Politician long term non-committal relationship

The ‘five-year hitch’
Mariam Mokhtar
June 1, 2013

Many couples go through a seven year itch; a “rough patch” in their marriage, caused by boredom, when some spouses desire the freedom of being single again.

 

In Malaysia, one can recognise the least productive and incapable BN politician by his “Five-Year Hitch”; the time frame needed to implement the tasks they promised to complete if they were to win GE-13.

 

Interestingly, these politicians have chosen an interval of five years, which is when the GE-14 would be called. The rakyat can see through the politicians’ tricks and yet, the Election Commission (EC) has denied claims that the electoral system would mean BN would rule in perpetuity. These politicians have not shown evidence that they are capable of carrying out their tasks, but they are already canvassing for re-election in five years time, in GE-14.

 

Despite the promises they made when campaigning for GE-13, they have already come up with excuses. They have learnt from their mentor, the leader of Umno-Baru, Najib Tun Razak, that words speak louder than actions and the best phrase is “You help me, I help you.” This year has yet to see the usual Malaysian election phenomenon, when turncoat politicians – “frogs” cross over to the ‘other’ side. They will probably make their moves soon.

 

Men who have lied to the rakyat, now have very senior roles in the Cabinet. Some of these men were not elected by the rakyat but secured a place in the Cabinet through deceit. Others who were once guilty of money politics, now draw a salary which is paid for by the taxpayer. Both these sorts of men, have one thing in common; they are in charge of policies which will affect the rakyat.

 

The first to make his debut performance, barely two weeks after GE-13, was Hindraf’s P Waythamoorthy, a deputy minister in the Prime minister’s Department (PMD). After his hunger strike, which he used to embarrass and weaken the opposition, Waythamoorthy announced that he would need five years to resolve the issue of stateless Indians. He made it clear that Hindraf had a mechanism to solve the problem and yet declined to give details. Does a plan even exist?

 

Is Waythamoorthy’s time to be spent resolving only the issue of the stateless Indian? In the five years that Waythamoorthy claims he will need to resolve the problem of the 300,000 stateless Indian, a few hundred thousand people from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, Myanmar or Indonesia will have become fully fledged Malaysian citizens, without any problems.

 

Does Waythamoorthy realise that many Orang Asli, Penan and other indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak are also stateless? These people cannot afford the long and expensive journey to town to register the births of their children. These people are also denied education, health and other benefits.

 

Illegitimate children of Muslim parents are also disenfranchised and might as well be considered stateless. They cannot attend school, or have a passport or enjoy the benefits all children should be entitled to. Waythamoorthy should remove his blinkers and champion all needy people, regardless of their ethnic origin.

 

Patriotism and pride

 

The magic ‘five years’ of inactivity was mentioned again, the following week. This time, the International Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Mustapa Mohamed announced that the government would reduce car prices by 20 – 30 per cent, in five years.

 

He said that the consequences of reducing excise duty and car prices would have a detrimental effect on jobs and that many businesses would have to shut. He warned Malaysians of the increased traffic on roads and the need to build more roads with tolls.

 

What he was trying to say was that Umno-Baru has no intention of helping the rakyat now or ever. What is more important is to continue propping up crony businesses and their lifestyles. The taxpayer’s money is used to bail-out and prop-up the failing Proton.

 

The hardest hit are the poor, who need a vehicle to move around. Cars are not cheap, petrol prices are rising and there is no efficient public transportation system. Most of the income of the poorer families is spent servicing debts.

 

The decline in probity of Najib’s Cabinet gained momentum when Paul Low, the minister in the PMD said that it was not necessary to form an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). He claimed that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) could be used to lodge complaints against police.

 

He appears to have dismissed the views made the previous week by the former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad, who had questioned the capability of EAIC to handle complaints related to enforcement officers and the misconduct of government agencies.

 

The decline of our political class started when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was accepted back into the Umno fold, in the 70s by Abdul Razak Hussein, the second prime minister.

 

Mahathir changed the face of Malaysian politics. Older Malaysians recall the time when Mahathir was the Education Minister. He exerted greater control over the universities, he promoted the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) or National Civics Training Bureau series of training modules to further divide the nation. He claimed they instilled patriotism and pride.

