TAKE for instance in the last general election, the Malay politician with arguably the best social media presence in Malaysia lost to an Indian, Parti Keadilan rookie, in a seat where 70 per cent of the voters were Malay Muslims.
MEET Khairy Jamaluddin, who failed to win the Malay votes despite the entire nation experiencing a Malay Tsunami. READ : Tok Mat : 70 per cent of Sungai Buloh voters are Malays.
IT is that same poisoned chalice now hanging around UMNO's neck, the still prevailing believe that social media presence is a very good indicator of people's perception.
THAT believe, has been time and time again proven to be wrong. If it was correct, then UMNO would have won the last general election hands down on the account that Najib Razak was jailed.
BUT UMNO got its ass whooped in the last general election, because UMNO leaders failed miserably to read the tea leafs between the difference of guilty and wronged.
I still believe that Najib Razak was wronged, but that doesn't mean I believe he is innocent either.
WRONGED, because no man, not even the Prime Minister of Malaysia, could have inflicted the damage done in 1MDB, without inside help from Bank Negara and other enforcement bodies.
WRONGED , because you either get everyone involved in the scandal behind bars or you move on with life.
UMNO's Akmal Saleh, who now says he will go against the wishes of the party READ : and still attend a gathering in support of Najib this coming Monday has placed UMNO in a tight spot.
A tight spot, because Akmal Saleh has pulled the moral highground carpet which UMNO had made its case to the Malaysian public with regards to the addendum attached to Najjb Razak's pardon.
IN turn, Akmal Saleh has pushed UMNO into the dark and narrow road, potentially being stuck on the silent majority's head that UMNO has become what Sarawak Report said years ago about Khairy Jamaluddin that READ: moral failure can never be a mistake, but a sign that one has lost the moral compass