It was not clear why Sukarno decided to Ganyang Malaysia in 1963, some say he was seeking to fill the vacuum left by the withdrawal of European powers, akin to the home-grown imperialism that Uganda's Idi Amin professed. Or perhaps, it was an attempt at misdirection.

Some posit, it was to divert the attention of the populace from the economic, social and political troubles of the recently independent Indonesian Republic. The conflict or Konfrontasi as it came to be known, was a channel to re-direct the people's anger outwards.

amin iskandar article 291008 sukarno Whatever the case, Sukarno's ( right ) plan backfired as the Indonesian Communist Party or PKI, which initially supported his incursions against the nascent Malaysian federation, later turned against him, ironically using the very tools he gave them to Ganyang Malaysia, to do so.

While ABRI, or the Indonesian Republic Armed Forces whose support of the Konfrontasi was lukewarm at best, then supplanted his rule, after mopping up the communist coup attempt.

In sort, the very potpourri of troubles Sukarno sought to redirect, blew up in his face. The brown stuff, as they say, has hit the fan. If you would forgive my French.

But Sukarno is not alone in the region, or the world for that matter, who use misdirection as a tool for statecraft and politics. All we have to do to find prime examples is to look closer home, in the highrises of Kuala Lumpur and the palatial new federal capital of Putrajaya.

'Wagging the dog'

NONE As independent reports and accounts would bear witness, misdirection is indeed the policy of Malaysia's ruling coalition, evident all the way from May 13 to Ops Lallang, up to allegations of communist and foreign interest being behind electoral reform group Bersih.

A trend which continued to the proclamation equating disclosure of armed forces' electoral misconduct , to betrayal if not high treason, and the stoking of racial-religious fears by NGOs, bloggers and mass media in the BN's pocket, against the backdrop of electoral fraud.

The objective is evident for all those willing to think with a clear head. Desperate to head off popular public objection of its stodgy 53-year rule, the BN government needed a pretext to crack down on the enlightened rakyat, and to misdirect the fervour of those they still blinker.

For those familiar with big-ticket Hollywood production Wag The Dog , what is happening here is nothing if not similar and apparent. The tail (BN) is trying to wag the dog yet once more (the rakyat), as the fleas (govt controlled media) try to lull and lullaby the rakyat to NONE sleep.

The BN spin-meisters are spewing out what propaganda they can, to vilify those opposed to their rule. While the mass media, bloggers and NGOs under government influence move in tandem, running interference to truth and blinkering information from the populace.

But as Sukarno found out to his detriment, misdirection as it were, was the wrong strategy in the long run, as the rakyat's anger once provoked can go either way, and zeal once ignited may yet find the light of truth.

'Que sera, que sara'

It would probably have been better if he had moved to tackle the domestic issues head on, salving the woes of the Indonesian populace instead of egging them on to the warpath. A lesson he learned all too well, and well too late.

As British World War 2 wartime Premier Sir Winston Churchill once said:

"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half."

It is this very same lesson that the BN-led Malaysian government should heed as well.

Their various devious attempts at misdirection have gone on for far too long and the blinkers with which they once welded the eyes of the rakyat shut are now falling off, bit by bit.

The government should work to redress the grievances of the rakyat instead, if they still hope to reclaim people's favour and vindicate the trust of being the elected government of the day.

But as the popular Doris Day song goes, "qeu sera, que sera". What will be, will be, perhaps the BN has gone too far off the bend and like Sukarno, needed to be wagged by the dog for once... very, very hard.