Full circle for UMNO?

Will Johor spell the beginning of the end of Najib, and maybe even UMNO, the grand olde party coming full circle to its end in its birthplace?

Why Johor of all places?

Why has the MB of that state and his son been so vocal vis-a-vis Najib but silent on other scandalous or flabbergasting issues happening in their own state?

The genesis (oh how I love to use this word 'genesis', wakakaka) of it all can perhaps be found in the Gomez Affair in December 1992.

I don't propose to provide a full recount of the affair but suffice to say Douglas Gomez a Johor hockey coach was not the real cause of the eventual de-fanging of the sultans but rather the catalyst for a volcanic eruption of anger arising from a far-too-long-suppressed but still seething simmering cauldron of resentments against a long series of abuses and offences by the Johor royal family for several years.

The New York Times reported on 15 Dec 1992 (extract):

The issue of abuse of power by some members of the royal families was brought sharply into focus after Douglas Gomez, a Johore hockey coach, told the police that he had been summoned to the palace last month and beaten up by Sultan Mahmood.

Malaysian officials said Mr. Gomez had earlier criticized an instruction from the sultan ordering the withdrawal of Mr. Gomez's hockey team from a national tournament after a ban on Tengku Majid Iskandar.

The prince was recently suspended from playing in hockey tournaments for five years after the Malaysian Hockey Federation found him guilty of assaulting an opposing goalkeeper after Johore lost a match in July.

A magistrates court in Johore on Saturday issued a warrant for the arrest of the prince.

In a debate Thursday, the 96 members who were present in Parliament, including opposition members, unanimously approved a motion censuring Sultan Mahmood for assaulting Mr. Gomez.

Shahidan Kassim, a Malay legislator of the National Front, said the sultan and his elder son had been implicated in 23 criminal acts in the last two decades, including rape, assault and manslaughter.

Affifuddin Omar, another Malay legislator in the Front, said it was time to end the "false sense of political power" associated with the sultans. Hereditary rulers must realize that they did not own the country but were "placed on their thrones by the people," he added.

Mr. Mahathir said Malaysians were "fully united" in their stand that the sultans should not interfere in the country's administration.

It's likely the PM-then, Mahathir, exploited the overwhelming public outrage against the royalty to pass a few laws de-fanging the royals and making it easier for his government to pass bills in parliament, hence earning himself the kaytee-given sobriquet of Royal Dentist, wakakaka.

In the 10 December 1992 Hansard you'll probably be able to read that (last paragraph in my more lively prose, wakakaka)

... Dr Affifuddin Omar, the UMNO MP for Padang Terap asked, "How can we continue to uphold rulers who are known to be robbers, adulterers, drunkards and kaki pukul (thugs)?"

"The rulers must be reminded that they were not reincarnations of dewa-dewa (deities). They were put in their position as rulers by the people."

"The immunity gave the rulers the status of 'half-man and half-god' and allowed irresponsible rulers to commit serious crimes which tarnished the image of the institution."

"It was about time that the 'false sense of political power' associated with rulers in this country be abolished."

"They (the rulers) must be made to realize that they do not own this country. They are not Superman but placed on their thrones by the people. "The real power did not lie with them, but with us - the representatives of the people."

"The 'syndrome of religiosity' associated with the rulers was only to cloud the people's view of who the rulers actually were."

Not to be outdone, Ibrahim Ali, then UMNO MP for Pasir Mas, but today the Head of ultranationalist NGO Perkasa, urged the government to amend the constitution to clearly limit the privileges accorded to the members of the royalty wakakaka.

Yes, end of 1992 was a time when UMNO went feral for the jugulars of the royalty. And the truth is only UMNO could (to borrow Nazri's word, wakakaka) 'whack' the royals. No non-Malay would have survived such sedition.

It was the age for the Ascendancy of Jebat-ites. I have never been inside the UMNO HQ but I heard its biggest hall was named after Jebat while its smallest after Tuah, wakakaka. And the Royal Malaysian Navy re-instituted the name 'Jebat' for one of its capital ships, breaking the Tunku's imposed taboo of naming a Malaysian naval vessel after Malaydom's arch traitor.

If true, then it signified the loss of prestige of the royals, the rise of near republicanism and the fall of monarchists - at least at that time.

It has been said, even today, that Mahathir's sole and greatest contribution to Malaysia had been his de-fanging of the royalty. But alas, like lizard tails, royal fangs seem to have regrown, wakakaka.

It has also been said that the late Sultan of Johor's greatest pronouncement was in October 2006 when he supported AAB by remarking that "Mahathir should act like a pensioner". Wakakaka. And don't we need such royal pronouncements more than ever today?

Thus, it could be argued that the Johor royals never had nor have fond feelings for the central government, especially of non-Johorean UMNO.

With Mahathir (supposed, wakakaka) retirement and the event of AAB's administration, the Age of Jebat-ites ended and was replaced by a resurrection of the Age of Tuah-ites.

The unhappy feeling by Johor for the central government was unfortunately revisited in June last year when the MB expressed the intent to pass Johor State Property Law which would confer the Sultan with executive powers.

This was obviously an unprecedented encroachment on the political primacy and prerogatives of the people (via their representatives) when the ruler is only a constitutional monarch.

To cut the story short, there was bipartisan support in federal parliament against the nature of that state bill, with PM Najib warning the Johor MB to ensure the proposed state law follows the Federal Constitution, which was another way of saying the sultan is only a constitutional monarch and is not entitled to executive powers, indeed on any non-religious issue such as state property matters.

Of course, as to be expected and as had been witnessed in various other state, particularly after the 2008 GE in Perlis, Terengganu and Perak and after the 2013 GE in Selangor, where it won't bode well for a MB not to toe the royal line, the Johor MB dared not say anything against or object to the proposed sultan's executive powers, and thus continued with the bill on the proposed state property law.

But in PM Najib voicing his indirect objections (Najib likes to do things indirectly, as even in his dismissal of Muhyiddin with only a nod not because he was rude but because he couldn't bring himself to tell Moody to f* off) he must have displeased the Johor royal house, who were perhaps still smarting from the de-fanging by the Royal Dentist, wakakaka.

It can be speculated that there was already bad blood between the Johor royals and Najib, which saw the TMJ criticizing the PM in recent times and his younger brother even threatening to secede Johor from Malaysia.

The dismissal of Muhyiddin, a favoured Johor son, by Najib added to the state's resentment against the PM.

So, today if the Johor MB and his son are showing their rebellious nature to the UMNO President, I suppose we can put 2 and 2 together and say it adds up to RM2.6 billions, wakakaka, and mate I am being polite.

But have you ever heard a peep from the MB and his son on other near scandalous or flabbergasting state happenings? Aiyah, macam tikus lah!

But this is not to say we shouldn't question the government if we know (not guess) there has been wrongdoings by its officials including the PM.