this is an excerpt from last night’s Al Jazeera’s 101 East.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Repression: Will it be Umno's recipe for success?
On the anniversary of people’s power, 'Makkal Sakthi' and 'ren min de li liang'
, a review of Umno’s response to their worst electoral outing in 51 years shows that the party has failed to reinvent itself to meet the people’s aspirations for a healthy democratic two party system.
On the contrary, it has chosen to go down the road of repression and racial extremism. The DPM and Umno president in-waiting said desperate times call for desperate measures. The power grab in Perak and destabilisation attempts of the Pakatan governments in Kedah and Selangor are desperate measures.
As Umno loses its popular support, it relies on repression to cling on to power thereby becoming an illegitimate regime. As a consequence, Umno has to stir emotional issues of race, religion and royalty to mask its unlawful and undemocratic rule.
This stratagem may work unless the people act with courage and conviction to resist this usurpation of people’s power.
According to the theory of government, each of us as individuals has rights. Each of us for the purpose of an ordered society gives some of these rights to the government. The government must exercise these rights and powers for the interest of the common good.
John Locke in his 'Second Essay of Civil Government' said that the government becomes a usurper and a tyrant when the powers of the government are exercised not for the common good but for their own private advantage.
He said: “Whenever law ends, tyranny begins, if the law be transgressed to another’s harm; and whosoever in authority exceeds the power given by the law, and makes use of the force he has under his command, to compass that upon the subject which the law allows not, ceases in that to be a magistrate, and acting without authority may be opposed, as any other man who by force invades the right of another.”
Moral rights forfeited
The history of civilisation is the history of the cycle of oppression and liberation. The word most frequently used to describe oppression is tyranny.
According to tradition, once it is established that a ruler has become a tyrant, he forfeits the moral right to govern and the people acquire a right to resist and protect their interest against the injustice and oppression.
A tyrannical regime has no legitimacy. It may be the de factogovernment and it may be recognised by other governments and is therefore the de jure government, but if it is a tyrannical regime, it is from a moral point of view, illegitimate. The people then have a moral duty to rise up and oppose the illegitimate regime.
Umno used the ISA to detain Hindraf leaders, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Selangor exco member Teresa Kok and Sin Chewreporter Tan Hoon Cheng. This was not done to protect the common good but to protect Umno’s rule.
The police are used to arrest and prohibit the people from exercising their constitutional freedoms of assembly and free speech. Peaceful demonstrations are brutally stopped by tear gas and chemical-laced water fired from water cannons.
Ceramahs in Perak are banned. Candlelight vigils in Petaling Jaya are declared illegal. Lodging police reports are prohibited.
Government institutions are perverted and subverted. Senior civil servants by disingenuous arguments make shamelessly biased decisions to pander to their political masters’ desires. 
In Perak, the Election Commission refused to call for by-elections after the Perak speaker declared three seats vacant. The state secretary booted out the menteri besar and his exco when a motion of no confidence on the menteri besar has yet to be tabled in the assembly.
The police cordoned off the state assembly building to prevent the elected representatives from attending.
The assembly secretary countermanded the speaker’s call for a sitting, then locked the doors of the assembly hall and throws away the keys for good measure. The state assembly had to be held under a refuge of a rain tree. We now have Rain Tree Democracy.
The judicial commissioner disqualified a litigant’s duly appointed lawyer and appointed the opponent’s lawyer for the litigant against his wish. This is a kangaroo court dispensing Palm Tree Justice.
In Selangor, MACC issued a public statement that it had found there was a good case of corruption against Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. If putting petrol into his car used for state official functions and donating cows to the poor are corrupt acts, why is receiving RM530 million for buying a submarine not?
The MACC commissioner has violated the first principle of justice that a man is presumed innocent until he is convicted. The commissioner had become prosecutor, judge and jury.
In the case of Elizabeth Wong, there was a media frenzy in violating her privacy as the media rushed in like sharks to kill her political career. That was not journalism. That was gutter politics.
The illegitimate regime
In Kedah, PKR state rep V Arumugam had to resign as the state exco member and state assemblyperson to safeguard his family from harm.
After attempted bribery failed, they threatened and kidnapped him to coerce him to cross over.
Although he identified the perpetrator, the police released the perpetrator allowing him to make further threats. State legislators Lim Soo Nee and Tan Wei Xu received bullets when they rejected offers of several million ringgit to cross over. Although a video had been taken by the then BPR officer of the negotiations and offer, the only action taken by the MACC was to transfer the officer.
