2010 PM Good In Talking Poor In Walking

Last posting for the year 2010, a copy and paste article from YB Lim Kit Siang blog.

Will be back with a BANG on the 2nd January 2011

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2011 challenge to Malaysians – to unite and demand that they enjoy equal opportunity to earn a good living and provide a secure, happy life for each individual and the family

“Malaysia is at the crosssroads.” – 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Road Map (January 2010).

“Malaysia has reached a defining moment on its development path.” – New Economic Model (March 2010).

“We need to see the reality for what it is: we are on a burning platform” – Tenth Malaysia Plan (June 2010).

However, the year 2010, which also marks 21 months of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s premiership, has not been distinguished by any conviction or sense of urgency that Malaysia is “on a burning platform”, “at the crossroads” or “a defining moment” – that the country has no choice but to forge ahead with a paradigm shift in national economic strategy and public policy.

It is the exact reverse. Despite the 21 months of Najib’s premiership, based on his signature theme of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”, multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia has suffered greater racial and religious polarization and loss of social cohesion, with the concepts of unity in diversity and inclusiveness, social justice, excellence, integrity and our international competitiveness receiving one setback after another.

The bad old days of “the government knows best” are back with a vengeance, as illustrated by the raft of developments in the closing days and weeks of 2010, eg:

• Catholic church officials told to remove crucifixes and to avoid hymns being sung when Prime Minister Najib Razak attended the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur’s Christmas tea party last Saturday.

• Controversy over Cabinet decision to make history a compulsory-pass subject for SPM from 2013 when the history text books are antithetical to the principles of unity in diversity and inclusiveness reflective of Malaysia’s plural society.

• The appointment of Tan Sri Isa Samad, who had to relinquish his previous post as Cabinet Minister because of UMNO “money politics”, as the new Felda Chairman, rubbishing the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and National Key Result Action (NKRA) on fighting corruption.

• The ordeal of businessman Chia Buang Hin who alleged that he was beaten and robbed by police over the expired road tax of his wife’s car that he was driving which re-opened anew the question of the efficiency, incorruptibility and professionalism of the police to keep crime low and be the protector of the rights of Malaysians and the crying need for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as proposed by the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission in 2005.

• The brewing constitutional crisis in Selangor over the appointment of the State Secretary, stemming from the refusal of the Barisan Nasional-controlled Federal Government to respect the democratic rights of the voters of Selangor to elect a Pakatan Rakyat state government of their choice.

• The unchecked racist and inflammatory incitement by irresponsible media like Umno’s Utusan Malaysia such as the targeting of DAP MP for Serdang Teo Nie Ching.

These developments are all inimical to the 1Malaysia concept of unity in diversity and inclusiveness propounded by Najib and not calculated to enhance public confidence in good governance and our international competitiveness.

The Talent Corporation is to start operation tomorrow to carry out a more effective brain-gain strategy to attract talented Malaysians and non-Malaysians to contribute to Malaysia’s knowledge-based economy.

But the Talent Corporation is set to become another expensive failure as how could it convince the return of the talented from the Malaysian diaspora when the present government is incapable to arrest the unchecked brain drain from the country.

Have more Malaysians migrated abroad in the 21 months of Najib’s premiership than the previous 21 months?

It is not that Najib does not have the answer. The New Economic Model had pinpointed the problem and the solution when it said:

“We are not developing talent and what we have is leaving. The human capital situation in Malaysia is reaching a critical stage. The rate of outward migration of skilled Malaysians is rising rapidly.” (p.6)

“Globalisation has created a fierce competition for talent, forcing companies and government to recognize that people are the most valuable assets. To compete on a regional and global scale, Malaysia must retain and attract talent. Malaysia must be seen by its people and others as a land of equal opportunity to earn a good living and provide a secure, happy life for each individual and family.” (p.8)

The Talent Corporation is incapable of giving such an assurance – that Malaysia is “a land of equal opportunity to earn a good living and provide a secure, happy life for each individual and the family”.

In fact, the developments of the past 21 months, and in particular in the closing days of 2010,which are completely detrimental to the 1Malaysia concepts of unity in diversity, inclusiveness and social justice, will destroy whatever chances of success the Talent Corporation might have.

Only a Malaysian government, with unwavering leadership and political will, can give such an assurance.

This is the national challenge for Malaysians in the new year 2011 – to unite and demand a government and leadership with the political will to convince Malaysians that they enjoy equal opportunity to earn a good living and provide a secure, happy life for each individual and family life.

Wishing all Malaysians a Happy New Year.

GE 13 : NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

Received this New Year resolution in my FB inbox from Raja Petra Kamarudin.

I wish you a Happy New Year, have fun, be safe and I hope you can make this your New Year Resolution.
Come 1st January 2011, make sure you get at least one person to vote for PR -- the more the merrier. And if every one of us can convince just one family member, neighbour, friend, office colleague to do the same -- and again the more the merrier too,then half the battle is won.Just through your efforts alone we shall have A BETTER Malaysia for ALL Malaysians.


I have created the above logo for anyone who wanted to help spread the GE 13 : NEW YEAR RESOLUTION. Feel free to use it and help spread it far and wide.

Getting Ready For GE 13 New Blog Outlook

This blog and blogger are for change. I hope that after all my bashing and whacking of Pakatan Rakyat, they will be awaken and start to prepare for the imminent 13th GE in 2011. No matter how badly I criticised PR I will still stood by them to effect the change.

This posting is to announce the changing of the blog layout and comments are welcome, like or dislike, font too small or whatever you think of the new layout.

My first posting for 2011 will be released on the first week of January 2011.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

Politicking will continue through these merry and happy seasons right to the new year 2011, it can never end. Will take a break and see you all again in 2011.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Pakatan Rakyat Ready To Rule?

Are Malaysians ready to start a brand new day? Will they give Pakatan Rakyat a mandate? This is a question of survival – of a gentlemanly nature.

By Azly Rahman

Just do it.” – Nike slogan.

As a disinterested and apolitical analyst of Malaysian politics I believe that for the good of all Malaysians, democracy needs renewal, either through evolution or revolution all through its inevitable march towards its final solution. It is not political philosophy that is at issue here but the people that translates it into practice.

Except for the allegedly orchestrated bloody racial riots of May 13 1969, Malaysia is fortunate to have seen peaceful stages of evolution although her prime ministers hailed from the bourgeoisie-class of hybridised Malays helming the race-based party that has no clear ideology; a party that is losing its effect in rallying the Malay electorate due to its own poor understanding of the meaning of nationalism and cosmopolitanism in an age of cybernetics and globalisation.

Is the death of Malaysia’s National Front or the Barisan Nasional near? Can Malaysian politics be “gentlemanly” or borrowing Kung Fu Tze’s word for gentleman, “Chuan tze” enough for the 50-year race-based coalition regime to give way for a coalition of multiculturalists such as Pakatan Rakyat to rule for the next 50 years? Are Malaysians ready enough for this gentlemanly act that will give meaning to the evolutionary democracy Malaysian-styled?

Perhaps the nation is ready. An era awaits no nation. It only needs to be cemented by political will.

A historical juncture

We have come to a historical juncture in which the debate between the hegemonising nationalism of one race is giving way for an emerging amalgamated cosmopolitanism of many races. America of the 100-years-ago Teddy Roosevelt era gave way to the America of Barack Obama; the idea of a WASP (white anglo-saxon protestant) America has succumbed to the global hip-hop Obama’s America in which the hyphenated, hybridised, and heteroglossic form of Americanism is prevailing.

While the current regime of the National Front continues to insist on its Machiavellian hypocrisy in its push for a Malay-centric Malaysia amidst trumpeting its 1Malayisa slogan, the voices of the subaltern of a generation of hyphenated and hybridised Malaysians fed up by cliché, slogans, and double-speak are coming out in the open voicing their support for a Malaysian Malaysia that demands for all the rights accorded them in the constitution.

While the intensity of the hypocrisy of the ultra-nationalist sentimentality intensifies, in the form of ideologically-ridiculous village/kampong-Malay type of organisations such Perkasa and Pekida continue to make headline news in ultra-Malay nationalistic-tabloidic publications, voices of multicultural reason calling for political change becomes louder.

The younger generation are Malaysia’s global hip-hop Obama generation of the salad bowl/rojak bowl Malaysia, wanting to make changes so that their generation will not become victim to race-based discrimination left as a truncated historical legacy and so that they will not have to become a victim of the sins of their grandfathers.

Enter the Pakatan Rakyat as an emerging powerful force not only as a check and balance to Malaysia’s outdatedly-ideologised and romanticised race-based coalition party, with the waning of the effects of Mahathirism and Samy-Velluism or Ling Liong Sik-ism – a tripartite of truncated political-tribalism.

Enter Pakatan Rakyat as a viable force for the most exciting general election Malaysia will ever see; a coalition of the willing in the Malaysian political scene that will willing to be scrutinised for its transparency, efficiency, and accountability by the public fed-up of 50 years of governmental secrecy and massive corruption.

Un-allowables to be allowed?

As the general election approaches, Malaysians must choose wisely.

