Nizar vs Najib: Pakatan Rakyat vs Umno-dominated BN

In my younger and politically naïve days, I often wondered why it was that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not even try to introduce any significant reforms in the areas which he said he would reform prior to the 2004 general elections.

Four years on, I am, hopefully, less naïve, and hence, not willing to believe the possibility that the BN or Umno can reform itself or introduce reform in any significant way in the run up to the next general election, due before 2013.

In this two-part article, I want to argue two points. The first point is this – that the BN is structurally incapable of introducing reform in ways that can win back a significant proportion of the vote it lost in March 2008.

The second point – that the opposition is also in danger of not introducing many of the reforms that it has been pushing for when it did not control five state governments and that if Pakatan ever takes control of the government at the federal level, is it in danger of perhaps being as resistant to introducing substantive reform as the BN is now, if it is not careful. (Source: Why BN cannot reform itself - Malaysiakini)

In a nutshell, in my own words, for point one - BN is incapable of introducing reform because it is structurally deformed and for point two - PR has promised reform. So, better perform or else, it too will be deformed like BN!