 

Forty years ago, Mahathir curbed political activity, in campuses. To this day, students may not be involved in politics. If they fail to toe the line, they will suffer severe recriminations and the denial of assistance in education. Today, student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim is trying to reverse Mahathir’s evil legacy.

 

Stolen votes

 

Mahathir accelerated the moral decay of our political class and forced a drop in values in the rakyat. He is guilty of making Malaysians think that the only way to riches, is to get into politics, rather than to value hard work and be responsible. The nation had a chance to restore its self-respect and reinstate the integrity of its government. They voted for the opposition coalition in GE-13, but their votes were stolen.

 

Mahathir created a class of politicians who lack integrity and breeding. They have no respect for public service and they do not know the meaning of honour. Mahathir’s legacy lives on in Najib. If we want to restore our authority and make this nation great again, GE-14 is not the answer.

 

Umno-Baru is preparing to cheat again in GE-14, they will never relinquish power, willingly. The solution is to get rid of Umno-Baru now, while the rakyat still has the momentum for change.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

GE13 - the soluble indelible ink

i was one of the earliest to arrive at the polling center in sek keb pandan perdana. having heard so much of the indelible ink, i was ready to be proudly marked and stayed glorified for at least a week.

by the time i casted my vote, i was done by 8.25am. walking out and greeting friends in queues on my way out and having some light chats. was home by 8.45am and out of curiousity, washed my finger to see if the ink really do stayed on.

first attempt using hand lotion and to my surprise, most of it came off. decided to take a picture of the first wash. made another attempt but this time using stronger detergent (WIN dishwasher with lemon) and a rough sponge to run over it.

here's the result.

                        after first wash using hand lotion                       after second wash using stronger detergent



Masking of population

Magician at play

Spare us the sham diatribe

by Mariam Mokhtar (11-12-12) @www.malaysiakini.com

 

Faith, like strength, comes from within. When opposition MP Nurul Izzah Anwar made reference to the Quranic verse which states that there should be no compulsion in religion, UMNO politicians, with feigned indignation, projected themselves as defenders of the faith. Cranked-up by Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian, the nation became fired up with what Nurul did, or did not say.

 

To claim that all UMNO politicians are illiterate would be wrong; but their refusal to participate in intelligent discourse leaves one with the following conclusions; UMNO think debates will fuel heresy, that to express an opinion is treacherous and to be sceptical is a sin.

 

UMNO politicians are trying their utmost to discredit Nurul, but failing miserably and making themselves look ridiculous in the process. They have bastardised the Malay language and now they are saying that the Surah al-Baqarah verse 2:256, which Nurul was referring to, is wrong. Perhaps, UMNO was referring to their version of Islam – UMNO’s Islam.

 

If Article 11 of the constitution guarantees every citizen religious freedom, why should Malays be excluded? Are Malays not citizens of Malaysia? After this religious debacle, Bung Mokhtar Radin is beginning to look like one of the most sensible UMNO politicians.

 

If Malays loathe the awkward definition that religion equates to ethnicity, then let’s return to the drawing board and correct this puerile approach. This writer knows enough people who fit the description of being a Malay, by virtue of their upbringing amongst a Malay community, except that they are staunch Catholics. By the same token, there are many who were born Malay, but who are an embarrassment to both the Malay race and Islam.

 

UMNO politicians, including its patriarch Mahathir, have an infinite capacity to divide the rakyat and their manipulation of Nurul’s statement serves two purposes; first, to distract the country from the allegations of corruption and crime linked to UMNO; second, to waste Nurul’s and her colleagues’ time, in defending her.

 

With the media maelstrom and the witch-hunt, we are diverted from the real purpose of rooting out corruption and the other ills associated with UMNO. The people – UMNO politicians, VVIPs and UMNO sympathisers – who have cast the first stone at Nurul, are laughable. Their criticisms range from accusations of encouraging apostasy to maligning Islam, and the destruction of the Malay race. They have demanded an apology or a retraction of her statement.