Do they want a government that will continue to build useless world’s tallest towers, allow fascistic NGOs spewing hatred to be left unreprimanded, allow corruption left un-chemotherapied, allow university students with enquiring minds to be stupefied, allow prices of basic necessities to rise uncontrollably, allow every by-election to be a fiesta of gift-giving and a beggar’s banquet of the already-corrupted voters, and a host of other un-allowables in a democratic society to be allowed?

Or do they want a fresh mandate and be able to keep the new-ly elected regime on its toes and free to boot it out when it fails to deliver or fails to be truthful in its act?

Philologically and semantically the word “National Front” contains both a falsehood and a truth. It is false as a claim of a “national” derived from “nation” derived from the French “nation” since Malaysia is not a nation. It is a salad bowl of diverse cultures and peoples who have surrendered their natural rights to the general will called the state; so that they may enjoy the rights as a citizens.

The truth of the “National Front” lies in the word “front” of which the 1955-born Alliance Party has been putting a “front” or a “façade” of democracy whilst abusing the ideological state apparatuses in pursuit of a corporate-capitalist-cronyistic developmentalist agenda. The slogans employed since its inception as that coalition have become bricks in the “fronting” wall of the National Front.

Are Malaysians ready to start a brand new day? Will they give Pakatan Rakyat a mandate? This is a question of survival – of a gentlemanly nature.

1Choice For Malaysia

Malaysiakini
Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysia’s upcoming general election offers the country its most significant choice for several decades.

The political tsunami of 2008 was an eye-opener. At the second Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kepala Batas, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang acknowledged the weaknesses in the opposition pact and urged party member to unite and remain focused.

The nation faces enormous challenges in the years to come. The economic demands are tremendous. The next government needs to stabilise the economy and stimulate growth in the private sector. It has to deal with its burgeoning debt, cut subsidies and rein in borrowings if it does not want to risk bankruptcy.

Our problems are not just economic. We are faced with a rising tide of extremism from Malay groups, borders which are porous, a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, a rise in racist incidents, problems in our schools and hospitals, the destruction of the police and judiciary, babies being abandoned, high levels of corruption and a weakening of civic society.

These problems demand a robust solution and a strong government to tackle them. The burning question is: Which party is best suited to lead us out of this quagmire?

PKR recently held elections, whilst BN and the other component parties have deferred theirs. DAP and Gerakan have followed suit. This is indicative of the pressures these political parties face. All want to mount a strong challenge when the country goes to the polls.

The parties have resolved to capture the imagination of the voters and the differences between them are obvious. BN believes that only it can solve the country’s economic and social ills. Its slogan 1Malaysia remains just that – a slogan because in practice, certain races are held back by an invisible wall – the ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) concept.

In contrast, the Pakatan coalition believes that it can do a better job. It realises that the public mindset is changing. Race-based politics is a thing of the past. It is convinced that Malaysia is an increasing enlightened nation which believes in justice, the recognition of the rights of everyone regardless of race and that each Malaysian desires to be a part of the nation and be able to contribute towards its future.

The future of Malaysia, according to the BN administration, is to capitalise on mega-projects to boost the economy, just as during the Mahathir era.

In his Budget 2011 debate, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said the BN’s obsession with “grandeur” will presage its fall.

He said: “This rush for symbolic mega-projects, supposedly to portray pride for the country, is being repeated now under the present prime minister. Here I would like to question the wisdom of Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s order from the government to involve itself in mega projects.”

One of these is the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka skyscraper which is expected to cost over RM5 billion. When completed, it will be the tallest building in Malaysia.

Risky strategy

PM Najib Abdul Razak’s plans for mega-projects to stimulate the economy is risky as it fails to consider the country’s current economic standing and the need to lower the budget deficit and improve competitiveness.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala has said that Malaysia’s debt would rise to 100 percent of GDP by 2019 from the current 54% if the government does not cut subsidies.

He said: “We do not want to be another Greece. We do not want to end up like Greece with a total debt of EUR300 billion. Our deficit rose to record high of RM47 billion last year.”

Malaysia’s foreign direct investment (FDI), he said, dropped 81 per cent from RM23.47 billion in 2008 to RM4.43 billion in 2009, in comparison with Thailand which recorded an FDI of RM19.01 billion and Indonesia with RM19.08 billion.

Pakatan has warned of an economic crisis due to crony capitalism and corruption; a social crisis due to narrow racial policies; and a political crisis due to democratic fatigue arising from the BN’s abuses of power.

Corrupt practices only bring benefits to cronies and hefty losses to the people. Malaysia’s failure to attract foreign investment shows a desperate need for change in the management of the economy. Both good governance and a need to improve its competitive edge are vital.

Pakatan has decided to uphold a joint policy and welfare programme to defend the people based on four basic principles:

* A transparent and real democracy
* A high and stable economic performance
* Social justice and human development
* A close relationship between state-federal and international policies

Armed with these principles, Pakatan is determined to make Malaysia a better place. The three parties may have their roots in different ideologies – PAS (Islamic credentials), DAP (social ideology) and PKR (liberal ideals).

Perhaps you would prefer to have a government which relies on the Internal Security Act to stifle criticism, one in which corruption goes unchecked and where the judiciary and police are mere stooges of the state.

In order to make the necessary changes to this country, Anwar and his coalition must have a clear mandate to govern.

The best choice for Malaysia is in your hands. Vote wisely! May all your wishes come true – Happy Christmas!

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Democracy Butchered In Malaysian Parliament

Pandikar Amin Mulia, who enjoys the dubious distinction of having rejected almost every motion from the opposition, is without doubt the most crudely partisan and spineless speaker we ever have.

By Kim Quek.

Malaysian Parliament suffered a fatal blow when the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) illegally and fraudulently suspended top law-makers from the opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in a chaotic sitting of the House on December 16.
The opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and three other senior leaders of the alliance were suspended for six months through two separation resolutions in a process fraught with misinterpretation, misrepresentation and deceit. Coming at a time when the national election is expected to be just around the corner, this parliamentary debacle has undoubtedly charged up the political tension by several notches.

The origin of this tragedy sprang from a sitting in the House on 17 March 2010 when Anwar linked Premier Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan to the One Israel campaign under former Israeli premier Ehud Barak via international consultant Apco Worldwide which has served both governments. This was clearly a counter offensive by Anwar to neutralize Umno’s strategy to demonise Anwar as an Israeli stooge all these years. It was meant to unmask Umno’s hypocrisy and certainly does not contain any anti-Jew element, as Anwar repeatedly stressed.

However, Umno did not take this insinuation kindly, and moved on April 22 to refer Anwar to the Committee of Rights and Privileges for disciplinary action for “misleading” the House, despite Anwar having given abundance of supporting evidence in the House on Mar 30, and despite Najib having failed to respond to Anwar’s challenge to categorically deny Apco’s involvement in the 1Malaysia concept.

COMMITTEE DENIES JUSTICE TO ANWAR

In meetings of the BN dominated Privileges Committee, Anwar was not only denied legal representation and calling of witnesses, but he himself was denied the chance to submit his defence.

The Committee’s decision to punish Anwar was virtually made by ambush, as the two PR members in the 7-member Committee was not informed of the agenda in a short 3-day notice of its 4th meeting on Dec 3, which later turned out to be the final. In that fateful meeting, the two PR MPs – Karpal Singh and R. Sivarasa - walked off in protest upon the Committee deciding to make its final decision based solely on a letter from Apco and answers in the House from ministers – while emphatically rejecting the request to allow Anwar to make his defence or any witness to be called. This shocking move was a complete reversal of the earlier pledge that all relevant witnesses and all relevant documents would be examined – as pledged by the Speaker during the sitting in the House on April 22 and later re-affirmed in the Committee’s first meeting on May 17.

Such desperate move of the Committee that defies all norms of justice and law was obviously prompted by fear that incontrovertible evidence from Anwar would be put on official record that will do grave damage to Umno. Besides, the calling of Apco CEO Brad Staples who penned the Apco letter – which denied involvement in either 1Malaysia or One Israel – would have allowed the falsehood in the letter be exposed and nailed.

The Committee then decided to suspend Anwar for 6 months and admonish Karpal Singh, chairman of DAP, for unacceptable conduct during the committee meetings. These recommendations would be tabled in a resolution to Parliament on its last day of sitting for this session on Dec 16.

Then, out of the blue, another resolution was presented to parliament on the Dec 15, this time calling for punishing 3 other top PR leaders. This second motion called for suspension for 6 months senior PR members of parliament: Azmin Ali (deputy president of PKR), R. Sivarasa (former vice president of PKR) and Karpal Singh, who one day before was recommended for only “admonishment”.

Why this sudden twist of events? Sivarasah explained that this was attributed to the presentation of a minority report on the Anwar probe – co-authored by Karpal and Sivarasah – to the Speaker in the evening of Sept 14. This report, which contained details embarrassing to BN that were otherwise omitted in the main report, was meant to be distributed to all members of parliament for debate alongside the main report. Hence, the decision to also axe Karpal and Sivarasah was made in reflex so that the misconduct of the Privileges Committee would not be formally exposed and recorded in Parliament. The Speaker promptly refused to admit this minority report on flimsy ground. (This minority report is available at : here).