Umno has betrayed the peoples’ trust in transgressing the powers given for its own ends. It has become a tyrannical regime.
A tyrannical regime cannot continue to rule for very long without becoming more and more violent. As the majority of the people begin to demand their rights to put pressure on the tyrant, so will the tyrant resort to more and more desperate, cruel, gross and ruthless forms of tyranny and repression.
The reign of a tyrant always ends up as a reign of terror. It is inevitable because from the start the tyrant is an enemy of the common good.
Umno has lost the moral authority to govern. As the oppressed majority becomes more and more insistent and puts more and more pressure on Umno, we will see Umno taking more and more repressive measures.
There can only be more and more detentions, bans, propaganda, declaration of a state of emergency and other desperate and tyrannical measures. This is because Umno cannot reform. The people have a moral duty and obligation to oppose the illegitimate regime.
Martin Luther King Jr in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail wrote: “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. There are two types of laws: just and unjust.
"One has not only a legal but also a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility not to obey unjust laws. I would agree with St Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all.”
It is our moral responsibility to oppose an unjust regime and to return the government to the people.
Barack Obama is president of the United States of America today, because Martin Luther King Jr and the people had dared to stand up for change.
We have to make our stand today if we want our children to live in a just and fair society tomorrow. If not Malaysia will be a country where everyone lives in fear.
Harry Truman said: “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of the opposition, it has one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.”
An illegitimate regime must be opposed. We must be brave enough to come out of the darkness of fear and step into the light of justice and liberty.
Umno’s four assumptions
Umno is counting on four assumptions to sustain their repressive regime:
1 A few in the ruling elite are able to oppress the majority through the use of force on the few dissidents to deter the others;
2 There will be government officials willing to perform the various functions to maintain the regime. These include surveillance, arrest, the running of prisons and detention camps, controlling the court system and the general management of the government;
3 The opposition is fractious and will not be able to coordinate in a manner to offer an effective challenge;
4 The use of emotional and sensitive issues will provide the ideology required for the selected majority to sustain the regime;
This strategy is a time-tested and proven formula. It was used with great success by Dr Mahathir Mohamad each time he faced a challenge.
The first assumption is based on the premise that all individuals are prudently rational individuals.
It assumes that each individual acts where there is a positive payoff and not act when there is none.
The assumption rest on the rational behaviour of the individual that if he acts to seek change and there are insufficient others who do, there will be no change and he will suffer the sanctions by the repressive apparatus of the oppressors without any gains.
If he does not act and there are sufficient others who do, there will be change and he will gain the benefits of change without incurring personal costs. Therefore it is rational for him not to act. This is the lone gunman theory.
This is the reason why a lone gunman can hold several persons hostage. Each hostage knows that if all of the hostages are to pool their resources together, they will be able to overcome the gunman. However, they also know that the first to make a move will be shot. So they are unable to act because no one wants to be the first to be shot. This is why the Hindraf leaders have been detained without trial.
Rallies are turned into illegal assemblies and Pakatan leaders are charged from sodomy, illegal assembly to corruption or visited by invasion of privacy and have their reputation smeared. This is the lone gunman warning the others that they will suffer the same fate if they try to move. 
This assumption is flawed because the Pakatan leaders like Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat seek change not based on whether others will follow but that it is their moral duty and obligation to society to do so.
They seek change because they believe in the moral values and virtues of a just society. The Umno model does not work with individuals actuated by moral values.
Anwar said in his book, 'Asian Renaissance': “The euphoria induced by the remarkable economic growth must also not blind us to the parallel rise in corruption, bribery, nepotism and abuse of power. Vice cannot take the place of virtue whatever may be the ends.”
These leaders believe in the values of truth, virtue, integrity and justice. They have no fear of the lone gunman. In challenging the regime, the assumption and hold of the lone gunman is broken.
Their courage and conviction to seek change have given hope to the masses. The masses now dare to believe that change can happen. This is the meaning of the New Dawn, Harapan Baru, the New Hope.
The many and diverse oppressed individuals and groups now dare to stand up. This is the meaning of tsunami politics. From Perlis to Sarawak, the long suppressed desire for liberty from oppression will gush forth. From every corner of the nation all will stand up together and Umno will not be able to stem the tide.
Discourse is not dissent
The second assumption that the opposition parties are fractious is flawed. Discourse is not dissent. The public and Umno after 26 years of iron rule by Mahathir are not used to public discourse. This is because in Barisan Nasional, Umno brokes no dissent.