 

If people are scornful of Islam, it is the UMNO politicians who are responsible; they condone corruption, injustice and debauchery. They treat people of other faiths with contempt. They discredit other businesses so that their halal foods can gain a foothold. These UMNO politicians wear religion on their sleeves but have ignored the true teachings of Islam.

 

Stealth op to erode Malay values

 

UMNO is responsible for the destruction of the Malays, and for four decades, it has waged a stealth operation to erode Malay values.

 

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad touted his often declared “the decadent west” line, to discredit Nurul. The usual Jewish or Soros scapegoats cannot be used this time, as they have been ridden hard and put away wet. The bogeyman needs a rest between outings.

 

Despite his role as the Minister in charge of national security, Hishammuddin Hussein , the Home Minister, fanned the flames of public anger, instead of dousing the rising tensions in the rakyat. He talked about Nurul being insensitive but he treated Malays like imbeciles when he said, “The victims in this matter are the young who could get confused over the question of religious belief with the statement (Nurul’s).”

 

No one is confused by UMNO’s ulterior motive. Another opportunist is the chairperson of Gerakan Masyarakat Prihatin Meru, Jaya Kusuma Rosman, who found it convenient to use Nurul as a scapegoat when he said, she “should be responsible should there be Malays who leave Islam as a result of her statement”. Where was Jaya when poverty-stricken Malays were declined assistance by the government, but were given a lifeline by Christian charities?

 

Last week, UMNO was like a beached whale, floundering for answers; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz’s unhealthy relationship with Michael Chia, Chia’s largesse towards Nazri’s son Nadim and the alleged corruption of RM40 million, involving Musa Aman, the Chief Minister of Sabah and Sabah UMNO chief, are still unresolved.

 

The difficulties experienced by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for the Chia case, were also faced by India’s Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) and the Indian Supreme Court in New Delhi. Last Friday, an online paper claimed that the Malaysian government would not cooperate and allow the CBI access to T Ananda Krishnan’s bank details.

 

The controversial acquisition of Indian telco Aircel, by Krishnan’s Maxis Communications Berhad, was allegedly sweetened with a RM351 million bribe to former Indian Telecommunications Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother.

 

Reasoning is beyond the capacity of most UMNO politicians. Islam, like other great religions, has a lot to teach us but its teachings are lost on UMNO politicians and UMNO Malays.

 

A person’s devotion cannot be measured by his public display of adherence to the religion. This is similar to UMNO’s warped belief that one’s patriotism equates with the number of Malaysian flags one flies outside one’s home, place of work, shop and vehicle.

 

Justice, UMNO style

 

Malaysians are intimidated by UMNO’s tactics. A bad word breathed about the country, VVIPs or its leaders, lands the individual in trouble. Justice, UMNO style is like kindergarten children finding the right peg to fit into the correct hole. If one charge doesn’t fit, try another.

 

How one practises one’s religion is a private matter. If UMNO’s version of Islam considers rituals more important than its teachings, or if force is considered necessary, then it is no better than worshiping a lump of rock. The descent of Umno into a criminal organisation with the enforcement agencies turning a blind eye to its many evils is a most heinous crime.

 

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wants Malaysians to emulate America and vote UMNO for continuity. American leaders do not cling onto power for more than two terms in office. After 55 years, we still argue over the ethnicity and religion of the leader of the country. In Malaysia, it is not the best man or woman for the job, but who has most money to pay everybody off to keep the incumbent in power.

 

The Malays are at a crossroads and instead of acting on what the Prophet (pbuh) said, such as “God helps those who help themselves”, many Malays procrastinate and would rather God decide their future; “Tuhan saja yang tahu (God is all seeing), “Tuhan akan balas di Neraka” (God will dispense justice in Hell).

 

The situation in Malaysia and in UMNO is dire. Religious bullies run riot, as in the Nik Raina-Borders case, and distract the nation from the real causes of this country’s problems. The Malays should seize the bull by the horns and in the upcoming UMNO general assembly, pass a no-confidence motion on the entire cabinet.

 

Don’t let these sideshows distract you from the real issues such as Nazri Aziz and Sabah UMNO’s RM40 million, the Scorpene submarines, the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal and the Automated Enforcement Syatem (AES).