The sitting on Dec 16 is undoubtedly the most shameful episode in our parliamentary history. Leading MPs from the opposition were summarily punished without being allowed to defend themselves or accorded the customary notice of motion. The Speaker, who was outrageously partisan, bulldozed through the motions without debate, which is the minimum decorum in any parliament. He was caught repeatedly lying to ward off the angry queries from the opposition. To cap it all, the motion to suspend the trio was defective and fraudulent in the first place, having misinterpreted the relevant standing order and having lied on the alleged offence. Let me start with the Speaker.

SPEAKER LIED AND BULLDOZED

Pandikar Amin Mulia, who enjoys the dubious distinction of having rejected almost every motion from the opposition, is without doubt the most crudely partisan and spineless speaker we ever have. In the melee on Dec 16, he was observed to have ordered a vote on the Anwar motion without debate only after having received a written note from Nazri Aziz, de facto law minister looking after parliamentary affairs, who proposed the two motions.

When Anwar demanded his right to answer the charges, Pandikar Amin replied that Anwar had already been given one week to respond, which instantly sparked off angry protests to this false claim.

When asked by Karpal Singh to recue himself from presiding the current sitting due to conflict of interests as Pandikar also chaired the Committee meetings, the latter said that he only chaired the Committee meetings but did not take part in the deliberation. This was found to be false, as Anwar pointed out that notes of meeting revealed that it was Pandikar who justified the decision not to call Anwar by quoting precedents.

Pandikar said that his justification for calling a vote without debate was the opposition’s reluctance to take part in it, but the truth is while Pandikar was making this claim in the House, Anwar was actually standing up, armed with a stack of documents and pestering to be allowed to defend himself.

MOTION DEFECTIVE AND FRAUDULENT

As for Minister Nazri’s motion which accuses the trio of breaching Standing Order 85 for having MENTIONED to outsiders evidence presented to the Committee, this is clearly a misinterpretation of the Standing Order. The latter only prohibits the PUBLICATION, not mentioning of evidences presented in the Committee meeting.

When Karpal and Sivarasa gave a press conference on the day they walked out from the Committee meeting on Dec 3, they only mentioned the Apco letter to explain why they had to walk out in protest. They have never published the Apco letter.

The allegation against Azmin cited in the motion was even more bizarre. When Azmin proposed an urgent motion to debate the Anwar issue on Dec 6, his letter to the Speaker only states, I quote, “to debate the proceedings of the Rights and Privileges Committee on Dec 3, which had made the decision to deny the rights of the Permatang Pauh representative (Anwar) ….. to defend himself in the investigation.” But the motion to censure Azmin read out by Nazri stated that the former had “published the content of the letter presented in the Rights and Privileges Committee in his letter to the Speaker on Dec 6”. So, Nazri’s allegation is a complete lie, as Azmin did not even mention the Apco letter.

Another BN leader who joined the lying squad is Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin, who claimed that “Anwar had been given a fair process to defend himself. We in the BN had been prepared to debate the motion on his suspension.”

The brazenness with which these BN leaders are spewing lies is staggering.

PR leaders are of course right when they vowed to seek legal redress over such illegal suspensions precipitated by the unprecedented display of contempt for the nation’s supreme institution.

And it would certainly be appropriate if PR also moves to censure both Speaker Pandikar and minister Nazri in the next session of parliament by referring them to the Privileges Committee for disciplinary action. It is these culprits who truly deserve punishment which has wrongly been served on the 4 suspended PR MPs.

Such moves would at least give some consolation to infuriated Malaysians who have been gnawing their teeth to see BN punished for the unforgivable destruction of the fundamental tenet of our system of government, even though none expects any justice from our failed institutions.

Is 1 Malaysia Dead?

It is a simple equation: Either you are for 1 Malaysia or you are not. There is no use paying lip service to it because your boss started his administration using the concept.

In Utusan’s case, it has played a sterling role in dividing the races. Should the Malaysian electorate reward the paper and its owners for this?

Is 1 Malaysia dead? — The Malaysian Insider

1 Malaysia doesn’t seem to have won many converts.

Instead, it claimed a few victims the other day in Parliament when four Pakatan Rakyat MPs were suspended six months for linking the concept to One Israel as both shared a common public relations agency — APCO Worldwide.

Today, 1 Malaysia is the victim of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s party newspaper — Utusan Malaysia.

Its editorial columnist, Awang Selamat, a pseudonym used by its editors, went on a rant against Umno’s political foes, the DAP, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

Another columnist, Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, also took exception with the running debate on history texts, on Malaysian talent abroad who don’t want to return, and spoke about patriotism and loyalty to Malaysia.

Fair is fair. It is Umno’s newspaper. And they can spew out anything they like. There is a concept called the freedom of expression.

Yet, if one were to talk about unity as espoused by the prime minister since he took office in April 2009, then Umno’s newspapers have failed to further that concept.

Let’s be clear. This is a paper which has studiously undermined and hammered non-Malays at every turn since 2008. They have done this by painting DAP as the bogeyman. But, really, the target of their articles and editorials has been non-Malays.

They have consistently undermined MIC, MCA and any other party whose members are from the minority races.

And they have not been restrained by either Umno or the Barisan Nasional government,

Ostensibly, the national communications team of the Prime Minister’s Department is supposed to keep the paper in check but they have done a miserable job. All they have managed is to make sure the Najib administration’s good news gets front-page treatment.

On other matters, they are silent.

It is a simple equation: Either you are for 1 Malaysia or you are not. There is no use paying lip service to it because your boss started his administration using the concept.

In Utusan’s case, it has played a sterling role in dividing the races. Should the Malaysian electorate reward the paper and its owners for this?

What Khairy Has Not Learned From Najib’s Four Political Diseases

Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

When the Wikileaks disclosures erupted, senior Singaporean officials described how “Malaysia’s decline” was fuelled by incompetent politicians, and that “Najib has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case.”

Other disparaging comments about Malaysia’s past and current Prime ministers were bared for all to read. Even Khairy had a mention when Peter Ho told a US official: “The political knives will be out for Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi’s) son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, whom nobody likes because he got where he is through family ties.”

Najib and his party maintained a stubborn silence rather than demand an explanation or give the Singaporeans a stiff rebuke for tarnishing their neighbour’s image. Although Malaysian leaders had been criticized and the country’s name been sullied, no one came to the country’s or even the leaders’ defence.

Finally, after two days, a few ministers managed to scrape a few comments for the press.

One of these was Khairy who told reporters on 14th December, that the Wikileaks exposure a few days earlier, had given a clear indication of the ‘nature’ of the former deputy prime minister, Anwar.

He said, “WikiLeaks' exposure, especially on Datuk Seri Anwar, is very serious because it was based on intelligence information obtained by foreigners. We do not know how the information is obtained, but since the information is used in communication between foreign countries, it seems valid. If it's not, Singapore and Australia would never have discussed it.”

It is all very well for Khairy to say that the intelligence information on Anwar must have been valid. In that case, the intelligence information on Najib and Altantuya should also be valid.

Kausikan had said, “A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia.” He then cited a need for Najib to prevail politically in order to avoid prosecution in connection with the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

“Najib has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case,” noted Kausikan.

Khairy claimed that “…..the information is used in communication between foreign countries, it seems valid. If it's not, Singapore and Australia would never have discussed it…..”

But why has he not demanded from the Singaporeans, information that could shed light on the murder?

Khairy said that Anwar was unfit to become Prime Minister if the revelations by WikiLeaks were true.

He said, “It is not just (because of) moral issues but because foreign intelligence has technical intelligence or evidence of his behaviour and this could be used as leverage against Malaysia should he become PM.”

“We cannot elevate a man whose dark secrets are known to foreign governments as PM. They will have leverage against us and this may compromise our sovereignty,” he said in a text message which he sent and was quoted by ‘The Star’.

Khairy expressed concern that Anwar’s “dark secrets” will “compromise our sovereignty”.

How come Khairy does not share the same anxieties about Najib and the other associated “dark secrets” which are connected to “the murder scandal”?

Khairy previously sent out text messages describing why he thought Anwar was unfit to become Prime minister.

He wouldn’t have mentioned this at all is he didn’t believe that Anwar had the potential to be Prime minister. He has inadvertently let slip that Anwar has a chance of becoming Prime minister.

Khairy argues that it is Anwar’s “dark secrets” which makes him unsuitable for the role of Prime minister.

Thus, if Khairy is prepared to accept Najib with his equally “dark secrets” as Prime minister, then by that same token, Khairy must also acknowledge that Anwar can also be Prime minister.

Moreover, Khairy is also saying that if not for those “dark secrets”, Anwar does possess the qualities and competency, to be Prime minister.

Will Rakyat Reprimand Najib Not To Call For A Snap Election?

By Dr. Dzul

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Member of Parliament for Kuala Selangor.

Last week Najib has warned the Malaysian electorates not to gamble their future voting the opposition in the 13th General Election (GE). Najib and his BN leaders are not making it secret that the GE is going to be held soonest. How soon will have to depend on their intelligence report whether the BN will have a chance to secure victory, regain their lost 2/3 majority in the parliament and perhaps wrestle back their lost states.