In Pakatan, discussions are held until a consensus is reached in the course of which every party’s interest is taken into consideration. When all three parties are seeking truth there can be no dispute because there is only one truth. In the past each was seeking the truth from a different path, today, we all walk together on the same road to truth and justice. There is no coordination problem in Pakatan.
The third assumption that there will be officers who will do the oppressors bidding is also flawed. Although there are a few who have dishonored their profession, not all will fail.
For each one that failed many others will carry out their duties with honor and dignity. There will be enough officers whose dislike for the illegitimacy and immorality of the regime will return the government agencies to the correct path.
The assumption is that the emotional and sensitive issues will be sufficient for the Malays to keep the illegitimate regime in power.
This is flawed because upon raising the consciousness of the Malays to the truth, this assumption will fail.
The enlightened members of society must work hard to persuade the rest of the oppressed majority that the regime is fundamentally illegitimate because it is exploitative, it is corrupted and that the true benefactors of the corrupt system are the elitist oppressors and not them.
Ketuanan Melayu will never bring harmony to Malaysia. Ketuanan Melayu cannot succeed because no regime can be sustained on hate, corruption, immorality and abuse of power. It is only with Ketuanan Rakyat that we will be able to raise the nation to the heights that God had intended when we see our diversity as our strengths and not our weakness
The desperate strategy of repression, race, religion and royalty has serious flaws. It is a recipe for disaster for Umno. There will be regime change. It is no longer a question of IF but a question of WHEN.
Mahatma Ghandi said: “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it… always.”
We must take action, we must strive and persevere but we can take heart that in the end truth and love always wins. Think of it … always.
WILLIAM LEONG is PKR member of parliament for Selayang.
ANWAR THE REAL LEADER!
This article is written by Shweta. This is the best article written on Anwar Ibrahim that we have ever read. It is a must read for all and sums up the real mood amongst the people of this nation. Please note that within a short span of existence of this website, we have featured hundreds of articles on Anwar Ibrahim, and we will vote this article as the best that is displayed within the pages of this website.
With the UMNO elections around the corner and the country dizzy with all these political fiascos taking place, we are bombarded daily with controversies upon controversies. So much is being said about Najib and why he should not become the Prime Minister of this country. Many reasons have been given by various people and with all the infighting within UMNO and back-stabbing amongst the party members, people are distracted with the real issue at hand.
Halting a moment from all the melodramatic plays put up by UMNO: purging political opponents under the disguise of purging the corrupt, purging the opposition under the disguise of defending the Rulers, purging the truth under the disguise of defending parliamentary etiquette, the time has come for the nation to take a step aside and consider who truly fits to be the leader.
Never before were the present parties in the Pakatan Rakyat with their different ideologies able to unite as one for the country. There was always a sense of mistrust amongst DAP and PAS. Yet we find that Anwar Ibrahim has the ability and the special quality of leadership in him, to bring these different parties of differing ideologies together with his broad vision. Bringing them together with the vision of defending the Rakyat, Anwar is able to motivate them by persuasion rather than intimidation, threat or bribery. He is able to exude his contagious confidence to the others.
Thanks to the divide and rule policy of the BN government the public has been under, for the past 50 odd years, people have become suspicious of each other. Every race in the country has been trained and brainwashed by the present government machinery not to trust each other.
It has taken someone of Anwar’s caliber to unite the people against such narrow minded thinking, and today, we as a society are able to start to go beyond the concept of race and religion. The Malay, Chinese and Indian communities have been able to put away their distrust of each other and see the real DAP and PAS for what they are. For the first time ever, Malaysians have found the true brotherhood which was lost long ago.
The parties with such stalwarts such as Tok Guru Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and many others are much respected by the people. They are people of principles, who have been working tirelessly all these years. They too have been fighting all these years for the betterment of the country without fear or expectations. All these people and others from the Pakatan Rakyat have been silently working to bring about a better Malaysia. They have all gone unnoticed by the majority of the people all these while, because the sound of the BN drums have been deafening and has drowned the sounds of these true heroes and warriors.
We also find that to be a leader of a growing country, we need someone who is accepted both nationally and by the international community. Anwar Ibrahim is well recognized internationally and has a good reputation in other countries too. From Indonesia to Japan, from Europe to the Arab Nations, from Africa to the United States, he is a well respected figure, who will be able to garner support from the other countries.
Another very vital and endearing quality in a good leader, which Anwar has, is not to carry a personal vendetta. Anwar has gone through the fires of test in his life, with his conviction and jail sentences. He has gone through all sorts of persecution under the hands of Mahathir and his people. This is an important quality needed for a good leader. Mahatma Gandhi was trampled by the British, Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years, and the likes of these great people had this unique quality of not harbouring hatred or revenge against their persecutors but to look forward towards the future of the people and country.
