Prime Minister Najib Razak dropped a clinker on Sunday, exhibiting the famed political 'clumsiness' that he has been widely accused of. After previously insisting UMNO Youth was acting on its own and would face grave consequences if it insisted on going through with a counter-march against the Bersih 2.0 rally, Najib admitted sending in the wing to do so.
“Don’t make us start street demonstrations. Yesterday, we only sent our Umno Youth wing, led by Khairy Jamaluddin, to represent us,” Najib said in a speech to a 6,000-strong crowd of mostly UMNO members.
The PM omitted to mention that the Youth wing only managed to drag out 500 supporters to its 'Patriot' rally designed to counter the Bersih's July 9 march for free and fair elections.
Najib had also previously denied any links with ultra-rights group Perkasa, which in the runup to the Bersih rally had warned the Chinese not to join or face 'ethnic cleansing' similar to the May 13, 1969 racial riots. Based on the latest news reports, Perkasa netted between zero and 20 supporters for its Titiwangsa 'rally'.
At just a "signal", UMNO can "create chaos"
Nonetheless, Najib chose to look on the bright side. He also warned that all it ook was just a "signal" and UMNO could "create chaos".
“Don’t doubt our strength. Umno has three million members. If we gather one million members, it is more than enough. We can conquer Kuala Lumpur. If we want to create chaos, we can. But we uphold the laws of Malaysia, we like peace," said Najib.
“This is just a part of Umno’s strength. We gathered 6,000 members here today in a short amount of time. They are waiting for a signal, they’re willing to do anything."
Not surprisingly, he was immediately condemned for being irresponsible in making for making "such threats" and encouraging a "hooligan" culture amongst UMNO members.
"There is a pattern in his conduct. Over the past 2 years, it has become very evident. He doesn't keep his word and it looks like he hasn't changed from his 1987 days when he promised to bathe the keris in Chinese blood. The same mentality and irresponsibility," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
"But we will hold him to his word and the same treatment must be given to UMNO Youth and Perkasa for their rallies which were also illegal. We will also press him to unveil details about his plan to keep elections free and fair or forever hold his peace."
Najib's extremism nearly destroyed the country
The 58-year-old Najib had refused to admit there was any political impact resulting from the Bersih rally a day ago, insisting that UMNO was not afraid of fair elections.
Again, he did not explain why then did his administration resort to a slew of bizarre actions to stop Bersih from proceeding with its citizens' march.
His administration had kicked up so much fuss that several top global rights groups rebuked him for oppressing the people and denying them fairplay. Foreign analysts also expressed unhappiness at the ease with which he threated Emergency Rule should the Bersih refuse to cancel its march.
On Saturday, Bersih members had successfully conducted a highly-charged march despite unprecedented police brutality. They claim a total crowd size of about 100,000 and watching the videos, the number looks more accurate than the Inspector General of Police's estimate of 6,000 supporters.
But Najib was not in a mood for 'details'.
"UMNO is not afraid of fair elections. We will show that Umno is the best in the world. Long live UMNO! Long live Barisan Nasional! 1 Malaysia!” said Najib.