That the BN-controlled media is on a frenzy to inject the ‘feel-good’ factor for the embattled PM is an understatement. Likewise any chance of depicting the Pakatan leaders and Pakatan-led states weren’t spared. Any opportunity is turned into a huge political meal. The spins, on numerous occasions, have inadvertently boomeranged back on them very adversely and painfully too.

The latest is about the infamous Wikileak’s expose by the Umno/BN-media, of the Singapore intelligence’s ‘report’ to their Australian and US counterparts, whose damage on Najib arguably far surpasses the intended harm on DSAI.

Umno/BN-controlled media is now frantic to reverse the fallout. They no longer could decide which way to go as the ‘revelation’ has a life and momentum of its own.

As they say it, you can’t pick up one end of the stick without picking up the other… a collateral damage of sort, where you can’t select the real outcome. They wanted the people to believe Wikileak when it involves the Opposition Leader and yet they don’t want the people to believe Wikileak when it pertains to the PM.

If that wasn’t enough to dent Najib’s bullishness to get an early mandate for his premiership, this small piece is now reminding Najib and more importantly encouraging the Malaysian electorates, especially of the civil liberty movement, to not allow Najib, at his whims and fancies, conduct a snap election. This piece will now argue why Najib shouldn’t take the Malaysian electorates for a ‘ride’, again.

Yes, this writer is willing to admit that Najib has indeed vouched to do a lot of things. Yes, the list gets longer by the day. The fact remains, however, that he hasn’t delivered as yet.

The rakyat shouldn’t fall into the rut twice, ie when giving to his immediate predecessor a big mandate when he called for a snap election of the 11th GE, 6 months after assuming the premiership. All he had before the GE were promises.

Yes, he was Mr Clean, at least prior to taking office. But many argued that he was later proven to be neither clean nor reliable on delivery. War against corruption saw Kasitah Gaddam and Eric Chia being dragged to Court. The rest were history. Are all these about to again be repeated with the same story line?

If Najib has unashamedly reminded the rakyat to not gamble their future with opposition, the rakyat should now likewise ask Najib why they should gamble their lives with him. Yes they might be willing to believe his story and all his good-wishes but they should insist that he proves himself and complete his term.

His too many rherotics and big-sounding acronyms of the NKRAs, NKEAs, SRIs, NEM, ETP and EPPs etc, should be given enough time to yield results. His penchant for flip-flop on numerous instances deny him the right to be given the ‘goodwill’ Pak Lah was granted as a new PM.

Najib must be again told that he is the only Prime Minister in our political history that came into office carrying a huge political baggage which might have disqualified him and derailed his dream of becoming the Right Honourable PM.

Bluntly put, he is less than deserving of being granted that ‘goodwill’ as a new PM embarking his first GE.

Worse still, Umno’s penchant for amnesia and arrogance are notorious especially after victory is achieved. The rakyat now fear that Najib will ‘badawied’ it again in much worse style than his former boss – in a legacy of lost opportunity.

Najib must moreover not be allowed to recklessly place state governments and their rakyat, the Pakatan–led states included, into jeopardy. State governments especially of the Pakatan’s have planned their reform programs and crafted their budget to serve and undo the many sins of omissions and commissions of the previous governments.

Against numerous odds, that surely requires time and hard-work to get to be executed. Arguably they do need the full term or closer to one, for a proper execution of their programmes and to carry their stated intentions to fruition.

Their contention of not wanting to condone Najib’s snap election, hence early dissolution of their state assemblies is understandable much as it is commendable.

Najib must not be allowed by the rakyat to get off the hook so easily. As the seating government of the day, they must assume full responsibility for their policy advocacy.

His subsidy rationalization has now urged Research Houses both locally and regionally to predict an increase of inflationary pressure by mid 2011.

CIMB Research’s report released last Monday anticipated that the subsidy cuts add pressure to the consumer price index (CPI). The report added that although the direct impact on the CPI appears manageable for now, one should also be mindful of the indirect spillover effects.

The government has increased in the latest round on subsidy rationalization the price of RON95 by five sen to RM1.90/litre, while diesel price was also raised by five sen to RM1.80/litre. Sugar price rose by 20 sen to RM2.10/kg, and LPG price went up five sen to RM1.90/kg.

They opined that the estimate of the combined price hikes will result in a 0.2% point rise in the headline inflation (fuel price adds 0.18% pt, sugar +0.03% pt and LPG +0.01% pt).
The CIMB head economist also raises the CPI forecast higher to 3% from 2.5% previously involving retail prices of food and beverage and the transportation sectors..

In its report, RHB Research Institute also came to the conclusion that the latest hike’s impact would be manageable but inflation would likely trend up next year due to the government’s gradual move to reduce subsidies every six months. This in turn would lead to higher retail fuel and food prices.

RHB Research also said that rising global commodity prices due to monetary easing in developed countries would likely result in higher food prices and inflation.

Meanwhile the rakyat must be weary of the rising household debts which rose to 77.9% (RM420 billion) of GDP at end of July this year and that Najib must insist that that the central bank ought to introduce measures to curb this troubling trend. Incidentally, up to 87,583 individuals were declared bankrupt up to October this year, with 4,651 or 5.1% due to unpaid credit card debts.

The non-performing loans ratios (NPLs) in Malaysia is expected to come under pressure next year as the country faces a more challenging global and domestic environment. Malaysia as open economy would not be insulated from any shocks related to the external environment.

There is general concern over the direction of the world economy as the United States struggles to prop its economy via further ‘quantitatve easing’, while China comes up with a string of measures to cool its economy.

Given the anticipated troubling and uncertain environement, it is all the more important that the rakyat should put Najib and his government to task. Najib might have been (ill-) advised by his intelligence and international consultants, not the least is his APCO Worlwide, to quickly conduct a snap election before scenario deteriorates.

The Malaysian electorates and the rakyat should now stand to resist this. No longer should the rakyat be shortchanged and hoodwinked by the Umno/BN regime. Najib must exudates commitment to transforming and reforming his government, before rushing to seek for another mandate.

Will the rakyat now reprimand Najib not to call for a snap election?

I rest my case.

Five cardinal injustices perpetrated by outrageous Parliamentary six-month suspension of Anwar, Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa

Lim Kit Siang

The outrageous parliamentary six-month suspension of four Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Permatang Pauh), DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor), PKR Deputy President Mohd Azmin Ali (Gombak) and PKR lawyer R. Sivarasa (Subang) in international consultancy firm APCO’s role in the “1Israel” “1Malaysia” controversy committed five cardinal injustices, viz:

Firstly, although Anwar was referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges, he was denied of the full opportunity to substantiate his parliamentary speech linking 1Malaysia to APCO and the One Israel concept as the Barisan Nasional majority in the Commtitee of Privileges perversely decided to rely solely on a letter from APCO as the basis to penalize Anwar.

Secondly, the refusal of the Chairman of the Committee of Privileges, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia to accept the minority report prepared by Karpal and Sivarasa as part of the report of the Committee of Privileges to the House, demonstrating bias, unfairness and utter disregard of parliamentary conventions and accepted practices.

Thirdly, without giving Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa notice and the fundamental right to be heard as referring them to the Committee of Privileges before charging them in Parliament for parliamentary contempt alleging that they had revealed information privy to the Committee of Privileges – going against the principles of natural justice.

Fourthly, forcing through the passage of the motion to suspend Anwar Ibrahim as MP for six months without any debate, which is completely unprecedented and unheard-of not only in the Malaysian Parliament but also in Parliaments of developed democracies.

Fifthly, the blatant conflict of interest committed by Pandikar in chairing the parliamentary proceeding to suspend Anwar, Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa when he is also the Chairman of the Committee of Privileges and therefore party to the punitive actions against the four PR leaders.

I was not in Parliament on Thursday as I was in Bangkok with Dr. Chen Man Hin, Fong Kui Lun and Lee Kaw to attend the funeral service of Sdr. Fan Yew Teng, a great patriot who had always been a champion of the oppressed.

The outrageous parliamentary proceeding on Thursday to trample on all parliamentary conventions and practices and breach the fundamental rules of natural justice to suspend the four PR leaders from Parliament for six months is the latest proof that the Barisan Nasional government has not learnt from the lessons of the 308 political tsunami in the 2008 general elections which was a clear vote for national reforms to end the arrogance of power of unbroken Umno/BN rule for over half a century and that Umno/BN is incapable of change despite all the sloganeering of 1Malaysia, Government Transformation Programme, New Economic Model and Economic Transformation Programme.

It is now left to the Malaysian people to use their vote in the next general elections, which is not far away, to administer the full lesson by sending an unmistakable message that the country needs wide-ranging reforms and institutional changes, including Parliament, if Malaysia is to fulfill her promise to take her rightful place in the international arena as an united, competitive, progressive and prosperous nation in the international arena.

(Speech at the Serdang DAP Branch anniversary dinner in Selangor on Friday, December 17, 2010)

What Is Not Democratically Possible Can Be Done Undemocratically!

It is a pity that the august institution of Parliament was reduced to a shambles, ignoring totally the sacred principles of natural justice. There was not even the pretence of going through the motion of a civilized debate. It was bizarre!

By P Ramakrishnan

Malaysians today witnessed another sordid attempt to make a mockery of the parliamentary system as four opposition MPs were suspended in highly undemocratic circumstances, writes P Ramakrishnan.