The time is no more here, to say who should not be the leader of Malaysia. The time has come now, to say who should lead Malaysia. The time is now to speak of Anwar the great leader who has the ability and charisma to unite the diverse people of Malaysia, namely, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dayaks and many other ethnic groups who truly are the Anak Bangsa Malaysia. The time is nearing towards the nation moving forward, in achieving a peaceful, prosperous and a united Malaysia.
EVEN NAJIB IS READING THIS ARTICLE…WHY SHOULDN’T YOU?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Dato’ Zaid Ibrahim: Why Najib should not be the Prime Minister of Malaysia?
This is the second time I have been invited to address a Rotary Club. Thank you for the honour. Given the times we live in, perhaps it might be appropriate for me to speak about the leadership transition that has been foisted upon us Malaysians
I say ‘foisted’ because neither me nor anyone in this room had any role or say in the choice of the person who will lead Malaysia next. We were mere bystanders in a political chess game. And yet the transition is a subject of great consequence to the nation, one I would say is of great national interest.
Leadership is definitive; the individual who assumes the mantle of leadership of this nation, whomever that may be, is one who for better or worse will leave his mark on us. His will be the hand who guides us to greater success, or possibly gut-wrenching disaster.
Save for the dawn of Merdeka, never in the history of this country has the choice of prime minister been so crucial: Malaysia is in crisis. We are facing tremendous economic challenges with unavoidably harsh socio-political consequences. Our much undermined democracy is once again being assailed by those who would prefer a more autocratic form of governance.
Our public institutions are hollowed out caricatures, unable to distinguish vested party interests from national ones, unable to offer the man in the street refuge from the powerful and connected.
Our social fabric that took us from colony to an independent nation and on through the obstacles of nation building has reached a point where it sometimes feel like we are hanging on by a thread. This is the Malaysia we live in.
PM’s resignation ill-fated
This is the Malaysia which Abdullah Ahmad Badawi leaves behind. Our prime minister will resign later this month - an ill-fated decision. I say ill-fated not because he has been a great prime minister and we would lose irreplaceable leadership, that is regrettably not the case as all things said and done, Abdullah could have done much more for Malaysia.
Rather, I say that his resignation is ill-fated because his departure will expose the country to forces which may take us down the road of perdition faster than ever. Much has been said of Pak Lah being a weak leader. However, what his critics have not adequately addressed are the consequences of replacing him as prime minister with the anticipated incoming president of Umno, Najib (Abdul) Razak.
It is an undeniable truth that the average Malaysian is anxious about the anticipated transition. Many would prefer it did not happen.
There are two reasons why this is so. The first has to do with the reasoning underlying Umno’s demand for the transition itself. The second has to do with Najib personally.
We must recall that after the 2008 general election - a great success for the nation but a fiasco for Umno – one of the chief complaints by the powers-that-be within Umno was that Abdullah’s feeble leadership led to the concept of Ketuanan Melayu being challenged and ultimately undermined.
His critics also lashed out at him for the latitude given to civil society, a move which they believed weakened a key aspect of Umno’s political leverage. It followed in Umno’s mind that in order to regain lost ground, it was necessary to reassert its ideology with greater strength.
There was nostalgia for Mahathir’s heavy-handed style of leadership and a return to the times when the party cowed many into subservience and submission.The conservatives in Umno yearned for a return to Mahathirism, hoping that it would become a cornerstone of the leadership transition plan. There has been much speculation and punditry on whether a return to the Mahathir era would be good for Malaysia.
Difference between then and now
Let me offer some of my own insight to this debate. The major difference between then and now is this: in most instances, Mahathir was harsh and dictatorial if he believed it was good for the country. But an authoritarian style of government under anyone else would be dictated by the need for self preservation and very little about the country’s interest.
The evidence is all around us. After March 8, (2008) when the prime minister ceased being the home minister, the threats of reprisal have escalated and a climate of fear re-cultivated. The detention of Raja Petra Kamarudin, Teresa Kok and Tan Hoong Cheng exemplify this turn for the worse, this appetite to use the sledgehammer.
The shameful power grab in Perak and wanton disregard for public opinion over how BN wrested control of the silver state make many people shudder at the prospect of a return to the dark days. If that was not depressing enough, we have had to bear witness to the police and the newly-minted Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) displaying their allegiance and support to the BN when all we needed and craved for were honest brokers.
