their royal master to save themselves. Those who executed their duties under duress who will be ever willing to confess.
While the monarchy had the Malays to defend them to the hilt at one time, many are quite reluctant today after witnessing the failure of some rulers in defending the faith and the interest of their Malay subjects in favour of the Chinese.
I made a prediction in my blog post titled “Leave palace out of politics” in August 2015. The last paragraph had described more or less what is happening today.
Notwithstanding, it is important for the Malays to maintain the symbol of our heritage which is the system of the Constitutional Monarchy.
However individuals, who abuse the privileges of the throne conveniently misinterpreting it for power, must be dealt with swiftly to save the institution from the wrath of the people and imminent extinction.
While the BN government were generous and sometimes overbearing in their respect and appreciation for the palace, to the point of being bullied in some states and causing our defeat, consider this a wake up call for the rulers to conduct themselves accordingly in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
Daulat Tuanku. Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf zahir dan batin.
Tengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat is the former Kempas assemblyperson and candidate for the Umno supreme council 2018-2021 term.
The views expressed here are those of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