What is not democratically possible, it seems, can be achieved undemocratically. We witnessed this despicable undermining of parliamentary democracy in the shameful episode of the Perak debacle.

We have witnessed today (16-12-10) another sordid attempt to make a mockery of the parliamentary system in the quest for power.

The pattern is obvious; the method is devious. It is undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to secure the two-third majority the BN lost in the 12th General Election in March 2008.

Apparently, in this attempt justice is being trampled upon with impunity and shamelessly. The lust for power drives the BN to adopt unethical means to pulverise the Opposition by the tyranny of the BN majority.

It is a pity that the august institution of Parliament was reduced to a shambles, ignoring totally the sacred principles of natural justice. There was not even the pretence of going through the motion of a civilized debate. It was bizarre!

How could the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee deny Anwar Ibrahim the right to be heard and defend himself? How could this Committee come to any conclusion by refusing to hear Anwar’s right of reply? How could this Committee lay any claim to being fair, unbiased and guided by the principles of justice when it did not even allow Anwar to be represented by his Counsel?

The Chairman of this Committee was the Speaker of Parliament. According to the records of the Hansard, the Speaker had assured Anwar that he would be given the opportunity to defend himself at the rights and privileges committee meeting.
Yet as Chairman of the Committee, he did not honour his word and permit Anwar to appear before the Committee to defend himself.

He cannot claim that “there was a motion from the committee member, saying that there was no need to listen to the defence… And then, I put it to vote. That was all. I didn’t vote in the committee.” There is no merit in his statement.

He had a solemn duty to guide the Committee to observe the principles natural justice. He had violated this sacred duty by seemingly allowing himself to be led by his nose. His task does not simply imply that he only presides without exercising responsibilities of a chairman entrusted to him. He cannot justify his action by simply stating, “I was just a chair of the rights and privileges committee… I didn’t vote.”

As Speaker, he does not vote either but that does not mean he cannot exercise his discretion to come out with a ruling. Doesn’t he as Speaker over-rule motions submitted for debate and uphold certain points raised by the MPs?

Doesn’t he have certain authority as Chairman to ensure that the conduct of the Committee is rooted in justice?

Karpal had a point when he pointed out that there was a conflict of interest in the Speaker when he chaired the House session. Pandikar was the Chairman of the committee which recommended Anwar’s six-month suspension from Parliament. How can he be neutral in this issue when he presides as Speaker? Karpal rightly pointed out, “You have lost your moral authority to sit in the chair.”

From what was reported, Karpal was to be admonished according to the report of the rights and privileges committee. How then did it take a turn and suddenly become suspension from Parliament? Who twisted this fact to punish Karpal? The suspension of Azmin and Sivarasa was also very peculiar. They were not asked to show cause and neither were they allowed to defend themselves. No sufficient notice was given; instead the whole charade was rushed through as if the BN just wanted to get over with this nasty episode.

Without a tinge of conscience the tyranny of the majority prevailed for a purpose. The BN now is within sight of a two-thirds majority in Parliament. If it achieves that, it can do whatever it wants without a care for the rights of the minority. The Federal Constitution is in danger of being mutilated, as has been the case, under the BN.

We are reminded of what Edmund Burke said about tyranny: “The greater the power the more dangerous the abuse.” As some wit once said, a government that fails to honour the law on which it is based only invites rebellion. No sane Malaysian wants to go that way.

P Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran

Pure Puppetry In Parliament

Najib’s purported change and his attempts to portray the BN as an agent of change is only but hypocrisy par excellence! He is in fact the chief puppeteer!

By Martin Jalleh

See how well the Speaker of Parliament in Bolehland performs to every pull and push by the hideous hands of the Umno political Masters in parliament.

So pliantly and passionately Pandikar Amin plays and dances to their every tug and tune, much to Umno’s great delight, pleasure and purpose.

So pleasingly the former Kota Marudu Umno division chief mouths and moves at every prompting, with perfect poise and pace, assisted by his deputies and political props in Parliament.

So slavishly he parrots and faithfully acts out the self-serving script of his political Masters (who believe they are superior beings) and whom he knows could at any time pull the plug on him!

See how he panders to Umno without question or pause. Parliamentary principles, procedures and processes are pooh-poohed. Policies and amendments are pushed through by brute majority.

Alas, with each passing day, the Speaker’s great pretence at being independent and impartial in the country’s supreme law-making body increasingly protrudes and becomes glaringly prominent!

As Speaker of Parliament, Pandikar Amin has become so painfully predictable! But apparently he is a stranger to the sense of shame!

He has allowed himself to be reduced to a pygmy Speaker, one who easily loses his cool and control and who is intelligent enough only at sending out and suspending Opposition MPs, especially those who refuse to bow and bend at his bidding and behest.

His reputation plummets as he ensures that Umno’s agenda takes precedence over Parliament. The people elected their political representatives. He has made it his primary role to throw them out on Umno’s orders!

Such is the sad story of a man who pathetically allows a government which for the past 53 years has shamelessly perfected and practised the art of political manipulation or puppetry, to bulldoze its way through sheer majoritism!

Such was the tragedy that the Speaker was willingly led by the nose by the Minister in the PM’s Department who is also the overseer of parliamentary affairs and the de facto (read as “defective”) Law Minister, one who has no equal in his contemptuous behaviour in parliament.

The suspending of Anwar and the three prominent MPs from Parliament can only be seen as the pinnacle of Umno’s arrogance. It also reflects very poorly on the PM who has been promising radical and relevant changes in the country.

Umno has not changed at all. It still makes use of the nation’s key democratic institutions in their dirty and desperate political game to cling on to power and to contain, cripple and crush legitimate dissent and/or to hinder genuine change advocated by the Opposition.

Najib’s purported change and his attempts to portray the BN as an agent of change is only but hypocrisy par excellence! He is in fact the chief puppeteer!

What Is 1Malaysia? Is It Real Or A Gimmick?

The Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has made a mockery of 1Malaysia. He has established beyond doubt that 1Malaysia is nothing but a political rhetoric signifying nothing. It is a hollow political slogan without substance. It is hypocrisy couched in deceiving terms to hoodwink the rakyat.

For the DPM to maintain that development funds are only meant for Barisan Nasional MPs, it only exposes his gross ignorance about democracy. For him to insist that there was no intention to extend it to Opposition MPs smacks of the dictatorial tendencies of a tyrant who dismisses ethics and morality when it comes to political survival.

This money that he is dishing out to the BN MPs does not come only from BN voters who pay taxes. Opposition voters also pay into the national coffers. This being the case, how can he then deny the Opposition voters the development that is their legitimate right?

His claim that allocating funds to Barisan MPs has been a practice of the Federal Government does not hold water. That practice does not make it legitimate. A wrong carried out for many years does not confer on it any moral grounds to justify this unethical act. A wrong is a wrong –no two ways about it!

The vindictive and revengeful policy to deny Opposition MPs development allocations is one thing. But to deny Malaysian voters their share of legitimate development for exercising their discretion in electing Opposition MPs is totally unacceptable. They are Malaysians and they are entitled to equal treatment under the Federal Constitution.

The BN has no legal or legitimate reason or right to withhold developmental allocations that are the just dues of every Malaysian.

It is based on this rationale that the Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj has taken this injustice to the court seeking justice. It is our fervent hope that the court will not resort to some silly technicality to throw out the case as it has been wont to do in so many instances frustrating Malaysians and encouraging the erosion of confidence in the judiciary.

The other reason tied to Muhyiddin’s stand is whether he considers himself as the DPM of all Malaysians in all the states? Or should he be perceived as the DPM of the states governed by the BN? If he projects himself as the DPM of Malaysia, then he must honour and respect every Malaysian voter and treat them equally.

He is on dangerous ground if he stands for the exclusiveness that the Prime Minister says he abhors. While the PM preaches about inclusive politics, Muhyiddin practises exclusive politics.

What if the voters in the Opposition states boycott him and refuse to recognise him as the DPM of all Malaysians? That would be tragic. I hope that it does not come to that. He has a responsibility to ensure that it doesn’t happen. He has a duty to prevent this and keep the nation as a united entity. Let Muhyiddin be reminded that any act that violates the inalienable rights of the ordinary person is essentially unjust, totally tyrannical and absolutely reprehensible.

P Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran

Winning A Simple Majority Is Not What Najib Wanted

It does not really matter when the 13th GE is called - tomorrow, 2011 or 2013. Umno/BN and Najib himself know that they are assured of retaining power. Najib has to win the 13th GE with a two-thirds majority to remain relevant as Umno president.

Surprisingly, all the political experts, including those holding Ph.Ds in politics, have yet to come out with a good analysis of Najib's true intention.

Unless Najib or Umno/BN does something very disastrous that affects voters adversely between now and polling day, winning the 13th GE is assured. The only question is by how much.

Should Najib scrape through with just a simple majority, he will face the same fate as his predecessor and will be dethroned faster than he can spell out the word 'sorry'. If he wants to remain as the PM and stay as long as he wants to, he has to ensure that he wins back a two-thirds majority.