It stands to reason that in the mind of the average Malaysian, having suffered a significant loss last March, Umno is on a rampage to regain what it lost by any method available and the man who is expected to lead it to victory is the man who succeeds Abdullah: Najib (Abdul) Razak.
A prime minister must have the confidence of the majority of the rakyat. In order for this to be the case, his integrity must be beyond question; not only must he be such a person character, he must be seen to be such a person. The office of prime minister is one of great trust, he who holds that office cradles the nation in his palms.
For this to be the case, there cannot be anything in the mind of the greater public that, correctly or otherwise, associates him with matters of criminality, wrongful action, improper conduct or abuses of power. In short, he must be beyond reproach in his dealings both official and private.
Without intending any accusation, it is regrettable that in the collective mind of the rakyat, Najib is not such a person. If a referendum were to be conducted on the subject or if the prime minister was to be elected directly by the rakyat, I do not think Najib would succeed. The reason for this is obvious: the rakyat has doubts, fuelled by the unanswered allegations against him and his unwillingness to confront these allegations.
It is not a mere trifle in the minds of the rakyat that despite a direct challenge from a member of parliament in the august House recently, the deputy prime minister remained silent, not even denying the implicit accusation made against him and demanding that it be repeated outside the chamber in the tried and tested method of refutation employed by parliamentarians throughout the world.
It has not assisted the cause of the incoming prime minister that the MP concerned was suspended for a year on a motion tabled by a fellow minister without the member having been afforded an opportunity to defend his position.
Evidence of SMS text-messages
Consider this. Commissions were paid to an agent for the procurement of submarines through the Defence Ministry, Najib (then) being the defence minister. It is unthinkable that he had no knowledge that the agent was his adviser and aide, Abdul Razak Baginda. The commission paid out was exceedingly large, in excess of RM400 million.
The defence minister was dutybound to direct enquiries to see if there had been any impropriety in the way the contracts were awarded when news of the commission surfaced; after all the price of the submarines would be considerably lower without the need for such commissions.
Taxpayers, you and I, have paid for those submarines at a price that in all probability factored in the commission. Taxpayers are yet to be told of an inquiry let alone the result of such an inquiry.
Consider the Altantuya Shaariibuu affair. A young woman was brutally murdered, her corpse destroyed by explosives.
These explosives are not the usual type of explosives, yet no inquiry was held to determine how they were available to these killers. Those accused of her murder are police officers serving in the Unit Tindakan Khas, a highly specialised unit who amongst other things serve as bodyguards to the prime minister and the deputy prime minister.
Amidst evidence that the accused were employed to protect the PM and the DPM, they were directed to (Abdul) Razak Baginda through the aide of the deputy prime minister. Amongst other things, we have heard of the senior investigating officer admitting that the deputy prime minister was an important witness and yet no statement was taken.
It is not unreasonable to think that this is irregular, more so when evidence of SMS text-messages from the deputy prime minister concerning material matters have surfaced. The text-messages cannot be ignored, proverbially swept under the carpet.
Even if they do not establish - or are not capable of establishing - any culpability on the part of Najib, these issues must be addressed.
The air must be cleared, it is thick with accusations and doubts which can only undermine the office of the prime minister if he were to assume it. The deputy prime minister’s cause has not been aided by the fact that charges were preferred against (Abdul) Razak Baginda only after public outcry, the manner in which the prosecution was conducted and the decision of the High Court acquitting (Abdul) Razak Baginda not having been appealed.
Power grab an unmitigated disaster
The Perak affair was an unmitigated disaster for the nation. It is no secret that Najib led the charge there and is still overseeing matters.
In the minds of Malaysians, Perak is synonymous with the deputy prime minister. They now equate him with the high-handed tactics that were employed to seize power, tactics that included the disappearances of the three crucial assemblypersons and the blockading of the legislative assembly by the police.
In doing so, they equate the DPM with the hijacking of democracy, the only persons saying otherwise being those persons who have associations with Umno. In their minds, no responsible leader would allow for the undermining of the institutions of state and the constitution of this nation.
They ask, rightly so, whether this is the kind of leadership that Malaysians can expect from Najib when he becomes the prime minister.
With all of this, and more, how are we not to feel anxious? How are we to sleep peacefully at night? I know that I cannot. The situation is desperate and the air is pregnant with tension. We need the state of affairs to be resolved in a way that is in the best interests of the nation and the rakyat.
