ONCE again, UMNO has shown itself to be unfit to govern Malaysia again when Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin admitted that UMNO did not know what the King was disappointed about when referring to the latest political developments in the country.
Khaled said that caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will address Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah’s concerns within the next couple of days.
UMNO is obviously protesting innocence when they are the source of all the political instability recently.
An UMNO Government cannot be entrusted with a mandate to run the country when the political machinations of UMNO leaders engineered an early general election to save themselves from corruption cases, despite Malaysia being in the midst of the monsoon period and an economic crisis.
No wonder the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (TI-CPI) rankings for Malaysia dropped from 51st place in the 2019 TI-CPI Report with 53 points as compared to the current 62nd ranking with only 48 points in the latest 2021 Report.
UMNO obviously wanted a snap poll now to avoid the further drop in the 2022 TI-CPI rankings that will be released next year.
The foreign financial investors are not impressed with the UMNO Government’s decision to call for a general election during possible severe floods, which the latter said was necessary for political stability in the country.
There is no plan to deal with the financial burdens faced by the people and businesses who are facing escalating costs of living associated with soaring prices, a depreciating ringgit, rising interest rates, low real wage increases that cannot keep up with inflation and a severe foreign labour shortage.
Ringgit dropping to a new 24-year-old low
The ringgit depreciated by 0.5% today against the US dollar to a new 24-year-old low of RM4.67, while flirting with the historic low of RM3.26 to the Singapore dollar and continuing to slide against the Indonesian rupiah by more than 4%.
Like the weak ringgit, the stock market is equally not impressed by this snap poll a mere three days after Budget 2023 was tabled in Parliament, possibly leaving the country without any Budget 2023 by the end of the year.
A Government that is contemptuous of democracy and the Indian community, the institution of Parliament, the Budgetary process that should prioritise the needs of the rakyat over the selfish political interests of the UMNO warlords and which is willing to risk lives and property in the flood season should be rejected in the coming general election.
Obviously calling an election in the midst of Deepavali, a first in any major ethnic festival since Merdeka, is so disrespectful to the Indian community.
Since Ismail refuses to listen to the expert advice of the Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) to not hold the 15th General Election (GE15) this year, he might as well abolish this department.
MetMalaysia deputy director-general (strategic and technical) Dr Mohd Hashim Mohd Anip had suggested that the general election should not be held this year as there will be many locations throughout Malaysia that will face flooding.
Ismail and UMNO President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should bear full responsibility for any loss of lives and property as they have failed in their primary duty of focusing solely on flood disaster management. – Oct 11, 2022
Lim Guan Eng is DAP national chairman, Bagan MP and a former finance minister.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main photo credit: Utusan Malaysia