Even before Najib took over as the PM, he had already put in place all his action plans to ensure a two-thirds majority win. The unconstitutional power grab of Perak, the plot to take over Selangor, which would have materialised had not MACC over-reacted and Teoh Beng Hock not died, and the signal sent to all the little napoleans in Pakatan-ruled states to create as much havoc and chaos - all these indicate how desperate Najib is in wanting to stay on in power. And as PM he has all the political machinery at his disposal for his plans, regardless of the illegality of political moves, such as the 'buying over' of elected MPs.

He knows that his subtle threats embedded in his public statements will be picked up by the Opposition to help him spread the message of fear among the public - threats such as "crushed bodies and lost lives", "if Barisan Nasional doesn't win, no one can". All these are to create fear that there will be chaos and riots if Umno/BN does not win the general election. Just imagine what would happen to anyone from the Opposition who utters the same kind of threats!

How can "you help me I help you" in terms of monetary aspects not be considered to be bribery and corruption? If I am caught giving a policeman 50 ringgit in exchange for not writing me a traffic summons, can I argue in court that I am just demonstrating the same notion of "you help me I help you"?

There is the sudden generosity on the part of Najib - never before seen in Malaysian history - of pouring billions of ringgit into development and allocating special funds to help the "poor rakyat". But he's not telling us exactly where the money is going to come from. This action will create a two-pronged gain for Najib : it enables his cronies to milk a portion of the billions and hopefully, the "poor rakyat" will be happy with whatever remains to be thrown to them.

Umno/BN has to get back the two-thirds majority by whatever means, failing which it will disintegrate. Winning this majority will enable Umno/BN to remain in power for at least another 50 years or so. It can do a lot of magic with this two-thirds majority.

Expect more fear propaganda to come from Najib and his goons from all parts of the country. There is nothing to stop Najib from doing what he is doing, legal and illegal, to win the 13th GE handsomely. He knows Malaysians all too well and as long as he does not make any more mistakes, they will most probably vote in Umno/BN again.

All his baggage is well-handled and hidden away in safe places (with the help of all the relevant institutions that he now controls) and the Opposition cannot dredge up that baggage again as it is no longer effective. This is because the majority of Malaysians are suffering from a 'could-not-care-less' illness, kiasi, and they are just as forgetful.


All Najib has to do now is to create the fear that Malaysia will crumble and the rakyat will suffer without Umno/BN.

Hence, Pakatan Rakyat must start to counter this and assure Malaysians that they can more than survive and enjoy peace and Malaysia will remain intact especially without Umno/BN.

Keeping March 8 Alive

Nevertheless, he forged ahead in fierce determination to do his bit in keeping the enthusiasm pulsing. To keep fanning that spirit that pushed people to raise and debate issues, exercise their rights and lobby for change.

by Stephanie Sta Maria
Free Malaysia Today

FMT EXCLUSIVE The day had not begun particularly well for Kee Thuan Chye. A friend – once a staunch supporter of political change – had confided that he was contemplating reverting to the “devil he knew” in the next general election.

“I was very upset,” Kee said. “After staying for so long on the track of change, he is giving up because he has lost faith in Pakatan Rakyat’s ability to get its act together to govern this country.”

It was the sort of sentiment that the former journalist found deeply troubling as it preyed on a simmering disquiet that the tide behind the March 8 tsunami may be turning again, this time in favour of the ruling party. And that, in Kee’s view, would spell imminent political tragedy for Malaysia.

March 8 is a historic date that Kee holds close to his heart. Two years ago he paid tribute to it with a book entitled “March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up”, an anthology of the voices that believed in and voted for change.

Now a second edition of that volume has hit the shelves. Only this time it bears the title “March 8: Time For Real Change”.

“The new title is apt for these times and besides, the publisher liked it!” he said, the corners of his eye crinkling. “But seriously, the next general election is approaching and there is an urgency now to talk about real change. There is also a need to assess all that has happened in the past two and half years.”

“The real purpose of a second edition is, of course, to keep the March 8 spirit alive. That is extremely important because Malaysia has not been the same since that day.”

Defining moment

There is a marked distinction between the spirit of March 8 and that of reformasi (the basis upon which PKR was formed). In drawing a line between the two, Kee declared that the former was much bigger in that it involved the country’s future while the latter was intertwined with the “Anwar personality”.

“March 8 was the defining moment when Malaysians realised that they had been taken for a ride for decades and that it was time for change,” he added. “It was a very important watershed which has to be commemorated.”

“Our spirit is different now and we must maintain it because with it comes the spirit of standing up for our rights. Of defying with a cause and of even showing healthy disrespect for authority when it is necessary. We have been docile and unquestioning for far too long. March 8 changed all that.”

Some 60% of the second edition is new material that was cobbled together within an impressive five months. But if the earlier sentiment of Kee’s friend is any indicator of a waning adrenaline, then it begs the question of whether this new volume is a boon or a bane. Kee already knows the answer.

“I think the enthusiasm is still there though it may be flagging a little now,” he said quietly. “I asked someone the other day whether a book like this would still sell and he said that people are a little tired of March 8 because of all the politicking that followed it.”

Nevertheless, he forged ahead in fierce determination to do his bit in keeping the enthusiasm pulsing. To keep fanning that spirit that pushed people to raise and debate issues, exercise their rights and lobby for change.

“There are some very good and even brilliant ideas in this edition,” he promised. “And good advice for the next general election. There are good assessments of the chicanery that has been going on since March 8, and good summaries of how we have come to where we are now. The book will also remind people to think hard about their vote at the next general election.”

This hard thinking, unfortunately, may be sparked less by Barisan Nasional’s gaffes than by PKR’s recent antics. Even Kee voiced alarm over the less than savoury image that the BN is painting of the opposition coalition.

“Pakatan is losing ground and public confidence,” he noted. “Perception is so important in politics. DAP and PAS are very solid. PKR is the only weak link and it really has to buck up fast. There’s not much time left. It has to go to the ground to convince the people, especially the fence-sitters, that the opposition is still a viable option.”

Irrelevant concern

Many have questioned whether Pakatan is ready to take over the government but to Kee, this is an irrelevant concern. He believes that if one is thrown into the deep end of the pool, one will learn to swim. He also believes in giving the underdogs a chance.

“There is never a time when one is ready,” he asserted. “You have to approach the moment and when the moment arises you have to rise to the occasion. You have to give people a chance.”

“If it doesn’t work out there will be another election five years later. But it’s always worthwhile to take that chance because if you don’t, the change may never happen or it will happen too slowly.”

The most pressing need, according to Kee, is to remove a coalition that has been in power for 53 years so it knows what it is like to wear the other shoe. In the best-case scenario, that newly minted opposition will be forced to reform itself and the people would be presented with two stronger choices in the next general election. And in his opinion, two choices are enough.

“We don’t need a Third Force,” he said plainly. “It would be better for those who want to be part of this Third Force to offer themselves as candidates to Pakatan instead.”

“The Third Force here won’t be like the Tea Party in America. They had two years to build their profile and were very active and well organised. And even then quite a number didn’t get elected. Frankly I don’t know if the Third Force will do well because many of them will be unknown.”

Kee pointed out that many of the Third Force candidates would also be greenhorns in the political arena with only integrity for their sword and shield.

While he acknowledged that this would lessen the likelihood of defections, he warned that being person of integrity and a politician were two different matters altogether.

“It isn’t enough to just have integrity,” he reasoned. “You also have to be politically savvy. A person with integrity alone will get disillusioned very quickly. But if they want to continue with this Third Force, then they should make a pact with Pakatan. Even if it doesn’t win the next election at least we have a strong opposition.”

And if Pakatan stays on a losing streak? Kee, who has long refused to migrate, laughed.

“I’m still hoping that if there is a new government then perhaps the political reform can happen. But if there is still no change, I should really pack my bags and leave.”

The Unfinished Malaysian Corruption Story

I am anti-national by Najib’s latest definition because I speak the truth in a foreign country about Malaysia’s unsavoury reputation for massive corruption. I suppose living off corruption as many of our leaders do with panache and impunity is part of being a true Malaysia.

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

I was honoured last month by the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association with an invitation to deliver the International Keynote Address at their 2010 Conference at the Sydney Hilton.

Three hundred corporate lawyers participated in the two-day conference, with some 400 attending the ACLA Awards Dinner. I was invited to perform a similar task last year by the association, but to my regret and utter shame, I was forced to cancel, at great cost to my Australian hosts, my appearance in Melbourne, their 2009 conference venue.

I found myself a reluctant patient at the Gleneagles Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, with a serious lung infection. The doctor pumped, yes, pumped enough antibiotics into my body to float a destroyer and maybe keep our two valiant submarines happily submerged forever.

It transpired that I had picked up a virus in the Netherlands while attending an ethics conference at the Amsterdam Free University. I was very surprised, to say the least, when I received a repeat invitation from ACLA very early this year. I asked the organisers, in jest, if they realised that they were taking a risk as the same thing might happen again.

Overcoming Corruption: A Regional Challenge was the title of my address. I assured them that there was really no need to feel concerned about the state of health of corruption in the region.

