Written by a Malay for the malays. What does this say about Msia? Can we as a country rise up and solve this very real problem?

The sickening political scenario of Malaysia

Amir Husni | Feb 6, 09 4:57pm

The unfolding political scenario in Perak has exposed how low the moral values of our politicians can get. They are supposed to lead the country by example. How can we, as the rakyat, have faith and trust in these unscrupulous, tainted and corrupted leaders to better our future generations? Anwar Ibrahim wanted to upstage the federal government on Sept 16, 2008 through ‘party hopping’ but failed. This itself is morally wrong for the members of Parliament (MPs) are elected by therakyat and power is not in their hands but in the rakyat’s. They were elected to serve and uphold the elected party’s principles and constitution. Anwar should have fought for a dissolution of parliament and get the rakyat to decide. If he couldn’t then just wait for the 13th general election. DSAI should have learned from history that it took 15 years for Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini to lead the Iranian Muslim Revolution to power while Nelson Mandela needed over 20 years to eventually become the president of South Africa. A strong regime and the continuity of its existence can’t be built on a weak foundation. The coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP is still in its infancy stage, and the Almighty has given them five states for them to put their philosophy right before they can form the next federal government on a firm footing. DSAI must not rush things, for his eagerness and enthusiasm has resulted in himself being exposed to unwarranted tragedies, such as a second sodomy charge and many other unnecessary episodes which may be planned to silence him. The opposition coalition has to sort out their differences and come out with a concrete ‘all for one and one for all’ principle that will entice Malaysian voters into their fold. Malaysians are looking for alternatives and the opposition has proven beyond doubt that they are one based on the Pernatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu by-elections, but this has to be cemented on a firm foundation to weather down the BN onslaught. Currently, the BN government is at its weakest point in their history. Their leaders are involved in infighting for party posts which will pre-decide who should contest and who should not. The selection of candidates for by-elections is determined high-up in the hierarchy and not through a bottom up selection. Money politics, corruption accusations and unwarranted high-profile court cases are the norm. The manipulation of the courts’ judgements can be seen by even the layman as if they are a script for a movie. In addition, cronyism, nepotism and abuses of power are some other faults to be highlighted. Some of these accusations in statutory declarations were never denied nor were these ‘whistle- blowers’ sued. The worst is the fact that some these whistle-blowers went missing and disappeared; in one case, an entire family. Racial polarisation has reached its pinnacle; the Kugan case is a classic example where a particular ethnic group of the population is marginalised, which in turn resulted in the youngsters of this ethnic group roaming the streets being involved in gangsterism and underground elements. The eradication of poverty should be an issue for all Malaysian and the BN government has failed to address this. Felda and other means of land development and deployment should be opened to all Malaysians to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. As President Obama told the Americans, that there should be food on every American table irrespective of their skin colour. Polls have indicated the unpopularity of Abdullah Ahmad Badaw and Najib Razak whilst giving the thumbs up for Anwar for the choice of premiership. The support for BN from the Chinese and Indians are dwindling and even so amongst the Malays. The above facts are more than enough for PR to sweep into power come the 13th general election. BN has a multi-series of ‘back lanes’ to clean up in order to garner the rakyat’s support. If they continue with their current type of approach and policy, they may find these ‘back lanes’ infested with their own corpses. Abdullah and Najib who helm Umno and lead the BN have demonstrated poor behaviour for their willingness to accept tainted politicians (pending court trials) and defecting politicians back to their fold? Does Umno lack credible politicians? Or are the four in the Perak sage pawns in a high drama political game? Are the Malays, who are also synonymous to the Muslim faith, willing to compromise the principles of their core faith ? Abdullah has even defined leadership quality through his ‘Islam Hadhari’ but is now making a mockery out of it. Even Dr Mahathir Mohamad has spoken wisely and advised the Umno leadership not to take in the two defecting PR politicians because of their impending corruption charges. In addition, these three defectors are of a poor educational background, who have risen to power merely through the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ticket. This is food for thought for both BN and PR. One must remember that ‘only good seeds produce good trees’. The takeover of the Perak government by BN will not result in any drastic change in BN’s management style due to their status quo policy. It is going to be the same cold soup served in a different bowl. They may even borrow PRs’ watch and tell the time. But the 13th general election will be the playground for PR to remind the voters and that election will be a disaster for the BN-led government in Perak. Najib is only anxious to popularise himself in the eyes of the Umno supreme council for Umno’s lacklustre performance in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu. But hold your breath, for it is the rakyat who will decide the future of BN government not the Umno supreme council. It is anticipated that BN will lose badly in Perak in the coming general election; the price they have to pay for this undemocratic coup. An interesting scenario will be to see what will happen if PR manages to get the right numbers to re-form the Perak government in the near future? Will the sultan act in the way he has acted now? This episode will not end unless an anti-hopping law is introduced to declare a seat vacant once an elected representative switches party or declares himself as an ‘independent’ or resigns. Whatever it is, what has happened in Perak is truly undemocratic and it is not the way the rakyat should be treated. A wise approach must be made to uphold Malaysian democratic values for us to march forward as a developed nation. As it is now, the Vision 2020 target is just a dream because our leaders possess low moral values and integrity. Can we unite as Malaysians? Will it ever be possible?