Malaysians! It’s now or never!
REPRODUCED below is the content of an email being
circulated by Malaysians:
2013: Time For A New Government
By Tommy Thomas, a Senior Lawyer
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.”
William Shakespeare
“Julius Caesar”
Act IV iii 215
Imagine
Britain being governed by the same political party, say, Labour, for 55
successive years from 1957. Or the United States by the Republican party for
the same continuous, unbroken period. That has been Malaysia’s fate since
Merdeka. The 13th General Elections, which must be held before 28th June 2013,
gives Malaysians an opportunity to break free from the monopoly of political
power exercised by UMNO, first, in the guise of Alliance and subsequently as
Barisan Nasional.
UMNO
Dominance
The 5 years between the 12th General Elections in March 2008
and the 13th have been a watershed period in post-independent Malaysia because
of the establishment of a truly functioning 2 party system, with a strong
opposition capable of forming the next government. But it took half a century
for our nation to accomplish this stage of democratic development. Like many
peoples of nations emerging from colonial rule in the Third World, Malaysians
were very grateful to the Alliance party, led by Prime Minister Tunku
Abdul Rahman, for gaining independence from the
British.
The reservoir of goodwill for nationalist independence
fighters greatly assisted UMNO in the early decades. Race, which the colonial
power had exploited in its divide and rule policy, became the singular
fundamental feature of Malaysian politics since Merdeka, reflected at the
centre by the Alliance coalition comprising UMNO, MCA and MIC, each
representing a specific race, and expected to pursue the interests of its
ethnic constituency.
In the early days, UMNO acted as the elder brother, with a
semblance of contribution from its junior siblings, MCA and MIC. But there was
never a question of parity. After the National Operations Council (NOC) through
its Director, Tun Razak assumed actual power in the wake of the 13th May 1969
riots (which itself was a coup de’ etat against the continued leadership of
Tunku), UMNO’s ascendency and dominance were never questioned. Hence the
practical reality since the early 1970’s is that Barisan
is actually UMNO, and major decisions affecting the nation are more
often than not taken in the inner recesses of UMNO, rather than the
Cabinet.
Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power in the Iranian Revolution of 1979
resulted in an Islamic resurgence across the globe. It had its influence in
Malaysia by the mid-1980’s when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir decided to outflank
PAS by taking up Islam as a political idealogy and weapon. Thus, UMNO added
religion to race, a powerful emotive cocktail in a plural society. Race or
religion infects nearly every decision made by UMNO, and the state
apparatus controlled by it. It will therefore not be an understatement to
describe race and religion as the fundamental elements of modern Malaysian
politics.
Perhaps
the most unacceptable consequence of a lengthy rule by UMNO is its control over all the nation’s public
institutions, like the media, the universities, the civil service and the
police. Length of governance creates rulers who believe they have a
divine right to rule, that, there is no longer any difference between the
nation state and the ruling party – they become inseparable. Thus, UMNO has
behaved as if its interests are identical with that of Malaysia.
When genuine support for UMNO ebbed over time, a climate of
fear was developed, with the spectre of May 13th repeated time and time again
to intimidate and frighten the electorate, especially the older generation and
non-Malays. The success of Pakatan in depriving Barisan of the much
vaunted 2/3 majority in Parliament, winning 10 out of 11 Parliamentary seats in
Kuala Lumpur, and capturing power in 5 states in March 2008 forever demolished
the myth of UMNO’s invincibility. Even if ethnic based politics played a role
in securing Merdeka and governing an infant nation, they have long outlived
their use, and should be jettisoned. The next stage in Malaysia’s evolving
democracy is a change of national government. As night follows day, it will
inevitably happen.
Deepak
The Deepak saga currently
hogging the internet media, which has for all practical purposes became the
mainstream media for millions of Malaysians disgusted with the putrid reporting
of newspapers, epitomises the depths to which our public life has descended:
only a basket nation like Zimbabwe can provide an adequate parallel. Here is an
absolutely unknown businessman of a minority ethnic group without any known
institutional support mocking the Prime Minister and his wife for over 1 month
without anyone from UMNO defending them.
One would have thought that such repeated public criticism
of UMNO’s President constitute a direct challenge to the entire party, which in
the past was always met with a stinging rebuttal from UMNO, and thereafter by
the full might of the state. One only needs to recall strident calls just
months ago to revoke the citizenship of Ambiga Sreenevasan, also a member of the same
minority ethnic group, when she bravely led Bersih’s
legitimate struggle for electoral return.
Original Bersih 3 Rally 2012 pic replaced with
this KL112 pic
What must be kept in mind about Deepak’s allegations is
their gravity : after all it concerns the barbarous
murder of a Mongolian mother visiting
her alleged lover in Kuala Lumpur, and its cover-up. The critical issue in her
murder — who gave the instructions to the 2 patsies
to C-4 her has never been
investigated, and the perpetrators have never been charged. A society that does
not allow the most thorough, independent and professional investigation leading
to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of Altantuya’s actual murderers
forfeits all claim to be a decent, law-abiding society. It is no coincidence
that such brazen conduct takes place in a society where the political leaders
have governed for half a century, and have treated the nation and its
institutions like their private property, and its electorate with contempt. Accountability,
integrity and truth are lost values in our society.