In Malaysia, in particular, in spite of a flurry of activity to put on display the full panoply of anti-corruption paraphernalia, it is all form and no substance, as with most things we see in this land of the Morning Glory. If they wanted my honest opinion, I would say without fear of violent contradiction that corruption in Malaysia was not only alive and well: it was in indecently robust good health. The latest TI Corruption Perceptions Index says it all.

I treated them to a amusing little anecdote about the then newly appointed President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, who at a meeting with senior colleagues, said that something had to be done to reduce corruption in borrowing countries in Asia, Africa and South America. He said that many saw the Bank as part of the problem of corruption. His advisers told him that he should not ever again mention “corruption” as this would upset the Bank’s many clients. The fact that they were all corrupt, and kleptomaniacs to a man, did not seem to matter.

The subject was a taboo in polite society. When Wolfensohn, feeling a little hot under the collar, asked what he should call it then, he was told, quite unabashedly, to refer to it as a ‘C’ word. The point of this true story is that we have all come a long way since and, in a perverse sort of way, so has corruption. Corruption never sleeps.

Malaysia is, ethically speaking, in dire straits. Mahathir founded his administration on corruption, lies and subterfuge. He lied to the nation about the many schemes that were blatantly dishonest. Worse, they were criminal, such as gambling with the EPF money, your money and mine, to corner the international tin market and later the country’s reserves to speculate on the currency market, pitting himself in the latter case against George Soros. The country lost billions. Mahathir succeeded in planting and nurturing a culture of impunity and disinformation that, even long after he left office, has continued to flourish. Of course, the man who cut his business teeth minding a stall at the Pekan Rabu in Alor Setar during the Japanese Occupation can explain all this away by saying that whatever he did, it was done in the national interest. We have heard it all before.

The lawyers represented, and advised, many large Australian companies. They knew their stuff, kept themselves abreast of the region’s economic, social and political developments. There was not an awful lot I could tell them that they did not know already about our appalling standards of public ethics, and the pervasive nature of corrupt practices that both define and circumscribe the way we conduct our business transactions both in and out of the corridors of power. They had heard about our many agencies that provide ample opportunities for the acquisition of personal wealth and abuse of power.

What amazed them, though, was the report about some of our frontline immigration officers stashing away millions of dollars of bribe money. Corrupt officials do not enforce the law, and this has led to easy access into the country of drug and human traffickers and other illegals. And our corruption has turned Malaysia into a conduit for human trafficking into Australia. When we add to this the corruption in the ruling elite, the police, the judiciary, the customs and other key institutions, we have a thoroughly ugly picture of a country fuelled and driven by ethically reprehensible behaviour. I warned the Australians that we welcome their investment, but it only fair to warn them that doing business in Malaysia required more than the usual due diligence because Malaysians were surprisingly adept at turning corruption into a low risk and high return business venture for themselves, “leaving you holding the baby.” The system tolerates and encourages it.

We have, as a nation, been truly sold down the “river of no return” by Mahathir, who now continues to set his version of the moral tone of this country. In what capacity I neither know nor care any more. Flood or pestilence, it is business as usual. In this country, we privatise and politicise everything, including corruption.

A lady in the audience asked if there was anything that could be done to take Malaysia back to the pre-Mahathir values. The short answer is yes, there is. It is possible by turfing out the present administration so that a thorough and complete review of policies and procedures could be put in train to ensure relevance, with mechanisms for checks and balances firmly put in place. All institutions will have to justify their existence and those that are no longer relevant will be closed down. Institutions that have been rendered dysfunctional will be strengthened. The deadwood and the corrupt will be encouraged to take early retirement and meritocracy will be the sole criterion used to determine suitability to lead.

I am absolutely convinced that transforming the administration is not only desirable, but absolutely essential if this country is to succeed in claiming its right to a seat at the top table, among the clean nations that will shape the future of the world. Change, and complete change, is the answer. Malaysians must decide the kind of future they want.

I am anti-national by Najib’s latest definition because I speak the truth in a foreign country about Malaysia’s unsavoury reputation for massive corruption. I suppose living off corruption as many of our leaders do with panache and impunity is part of being a true Malaysia.

We Have To Speak Up

By P. Ramakrishnan

We have every reason to be concerned. We wonder where this nation is heading for and what is in store for us. From the civil servant to the Umno politician, it is the same story: the non-Malays are “pendatang” and don’t have any citizenship rights. The rights conferred by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution are not respected or protected.

When an extreme group like Perkasa questions the citizenship rights of the non-Malays, the national leadership does not take them to task. When extreme elements in Umno berate and denigrate the non-Malays, the top Umno leadership does not chastise them. When one Umno delegate at the recently concluded general assembly had the temerity to suggest that the non-Malays be given the right to do business but should be denied the right to vote, nobody pointed out that it was against the constitution and that he should not be talking through his nose!

It is this disturbing silence when atrocious things are said which affect our unity that is worrying. It is this unbecoming conduct that encourages the extreme elements amongst us to be outrageous in their conduct and prompts them to continue with their seditious remarks.

It is this vocal minority that is predominant in our society and influences the trend of policy. Our political leaders dare not condemn them outright.

Utusan Malaysia fans the race baiting and gives the widest publicity without bothering to be responsible or sensible. When the powers-that-be that own and control this press do not force it to fall in line, what do we make of this?

A nation can make or break depending on the unity of its citizens. Today our unity is threatened. And if concerned voices and responsible leaders and caring Malaysians do not rise up and speak up, we will be a fragmented nation. By our silence, we will contribute to the chaos that may ensue. — Aliran

* P. Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran.

Red-faced Najib Unable To Answer S'pore's "Opportunist" Label

Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

The Wikileaks revelations in which Singaporean officials gave damning descriptions on Malaysian prime ministers and the part they played in the ‘decline of Malaysia’ make grim reading but are nothing new. Incompetence, racial conflict and high-profile murder already feature as daily fodder in our Malaysian newspapers.

In spite of how we feel about Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, whose publications have kept governments on tenterhooks in the past few months, the nature of the content of the documents, cannot be ignored.

Among the most serious and politically charged is when the republic’s senior government officials reportedly said “Malaysia’s decline” was fuelled by incompetent politicians. Naturally, this threatens to destroy the semblance of cordiality that has been achieved by the leaders of the two countries.

Last May, Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his Singaporean counterpart met at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat to reaffirm their commitment towards further strengthening bilateral relations and collaborate in various initiatives.

Today, Wikileaks managed to burst that little bubble of cooperation between the two. Najib is described as “an opportunist”.

Ouch! That hurts.

But most Malaysians have long known that fact. It only hurts because a foreign despatch confirmed it and it is now bandied about around the world.

One wonders what remedial measures APCO will take to limit the damage done to Najib’s image and how much extra it will cost the taxpayer?

Those in Umno who disapprove of Najib’s cosiness with Singapore will probably be saying “I told you so.” They have always believed their neighbours to be ‘calculative and condescending’.

These revelations are like ammunition to the dissenters in the party and will reinforce their views that Najib was seduced by Lee Hsien Loong to set up a joint-venture company to develop land parcels swapped for the prized railway land that cuts through the island state. Many were not satisfied with the outcome of that deal.

Doubtless, the Singaporean officials will be having protracted meetings in damage limitation control, to reduce any fall-out between the two.

Wikileaks disclosed discussions between senior US officials and their Singapore counterparts Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh which allegedly took place in 2008 and 2009.

Peter Ho told the Americans: “The political knives will be out for Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi’s) son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, whom nobody likes because he got where he is through family ties...”

So what?

Malaysians are aware that this is a common phenomenon in Malaysian politics. Family connections, money politics, secret deals are all part and parcel of most of the Malaysian political dynasties’ modus operandi.

In September 2008, Kausikan, a senior foreign affairs official, described how the “situation in neighbouring Malaysia is confused and dangerous”, fuelled by “a distinct possibility of racial conflict” that could see ethnic Chinese “flee” Malaysia and “overwhelm” Singapore.

Again, these are all true to a certain extent.

However, there is no need for Chinese to “flee” to Singapore. The Singaporeans accepted them with open arms and in all probability enticed them with study loans or jobs because our Malaysian government did not take the initiative to fund their studies or we restricted opportunities at home by placing limits on jobs.

The Singaporeans could have refused our Malaysian Chinese to stop from being “overwhelmed”.

Aren’t the Singaporeans also taking advantage of the situation? All countries in the world suffer when their best talent goes elsewhere. Singapore just plugged the gaps caused by their own people emigrating and filled all those vacancies with our people.

Wikileaks revelation about racial issues in Malaysia is old news. Singapores’s Lee Kuan Yew even talked about this in his interview with the New York Times last September.

“A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia,” said Kausikan.

We all knew that.

He followed this with, “Najib has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case.”

Malaysians have long been aware of that, too.

If Wikileaks could produce an incriminating photo or even give a “whodunit”, now that would be a different matter.

Muhyiddin, You Have Lost The Plot By Americk Sidhu

We are not in primary school Mr. Muhyiddin. We are not supposed to be punished because the headmaster doesn’t like our faces. You are supposed to be running a country. You are a servant of the people who pay you to administer THEIR country. You have no right to discriminate against those you do not like. That is not your job.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Americk Sidhu

“Development funds are being channeled to Barisan Nasional MPs constituencies only. There is no intention to channel any funds to those constituencies represented by opposition MPs.”