To an extent, this is a matter for the Barisan Nasional. I urge its members to put politics aside and think things through. We all want a better future, a safer and more prosperous life for our children, all of them, a Malaysia where our children can reach for the stars with the certainty that there is nothing to stop them from being the Malaysians they want to be.
Let the king be kingmaker
I do not believe that the Barisan Nasional will do what is necessary. Politics has a tendency of making those who embrace it cynical. The answer lies elsewhere, with His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In this case, His Majesty plays the role of ‘kingmaker’. The discretion to appoint the prime minister who succeeds Abdullah lies with His Majesty. Though His Majesty is required under the constitution to appoint the person who commands the confidence of the majority of the members of parliament, it is a matter for His Majesty’s judgment.
Never before has such a heavy burden being laid on His Majesty to make a brave and correct choice.
For King and country, I urge His Majesty to take into consideration the prerequisites to appointment and the concerns of the rakyat. There is no constitutional obligation on His Majesty to appoint the president of Umno as the prime minister. There are still well qualified members of parliament from Umno who can be appointed PM to bring us back from the brink.
Malaysia needs someone who the rakyat can throw their weight behind without reservation. Someone they can trust and respect. Someone who has no scandal to distract him and thereby gain respect from the international community.
These are difficult times and be prepared for worst times to visit us. Malaysia needs a leader who will unite the country in the face of the adversity. Divided, we are weak. I am loath to say it, but for the reasons I have set out am compelled to say that Najib will most certainly divide us and in doing so, will nudge us closer to the edge.
Some of you may say that all efforts to promote the national interest are at this stage an exercise in futility. If truth be told, I am tempted to slip into cynical hopelessness too. I am fighting the temptation to give up for one simple reason: Malaysia and all that it represents. This is a blessed country, a country too valuable for us to turn our backs on.
I say ‘foisted’ because neither me nor anyone in this room had any role or say in the choice of the person who will lead Malaysia next. We were mere bystanders in a political chess game. And yet the transition is a subject of great consequence to the nation, one I would say is of great national interest.
Leadership is definitive; the individual who assumes the mantle of leadership of this nation, whomever that may be, is one who for better or worse will leave his mark on us. His will be the hand who guides us to greater success, or possibly gut-wrenching disaster.
Save for the dawn of Merdeka, never in the history of this country has the choice of prime minister been so crucial: Malaysia is in crisis. We are facing tremendous economic challenges with unavoidably harsh socio-political consequences. Our much undermined democracy is once again being assailed by those who would prefer a more autocratic form of governance.
Our public institutions are hollowed out caricatures, unable to distinguish vested party interests from national ones, unable to offer the man in the street refuge from the powerful and connected.
Our social fabric that took us from colony to an independent nation and on through the obstacles of nation building has reached a point where it sometimes feel like we are hanging on by a thread. This is the Malaysia we live in.
PM’s resignation ill-fated
This is the Malaysia which Abdullah Ahmad Badawi leaves behind. Our prime minister will resign later this month - an ill-fated decision. I say ill-fated not because he has been a great prime minister and we would lose irreplaceable leadership, that is regrettably not the case as all things said and done, Abdullah could have done much more for Malaysia.
Rather, I say that his resignation is ill-fated because his departure will expose the country to forces which may take us down the road of perdition faster than ever. Much has been said of Pak Lah being a weak leader. However, what his critics have not adequately addressed are the consequences of replacing him as prime minister with the anticipated incoming president of Umno, Najib (Abdul) Razak.
It is an undeniable truth that the average Malaysian is anxious about the anticipated transition. Many would prefer it did not happen.
There are two reasons why this is so. The first has to do with the reasoning underlying Umno’s demand for the transition itself. The second has to do with Najib personally.
We must recall that after the 2008 general election - a great success for the nation but a fiasco for Umno – one of the chief complaints by the powers-that-be within Umno was that Abdullah’s feeble leadership led to the concept of Ketuanan Melayu being challenged and ultimately undermined.
His critics also lashed out at him for the latitude given to civil society, a move which they believed weakened a key aspect of Umno’s political leverage. It followed in Umno’s mind that in order to regain lost ground, it was necessary to reassert its ideology with greater strength.
There was nostalgia for Mahathir’s heavy-handed style of leadership and a return to the times when the party cowed many into subservience and submission.The conservatives in Umno yearned for a return to Mahathirism, hoping that it would become a cornerstone of the leadership transition plan. There has been much speculation and punditry on whether a return to the Mahathir era would be good for Malaysia.
