On Mother's Day, instead of harboring kindly thoughts and maternal goodwill to all, Umno women sharpened their knives and went after PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
But their expressions of sympathy fooled no one and only elicited condemnation against themselves. That's right, many Malaysians minced no words and called them "bitches" to their faces.
First off the bat was PKR turncoat Aminah Abdullah. She beseeched her former boss not to put up with her husband Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who has been the target of a series of what he alleges are Umno-linked conspiracies to discredit him and chop down his political standing.
"If the allegations (regarding sodomy and sex video) are true, she shouldn't hang on to him. A husband is not hard to find, but as a woman, it's more important that we have some pride," national news agency Bernama reported Aminah as saying.
"I feel really sorry and sad for her, but maybe she knows better. She should defend herself because many people consider her as Anwar's puppet."
"I feel really sorry and sad for her, but maybe she knows better. She should defend herself because many people consider her as Anwar's puppet."
But Anwar's puppet or not, Azizah could teach her and other Umno women a thing or two about love, commitment and marriage.
“I have never regretted marrying Anwar. Before Anwar, I accepted another proposal. But during solat istikharah, when Anwar asked me to be his wife, I dreamt of lots of posters that looked like election posters,” the 58-year old Azizah had told the press.
“All these posters were of Anwar. For me, that was a sign from God so I picked Anwar.”
Then, there were the heavy ones
Meanwhile, Umno heavyweight, Rosnah Shirlin the Puteri chief, said feelings of sympathy towards Wan Azizah were misplaced as she could have chosen to lie on her own bed.
"Wan Azizah should feel sorry for herself for going down the path that she has chosen," said Rosnah (left), who is also deputy Health Minister.
Meanwhile, far away in Istanbul, another Umno bigwig 'First Lady' Rosmah Mansor said becoming a 'first lady' is not a privilege but a responsibility.
Despite criticism that she was not reaching out to the people and that she interfered too much in the country's politics, the 60-year old Rosmah (right) assured that she was always mindful of her responsibilities, especially in supporting her husband Prime Minister Najib Razak.
"There are no guidelines on being the First Lady. But I take a leaf from other First Ladies -- things that they do, the responsibilities they carry out towards the people," she told some 1,000 participants at the First Ladies Forum held in conjunction with the Global Summit of Women 2011, over the weekend.
Serenity above the backbiting
However, PAS MP for Titiwangsa Lo'Lo' Ghazali rubbished the display of bitchiness by the Umno women towards the PKR leader.
She praised Azizah for her famed serenity and fortitude despite the multitude of obstacles hurled at her by her political foes.
"As a Muslim woman, Wan Azizah is a humble servant, putting her trust in Allah. She always recites the `zikir'. In fact, she always uses the white bracelet on her wrist to recite the zikir," said LoLo.
If Malaysians thought there would be less politicking by Umno and Barisan Nasional after their worst electoral performance during the 2008 general elections, then they have been proven wrong time and time again.
Instead of putting their shoulder to the wheel and maximising all efforts, keeping their ear on the ground and hearing the people's wishes, Umno-BN have rushed to the darkest side of the pendulum in their panic - misguided by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his questionable strategies.
Since Najib took over from Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia has become a hub and circus for gutter politics. Sad to say, the blame for this must go squarely to Najib, a first-term Prime Minister even though he may have been egged on by other members of Umno elite. As commander-in-chief, the buck stops with him.
Most happening thing
The most happening thing in Malaysia as far as the international community is concerned is now Datuk T trio. The scandal has kept them agog and in stitches over the bungling by the Umno elite as they scramble for jaded ideas to stay in power.
On its own, the Datuk T trio is nothing more than a group of faded Umno members, albeit with links to the top leadership. They comprise former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and Perkasa treasurer-general Shuaib Lazim. The three men were the key figures behind the revelation of a sex video, which was alleged to feature Najib's arch rival Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
It was evident from the short clips leaked onto YouTube that the person in the video was in fact much larger in size when compared to the lean, almost skinny Anwar, although it is undeniable that there is a facial resemblance at first glance. This was of course exploited by the Umno-owned mainstream media as they only published and highlighted the portions where the resemblance was significant, while diverting attention from the difference in mass. It even led naive readers who refused to watch the video on moral and religious grounds into believing that the person is Anwar.
Those who saw the tape say it wasn't Anwar
However, this has been rubbished many prominent leaders who have since watched the video in full. One of these was Human Rights Party leader P Uthayakumar.
The lawyer, known to be a staunch critic of Anwar's, had spoken up in defence of the latter. Uthayakumar, who received a compact disc containing the video footage by mail, watched it with 9 other individuals. Every single one of them came to the same conclusion that the person in the video is definitely not Anwar. Uthayakumar also called on Najib to immediately end all the gutter politicking which his Umno-BN government has engaged in.
Knowing that the truth will soon be uncovered, the three Umno men recently intensified their efforts to consolidate their lies and dark conspiracy against Anwar. Shazryl not only took an oath in the mosque, he even challenged Anwar to a lie-detector test. The businessman was given widespread coverage by all government-owned media and he used the space to condemn Anwar.
All this while, the Inspector General of Police turned a blind eye on the illegal distribution and publication of the pornographic tape by the trio. Nazri Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, even went to the extreme of stating that the trio were protected by the Witness Protection Act.
Najib himself gave the go-ahead for the oath-taking session, which has been slammed by Muslim leaders as inappropriate and reducing the dignity of Islam. Nevertheless, Najib presevered and the Datuk T trio were duly escorted by police and FRU personnel into the mosque to make the oath.
World's 'swearing' hotspot
It does look like Malaysia may have officially turned into a 'swearing' hotspot. In 2008, the Prime Minister himself had sworn on national television about his non-affiliation with murdered Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Even so, few Malaysians believed him and watched with a feeling of contempt rather than any other emotion.
But to Najib and other Umno leaders, swearing would nullify all allegations aimed at them while confirming their own allegations aimed towards the opposition, especially Anwar. Their simple logic defies comprehension and begs the question that, will judiciary system of Malaysia one day be replaced by a 'swearing' system. Certainly, this would benefit the likes of Rais Yatim and Rahim Thamby Chik, who would then be able to 'swear' away their rape allegations as unfounded lies.
As a saying goes: when you lie once, you need to cover up the truth with a million more lies. Umno has put itself in a position of no return, and more lies can be expected in the coming months. It needs to kill off Anwar’s political career prematurely and wipe out the Pakatan's political challenge.
Fabrication of evidences, extortion of witnesses and manipulation of facts will continue to dog both the sex video saga and the ongoing sodomy trial - much like what had transpired during Anwar’s first sodomy trial which was orchestrated by former premier Mahathir Mohamad and his own set of Umno cohorts then.
Gutter politics will continue to dominate Malaysian headlines as long as Najib and Umno stay in power. Unless and until they drop this form of politics, Malaysians should reject such desperate and malicious attacks against fundamental decency and personal privacy.
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