This is what our very own Deputy Prime Minister has categorically stated. I have read and reread the report appearing in The Star on Friday December 10th. There is no mistake. He repeated himself a few times. This man ‘shot down a request that the Federal Government extend development funds to opposition MPs’.

I must confess I am flabbergasted by this infantile attitude which reflects the immaturity of the ‘leaders’ of this nation. These people are not fit to hold office. They obviously do not understand basic concepts.

We are not in primary school Mr. Muhyiddin. We are not supposed to be punished because the headmaster doesn’t like our faces. You are supposed to be running a country. You are a servant of the people who pay you to administer THEIR country. You have no right to discriminate against those you do not like. That is not your job.

Let me explain this to you simply lest you become confused by technicalities.

You see, a government is formed by the party with the most number of seats in Federal Parliament. That’s your party. There are other seats occupied by Malaysians representing other Malaysians who did not vote for your party but nevertheless are entitled to the same benefits of those Malaysians who did.

This is what a ‘democracy’ is all about. This means you get elected by a majority of the people to run the country for everyone. You are an employee of the people and I mean ALL the people and not just the ones who voted for you.

Do you follow so far?

Part of your job is to be entrusted with the country’s coffers. Everyone contributes to these coffers, not just the people who voted for you.

If you represented only those people who contributed to these coffers, you would never have been elected because most people would probably choose to use their money more wisely. Therefore you are running a government whose funds come from both your supporters and the supporters of the opposition. This is because everyone, unfortunately, has to pay taxes irrespective of whether they are members of Barisan Nasional or not.

Are you still following me?

Good. Then you will now begin to appreciate that the money you have been entrusted with belongs not to you or your mates but to everyone in the country. It is not your personal money. It is the rakyat's money. It belongs to every Malaysian, even those who chose not to vote for your gang.

Are things becoming clearer now?

Therefore when you spend OUR money, you cannot be selective. If you feel you are able to allocate some funds for the betterment of the average citizen’s welfare, you must consider all citizens. You cannot select a few citizens to benefit from your misguided generosity based not on need but on your own whims and fancies. That is not the way things are supposed to work.

Otherwise it would be called ‘discrimination’, (or even bribery).

Yes, I know they are long words but let me try and explain by drawing you a simple analogy.

Just suppose you had, instead, said you were going to give out government ‘ang pows’ to only those Malaysians who agree to attend your eldest son’s wedding. What do you imagine the reaction to that decision would be?

Don’t you think all those people who declined the invitation to attend the wedding would feel a little disgruntled?

Do you get my drift?

Can you now see that what you have said is really inappropriate?

Using your own logic, what are those people who voted for your party in the last elections going to feel because they are caught in a constituency in which the opposition candidate got more votes and because of that they are being left out?

Do you think by ‘punishing’ those who voted for the opposition (and in so doing punishing your own supporters), will necessarily mean more votes for you next time around? Is that your logic?

Well, try this. Give everyone the benefit of development funds and perhaps everyone will vote for you next time. Or are you just simply unable to think outside the box?

Let’s Get Our Act Together

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Americk Sidhu

I have refrained from saying anything for some time now in the hope that matters would resolve themselves sooner rather than later. But this has not happened and I cannot see anything being done in the near future to rectify the situation. So consider this to be a much-needed prompt to PKR in particular and PR in general.

Please remember your successes in March 2008 were precipitated by the support of 50% of the voting population in this country who invested their future in you based on your promises of a better tomorrow for them and their children and their children’s children. Much work had to be done prior to the last GE to ensure you had a good opportunity of changing things for the better. Many people sacrificed much to ensure you had a fighting chance and with these sacrifices we gave you the mandate to begin the transformation of this nation. This is not something you should take lightly. It is a once in a lifetime deal not only for yourselves but for the entire diaspora of Malaysian citizenry, a great many of whom have placed a tremendous amount of trust in you to steer the Malaysian ship in the right direction and to rid the country of the cancerous malfeasance which has become endemic within the governing regime.

We want a brighter future and that is why we are all relying on you. That is why we supported your struggle and that is why we placed our trust in you. Do not let us down. You owe it to us to do the right thing and to do it now. We cannot afford to wait any longer to see how things develop (or be swept under the carpet in the hope they would be forgotten). That’s not how things are supposed to work in the new Malaysia we are trying to kick start. Reaction to a problem has to be immediate and decisive.

I have often enquired into the reason why Pakatan Rakyat had yet to form a Shadow Cabinet. I consider this fundamental and imperative in any opposition coalition worth its salt. It should have been set up from day one. We should have had a shadow Foreign Minister, a shadow Finance Minister, Defence Minister, etc., to monitor current government policy and to comment when necessary. We could have shown our political maturity by supporting good policy and hitting back at what we considered to be bad policy, but with our well thought out counter proposals.

Being in the opposition does not mean we have to incessantly hammer the government just to make life difficult for them. This is not a pub brawl. We should be able to use our heads a little and display some political sophistication in commenting intelligently on current government policy whether for or against it.

But we are unable to even begin doing this without a platform upon which we can work. At present what seems to happen is a mass slinging match every time some Government Minister makes a proposal, the purpose of which is to try and gain political mileage without any proper analysis of the merits of that proposal in a mature and appropriate way. Instead, all we get is a rabblerousing crowd of noisy Parliamentarians who are rewarded for their efforts by being ejected from the House not so infrequently. Admittedly there are times when this has been necessary and I concede that point.

When I questioned the lack of a Shadow Cabinet, this is the response I received:

“Well you know lah…it’s not like in Australia where there is funding for all this shadow stuff….here we have to do it all on our own. And besides, how do you expect us to set up a Shadow Cabinet….who will we place in it? If we place one fella, someone else will make noise and there will be internal fights between the parties and all that. So better we just leave it and sort it out once we get into government”.

My answer to this is very simple. How much does it cost to have a shadow Minister? All he has to do is monitor what is being planned on the other side of the fence and make a stand. If there is no funding just make the best of the situation. It is better than doing nothing at all.

Secondly, if you are unable to reach a consensus as to who is supposed to be a Minister in waiting when you are not yet in government, how on earth do you think this will get any easier once you are?

You have to prove to the people that you really are a “Government in Waiting” and that you will be able to hit the ground running once you take over. This is serious stuff and we need to know you are serious about this whole thing.

Which brings me to the recent PKR party elections?

Evidence has been presented that the polls were rigged. I am still waiting for an explanation from somewhere within the hierarchy. None has been forthcoming. If there was no rigging please come out and say so in no uncertain terms. Keeping quiet and hoping the issue will go away on its own is Barisan Nasional behavior. They have the monopoly on sweeping things under the carpet. This is NOT what the opposition is supposed to be about. Remember this transparency thing being bandied about?

Well the situation appears to be a little opaque at the moment. I for one would like to know whether the voting process was really democratic or was engineered to suit the wishes of those in power. I don’t know the answer. I have heard the accusations but I have not heard the rebuttal. What am I supposed to think?

And because of all this, both PKR and PR have lost one of their most loyal sons upon whom much hope had been placed. There was really no reason for this to have happened. Instead, sour grapes and Trojan horses have permeated the battlefield. This, however, is a battle which never should have begun in the first place if things had been done properly. It is a battle no one will win. What a waste. It is not a question of being a sore loser because Zaid wasn’t losing. From my reading of the situation, he was totally unimpressed with the way things were being done, which ran contrary to the basic principles of fair play; a supposed cornerstone of all that you stood for. Can you blame him? It boils down to a question of principles. Nevertheless I live in hope that bridges may be mended.

Accepting criticism is part and parcel of politics. Accept it, take it on board, digest it, assimilate it and then act on it in an appropriate manner. Logical and pragmatic thought processes are imperative if you want to out manoeuver the enemy. Strategic planning is absolutely essential and this can only be achieved if it is devoid of emotion, chicanery and unnecessary rhetorical posturing.

Just remember you have all been elected to do one job and one job only. That is to wrest power from the government and to ensure that you run this country as promised. This is what we have entrusted you with. It is a formidable undertaking but certainly achievable with the right frame of mind and proper policies put into place.

Which brings me to the “Peoples’ Declaration” (see link below) painstakingly prepared a number of years ago by some very eminent personalities which I thought had been the blueprint for the entire opposition structure. Why are we not constantly referred to this very important document to remind us where we are heading and why we are heading there? Why has this document never been ratified by the opposition coalition?

Please read its contents. You will understand why it is so important. It is basically the constitution upon which the entire opposition philosophy is supposed to be based and we don’t ever hear of it. This I find very strange indeed. Shouldn’t it be the blueprint for all opposition policy?

So let’s get our act together. There is no time to waste. I know deep down inside you are good people but you have to manifest this constantly in a format easily understandable by the masses. Consistently sound and basic ideals have to be portrayed in a fashion that leaves no doubt in the minds of the populace that what you preach is what you practice.

Please take all of this on board in the spirit in which it is written. Accept the criticism for the purpose it is intended and that is to ensure the right path is adhered to and that the aims and aspirations of all those who support you are maintained and perpetuated for the common purpose of creating a much better Malaysia. We deserve this so don’t let us down.