Difference between then and now
Let me offer some of my own insight to this debate. The major difference between then and now is this: in most instances, Mahathir was harsh and dictatorial if he believed it was good for the country. But an authoritarian style of government under anyone else would be dictated by the need for self preservation and very little about the country’s interest.
The evidence is all around us. After March 8, (2008) when the prime minister ceased being the home minister, the threats of reprisal have escalated and a climate of fear re-cultivated. The detention of Raja Petra Kamarudin, Teresa Kok and Tan Hoong Cheng exemplify this turn for the worse, this appetite to use the sledgehammer.
The shameful power grab in Perak and wanton disregard for public opinion over how BN wrested control of the silver state make many people shudder at the prospect of a return to the dark days. If that was not depressing enough, we have had to bear witness to the police and the newly-minted Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) displaying their allegiance and support to the BN when all we needed and craved for were honest brokers.
It stands to reason that in the mind of the average Malaysian, having suffered a significant loss last March, Umno is on a rampage to regain what it lost by any method available and the man who is expected to lead it to victory is the man who succeeds Abdullah: Najib (Abdul) Razak.
A prime minister must have the confidence of the majority of the rakyat. In order for this to be the case, his integrity must be beyond question; not only must he be such a person character, he must be seen to be such a person. The office of prime minister is one of great trust, he who holds that office cradles the nation in his palms.
For this to be the case, there cannot be anything in the mind of the greater public that, correctly or otherwise, associates him with matters of criminality, wrongful action, improper conduct or abuses of power. In short, he must be beyond reproach in his dealings both official and private.
Without intending any accusation, it is regrettable that in the collective mind of the rakyat, Najib is not such a person. If a referendum were to be conducted on the subject or if the prime minister was to be elected directly by the rakyat, I do not think Najib would succeed. The reason for this is obvious: the rakyat has doubts, fuelled by the unanswered allegations against him and his unwillingness to confront these allegations.
It is not a mere trifle in the minds of the rakyat that despite a direct challenge from a member of parliament in the august House recently, the deputy prime minister remained silent, not even denying the implicit accusation made against him and demanding that it be repeated outside the chamber in the tried and tested method of refutation employed by parliamentarians throughout the world.
It has not assisted the cause of the incoming prime minister that the MP concerned was suspended for a year on a motion tabled by a fellow minister without the member having been afforded an opportunity to defend his position.
Evidence of SMS text-messages
Consider this. Commissions were paid to an agent for the procurement of submarines through the Defence Ministry, Najib (then) being the defence minister. It is unthinkable that he had no knowledge that the agent was his adviser and aide, Abdul Razak Baginda. The commission paid out was exceedingly large, in excess of RM400 million.
The defence minister was dutybound to direct enquiries to see if there had been any impropriety in the way the contracts were awarded when news of the commission surfaced; after all the price of the submarines would be considerably lower without the need for such commissions.
Taxpayers, you and I, have paid for those submarines at a price that in all probability factored in the commission. Taxpayers are yet to be told of an inquiry let alone the result of such an inquiry.
Consider the Altantuya Shaariibuu affair. A young woman was brutally murdered, her corpse destroyed by explosives.
These explosives are not the usual type of explosives, yet no inquiry was held to determine how they were available to these killers. Those accused of her murder are police officers serving in the Unit Tindakan Khas, a highly specialised unit who amongst other things serve as bodyguards to the prime minister and the deputy prime minister.
Amidst evidence that the accused were employed to protect the PM and the DPM, they were directed to (Abdul) Razak Baginda through the aide of the deputy prime minister. Amongst other things, we have heard of the senior investigating officer admitting that the deputy prime minister was an important witness and yet no statement was taken.
It is not unreasonable to think that this is irregular, more so when evidence of SMS text-messages from the deputy prime minister concerning material matters have surfaced. The text-messages cannot be ignored, proverbially swept under the carpet.
Even if they do not establish - or are not capable of establishing - any culpability on the part of Najib, these issues must be addressed.
The air must be cleared, it is thick with accusations and doubts which can only undermine the office of the prime minister if he were to assume it. The deputy prime minister’s cause has not been aided by the fact that charges were preferred against (Abdul) Razak Baginda only after public outcry, the manner in which the prosecution was conducted and the decision of the High Court acquitting (Abdul) Razak Baginda not having been appealed.
Power grab an unmitigated disaster
The Perak affair was an unmitigated disaster for the nation. It is no secret that Najib led the charge there and is still overseeing matters.
In the minds of Malaysians, Perak is synonymous with the deputy prime minister. They now equate him with the high-handed tactics that were employed to seize power, tactics that included the disappearances of the three crucial assemblypersons and the blockading of the legislative assembly by the police.