Even the establishment’s response to Deepak’s blackmail has
been striking : since his private debt has to be settled, a company which
purports to look after the interest of armed forces servicemen has been
directed to bail him out. What has been totally disregarded is the corporate
governance question : how are the interests of this company, its shareholders
and creditors served by this transaction? Because UMNO controls the management
of hundreds of companies, the distinction between UMNO’s interests and the
interests of such companies is blurred. Seldom in history is Lord Acton’s acute
comment “Power corrupts, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely” more apt than in contemporary Malaysia.
Governing
Malaysia
It is often argued by
UMNO apologists that on a relative basis, Malaysia is prosperous. The response
should be: with which country are we being compared to? If we are compared to
Burma, Nigeria or Columbia, yes, we are flourishing. But surely, any comparison
should be with countries with equivalent standing, that is, our peers. South
Korea and Malaysia were victims of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Indeed,
South Korea received IMF assistance in 1998. But 15 years later, by every
measure, South Korea has surpassed Malaysian by leaps and bounds. Whether in
heavy industry, ship-building or technology, South Korea is absolutely
world-class: think Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Likewise, its democratic
traditions.
Hence, the best way to describe the management of Malaysia’s
economy is that despite poor and misguided policies that have impinged on
business, Malaysia has thrived because of natural resources and the industry,
initiative and inherent business skills of its people, especially those in the
SMEs. Corruption and nepotism have caused leakages in the billions. If Tan Siew Sin had
remained as Malaysia’s Finance Minister for these 55 years, his prudent
stewardship would have saved, I suggest, at least 1 trillion ringgit.
A nation’s greatest asset is its people : human capital.
UMNO’s brilliant policies have driven away 1½ to 2
million Malaysians with their skills and talents enjoyed by other
nations, and in return, we have attracted 4 to 5 million immigrants (legal and
illegal) to keep our country “cheap” and to depress the wages of our labour.
What a great exchange! Just to cite 1 illustration of the
loss to Malaysia and benefit to other nations : if all Malaysian citizens were
to immediately leave Singapore, and return to Malaysia, Singapore will be
seriously affected.
A
Pakatan Government?
It is often asked: we accept UMNO’s weaknesses, but better
the devil you know; can we trust Pakatan to govern better. The short answer is
that in a proper functioning 2 party system we shall have an opportunity in 4
to 5 years to throw them out at the 14th General Elections. A nation is always
better served when governments alternate regularly: after all, that is the
raison d’etre of genuine free and fair general elections.
But the better answer is to consider the actual track record
of the 5 Pakatan State Governments from 2008. Even detractors accept Lim Guan
Eng has led Penang superbly, and should be entrusted with national leadership.
Likewise, Selangor.
Proponents of “big development” criticize the PAS style of
leadership in Kelantan and Kedah: what is disregarded in this analysis is that
their soft, gentle and slow style receives support from their electorate. Nizar
Jamaluddin was a fantastic Menteri Besar in Perak, and his administration was
already making waves in the first year, which resulted in the UMNO orchestrated
coup d’etat. Even a cursory consideration of the Pakatan performance as
administrators of 5 states will establish that they are fair, reasonable and, most importantly, not corrupt.
Can the same be said of the other state governments ruled by
UMNO?
When one also takes into account heavy-weight politicians of
the standing and experience of Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang, Lim Kit Siang and Karpal
Singh being given senior Cabinet positions, the ship of state will be in very
safe and capable hands.
Anwar Ibrahim will be sworn in as
Malaysia’s 7th Prime Minister when Pakatan is elected. In a public life exceeding 30 years, Anwar had had his
detractors. But it must be remembered that he was a very successful Finance
Minister for some 5 years, even earning accolades from Mrs Thatcher. He was
equally a very successful Deputy Prime Minister; indeed, so successful that his
boss had to remove him in 1998! Being in the political wilderness for 15 years,
and having suffered the humility of prosecution, persecution, conviction and a
long jail sentence can only have humbled him. Dr. Mahathir and UMNO have been
obsessive, and have used the might of the state to prevent Anwar from assuming
power. But the Malaysian electorate is the final arbiter. Malaysians should
therefore look forward with confidence to his Prime Ministership. We hope his
government will take race-free, religion-free and
colour-blind decisions.
The one person in Malaysia who cannot accept Anwar becoming
Prime Minister is Dr Mahathir, who can only judge people by his (Dr M)
own values and standards. Consequently, Dr Mahathir expects an Anwar
administration to settle scores, particularly against him and his family. He
may be proved wrong. What is to say that rather than wasting the time, energy
and resources of the State in investigating and prosecuting Dr Mahathir and his
cohorts in what may be perceived as political vendetta, Anwar may appoint a
“Truth and Reconciliation” Royal Commission, modeled along Nelson Mandela’s
post-apartheid South Africa, with a mandate to discover the truth (rather that
punishing wrongdoers) as a means of reconciling the nation, and moving forward
to meet fresh challenges.
If the majority of Malaysians accept that a change of
government is imperative and cast their ballots in the forthcoming general
elections, it will happen. Pious people should also seek divine intervention.
With God’s blessing, Malaysia should finally leave the yolk of one party rule
by the middle of this year. Millions cannot wait for it to happen soon enough.
Wow !!! Thanks Mr Thomas, you
have written so beautifully, truthfully,and honestly, taking the very
words that are in our hearts,and explaining so clearly to all of us.
Thanks again.
