Recently, beginning from January this year, Umno has resorted to hooliganism by disrupting Pakatan Rakyat ceramah events. Events organised by certain NGOs have also come under attack.

The list is as follows:

1. ABU and Hindraf joint event held in a hall in Jalan Kebun, Klang;

2. 15 student activists who wanted to voice their demands for academic freedom had to be escorted to safety by the police, also in Klang;

3. Anwar Ibrahim's ceramah in Felda Tun Ghafar in Alor Gajah, Malacca, was marred by scuffles between PKR and BN supporters;

4. Anwar's car's windscreen was smashed by Umno hooligans when he went to Sembrong in Johor to give a ceramah;

5. Himpunan Hijau 2.0 Rally in Penang attended by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wherein two reporters of Kwong Wah Yit Poh were attacked by Umno hooligans who also hurled racist slurs and vulgarities at Lim;

6. PKR Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah's ceramah in Felda Lepar Hilir I, Gambang, Pahang, wherein an Umno hooligan nearly punched her eyes.

With the exception of the first incident listed above which happened on Jan 21, 2012, all the other incidents occurred last month. Even the Pakatan supporters who put up party flags prior to the ceramahs being held have been attacked.

The common mode of disturbance and disruption by the Umno hooligans are:

1. blaring loud music near Pakatan ceramahs;

2. hurling stones, bottles and sticks at the audience or Pakatan leaders; and

3. revving up their motorbikes to drown out the Pakatan ceramah speakers.

Lately, however, they have resorted to injuring the Pakatan supporters who attend the ceramahs and attempting to injure the Pakatan leaders too.

There is a Chinese saying that a person who is near death exhibits weird behaviour. Perhaps this is happening to Umno now as it senses its demise in the coming 13th general election. And this must be the reason why Umno has gone berserk. Their irrational behaviour has cemented them as the baddie of the Malaysian political scenario.

This columnist who was in Perak recently conducting ground surveys by talking to the people there can say with utmost certainty that Pakatan will recapture Perak and the only way BN can win is through fraudulent means.

It is now very obvious that BN's degeneration into hooliganism is because they think that defeat is inevitable.

Although this columnist thinks that BN can still win the general election, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not confident at all and this can be seen at his reluctance to call for the polls.

Desperation has reached boiling point

Moreover, the Feedlot Cattle-Condo issue is still nagging at him and now Lynas. He certainly has his work cut out for him! Although he has given out cash aid here and there, somehow he senses that the people are not with him.

This is because he has failed to give good, reasonable and logical answers to these questions:

1. Why was RM250 million given to an Umno minister's spouse to start a project in which he has no technological know-how?

2. If Lynas is so safe, why is it not in Australia when it is an Australian company?

3. Why were the three MACC officers who interrogated Teoh Beng Hock right into the wee hours of the morning not charged in court?

4. Why must there be a new health insurance scheme called 1Care?

5. When is he going to debate with Anwar with regard to the topic of economic policies?

Not being able to answer the above questions has caused Najib to press the panic button more so now he has been shown up short due to his lack of courage in debating with Anwar as MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek has already debated with Guan Eng.

It is very mysterious why Najib avoids debating with Anwar. Even if one were a good orator, at the end of the day, facts are vital. If Najib has solid economic facts and sound economic policies, he can still win the debate although Anwar may be the better speaker in terms of style and delivery.

It is now the opinion of neutral political observers that Umno's degeneration into hooliganism is due to Pakatan gaining momentum in getting the rakyat's support. Pakatan gaining the momentum is due to Najib taking too long to call for the polls.

According to PAS Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar, Umno is creating chaos in Pakatan's events with the double intention of instilling fear in the rakyat not to attend Pakatan's ceramahs and also to give a bad image to the citizens that Pakatan's events are always chaotic and filled with disturbance, danger and mayhem.

Clearly, Umno's desperation has reached boiling point and the silence of MCA, MIC, Gerakan and its other BN coalition partners only serve to show that they are mere lackeys and are cowering in fear, being subservient to big-brother Umno. The silence of these said parties will certainly cause them to lose badly in the coming general election as their credibility has virtually gone down the drain.

To put it simply, by venting their anger at Pakatan, BN is not respecting the rakyat by allowing them to choose freely the political party of their choice. This means that BN is a political party that does not respect the process of democracy and the democratic rights of all Malaysian citizens.