In doing so, they equate the DPM with the hijacking of democracy, the only persons saying otherwise being those persons who have associations with Umno. In their minds, no responsible leader would allow for the undermining of the institutions of state and the constitution of this nation.
They ask, rightly so, whether this is the kind of leadership that Malaysians can expect from Najib when he becomes the prime minister.
With all of this, and more, how are we not to feel anxious? How are we to sleep peacefully at night? I know that I cannot. The situation is desperate and the air is pregnant with tension. We need the state of affairs to be resolved in a way that is in the best interests of the nation and the rakyat.
To an extent, this is a matter for the Barisan Nasional. I urge its members to put politics aside and think things through. We all want a better future, a safer and more prosperous life for our children, all of them, a Malaysia where our children can reach for the stars with the certainty that there is nothing to stop them from being the Malaysians they want to be.
Let the king be kingmaker
I do not believe that the Barisan Nasional will do what is necessary. Politics has a tendency of making those who embrace it cynical. The answer lies elsewhere, with His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In this case, His Majesty plays the role of ‘kingmaker’. The discretion to appoint the prime minister who succeeds Abdullah lies with His Majesty. Though His Majesty is required under the constitution to appoint the person who commands the confidence of the majority of the members of parliament, it is a matter for His Majesty’s judgment.
Never before has such a heavy burden being laid on His Majesty to make a brave and correct choice.
For King and country, I urge His Majesty to take into consideration the prerequisites to appointment and the concerns of the rakyat. There is no constitutional obligation on His Majesty to appoint the president of Umno as the prime minister. There are still well qualified members of parliament from Umno who can be appointed PM to bring us back from the brink.
Malaysia needs someone who the rakyat can throw their weight behind without reservation. Someone they can trust and respect. Someone who has no scandal to distract him and thereby gain respect from the international community.
These are difficult times and be prepared for worst times to visit us. Malaysia needs a leader who will unite the country in the face of the adversity. Divided, we are weak. I am loath to say it, but for the reasons I have set out am compelled to say that Najib will most certainly divide us and in doing so, will nudge us closer to the edge.
Some of you may say that all efforts to promote the national interest are at this stage an exercise in futility. If truth be told, I am tempted to slip into cynical hopelessness too. I am fighting the temptation to give up for one simple reason: Malaysia and all that it represents. This is a blessed country, a country too valuable for us to turn our backs on.
Karpal cannot be faulted
| Is there a pattern in the way the Opposition is being targeted? Is this going to be the new strategy to contain the Opposition? Malaysians are genuinely perturbed by the new trend that has emerged. First it was the son that they went for. They suspended him for the day and that should have been the end of the matter. But no, that was not enough. They had to use the sledgehammer to show that they are in power and that their majority can do whatever it wants to. And so they suspended him a second time, this time for a year without salary and financial perks, without bothering about procedures and natural justice. They had the numbers and so they wrapped up the case without qualms and in the shortest possible time.Then they went for the father. They charged him under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act. If convicted he would face a maximum jail sentence of three years or a fine of RM5,000 – and this would mean he would lose his seat and be ineligible to stand for election for five years after completing his jail sentence, just like Lim Guan Eng and Anwar Ibrahim who had to sit out for five years after completing their jail terms. What was Karpal’s crime? As a very eminent senior criminal lawyer, he stated what the law said. In commenting on the Perak state crisis, he referred to the relevant laws in existence and pointed out the implications and consequences of those laws. He may be right, he may be wrong in his interpretation. But the man is entitled to his views. His understanding of the laws in question does not make him a criminal. He is entitled to his freedom of thought. That is no crime in a civil society. In stating his views, Karpal did not use harsh words to disparage His Royal Highness. He did not demean the royal personage of the Sultan of Perak. He was not rude or crude in speaking his mind. He simply stated what recourse there was under the law. That was all. The thousands of Perakians who took to the streets on the day Zamry was sworn in as Menteri Besar of Perak did not do so because of what Karpal said. They were not agitated by Karpal to demonstrate and protest. Karpal had no part in it. They did what they did on their own from their own sense of justice. Karpal cannot be faulted for that. But who are the people who twisted Karpal’s views and misrepresented his stand? These are the people who lodged police reports against Karpal. It is these people who had acted in a seditious manner to agitate others and cause disaffection among a small number of people for their own political agenda. It is important that we separate fact from fiction. It is important that truth must prevail and lies must be buried for good. P Ramakrishnan President Aliran |
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