Ladies and Gentlemen,Thank you for your invitation for me to speak today. When I acceptedyour kind offer, I was ‘party-less’. But things have now changed. Ihave drawn my line in the sand. And I have chosen sides. Today, I am aproud member of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Today I am persuaded by the argument that for Malaysia to havedemocracy and the Rule of Law, we must have a new government; a viableinclusive government of the people; a government for all Malaysians.
Today I am dedicated to the cause of securing the success of PartiKeadilan and Pakatan Rakyat, and ensuring that it galvanises the besttalents and ideas to form a robust alternative Malaysian politicalforce to lead the nation, to deliver true integration and nationhood.
Ladies and Gentlemen,This country was established as a secular multicultural andmulti-religious democracy ala the Westminster model. The Constitutionhowever provides for a special position for the Malays and natives ofSabah and Sarawak . They unfortunately omitted to include the OrangAsli in this special category, although they were naturally the firstoriginal inhabitants of this country.
All they got was a Jabatan OrangAsli. The special provisions for Bumiputras under Article 153 do notmake them more special than other citizens, for the fighters ofindependence did not envisage an Orwellian societywhere some are moreequal than others. The acceptance of equality of rights as citizens iscentral to the success of our Malaysian journey.
When the PM announced his 1 Malaysia slogan, I asked if that meant hewould make a declaration that all Malaysians are equal. The answer wasnot forthcoming till today. All he said was rights must be understoodin the context of responsibilities. Another fuzzy reply. When criticsasked if 1 Malaysia meant that the cultural characteristics of thediverse racial groups would be assimilated to a new design called 1Malaysia , he quickly denied that it was an assimilation plan.
So therefore I assume that 1 Malaysia is an affirmation of the rights ofALL the citizens under the Constitution, an affirmation of themulticultural and multi- religious nature of our country; and that theprinciples of Rukun Negara will continue to be the mainstay of oursociety.
My detractors say that my views are fodder for the egos andinsecurities of those who detest the constitutional position of theMalays. They say I work too hard at being a Malaysian and by doing so,have forgotten my roots and responsibilities to the Malays.
And thatno right thinking Malay, who truly understands what is at stake, wouldever support me. I know my heritage, I know my humble beginnings, andI know my roots and my responsibilities as a Malay. They are wrong. Tothem, let me say this.
UMNO — being hidden in a cave for so long and concealed from the realworld — have almost abandoned the idea of a shared and commonnationhood.
They believe that for so long as the MCA and the MICremain with them as partners of convenience, that is sufficient tobuild a nation. They think it’s sufficient to forge a new nation byelectoral arrangements. The MCA and the MIC also think it’s sufficientfor nationhood if they remain business partners of UMNO.
A new united Malaysia can only come true when UMNO changes andabandons racial politics and the politics of racial hegemony. Or, whenthe Malays can be made to understand that patronage, authoritarianismand nationalist extremism, which underpins UMNO’s style of leadership,does more harm to the community and the country than good.
That Malaysthemselves must break from the shackles of narrow nationalism so thatthey may realise self-actualisation and emancipation. The first isdifficult to achieve but I take it as my responsibility to try andachieve the second.
Let me now get into the subject of the speech by giving you anunderstanding about how UMNO ticks. This, to me, is critical in orderfor you to appreciate what hope we have for the preservation of theRule of Law and Democracy in Malaysia .
At the heart of UMNO’s philosophy on leadership is a conviction thatthere is an inherent, almost ‘divine’ right to retain power at allcosts. This is so for two reasons: Firstly, because they assume thatthey are the only political force, by way of Barisan Nasional, tooffer a workable power-sharing leadership of this nation.And secondly, because they believe that the Malay hegemony that UMNOmaintains is necessary to prevent the Malays from becoming marginalised.
It is these beliefs that are at the centre of UMNO’sself-indulgent sense of indispensability and self-importance that istoday causing them to steer the nation to an authoritarian rule. It isthis sense of self-importance that is accountable for theauthoritarianism in leadership and government.
It is this that hashelped justify in their minds their right to quell anyone whothreatens the status quo, whether it be a group of politicians oractivists protesting against abuses in government, or a group ofIndians protesting against their treatment and lack of opportunities,or a previous deputy prime-minister who was no longer in step with the‘Big Boss’. It does not matter. Self-preservation demands expedienceat all costs to resolve any impending threat.
But there is more. Since the hegemony is protected by policies thatbenefit the elites and other powerful forces, this sense ofself-importance becomes even more dangerous. Because it justifies whyreal checks and balances against governmental abuses can be done awaywith. It justifies trampling on fundamental safeguards in the FederalConstitution in the last 20 years.But there is more.
If you are on the cause of preserving the rights ofthe elites, the oligarchs, then it brings you no shame to have aformer UMNO lawyer as Chief Justice; in fact, you become proud of thatachievement. Even if the Attorney General had committed many errors inthe discharge of his functions and duties, a well-known fact amongstthe legal fraternity, you will not change him; nor would you changethe Chief Of Police despite so many reports of transgressionscommitted by him.
All for the ‘Malay cause’ they would say! And if youare on the Bench writing your judgement on the Perak fiasco; you cantailor it to suit your master’s political interests, and you will belauded for that. The ‘Malay Cause’ is everything. The Constitution canwait; sound legal reasoning can wait, justice can wait.But there is more.
Many in UMNO see the hegemony as a ‘be all and end all’, with thepower sharing between component parties as being a means to an end.Ketuanan Melayu, a mantra of Malay supremacy, has gained groundinstead of receding over time. More accurately it is Ketuanan ElitMelayu as the majority of the Malays have found out to their dismay.What is the price that we ultimately pay as a nation, if thispernicious doctrine is embraced by many?
Clearly to start with, wewould continue to be cursed with a non-transparent government withoutthe capability of functioning in a way that respects the rule of law.We will be cursed by having laws that oppress, that curtail andsuffocate the basic freedoms of the people. We now have a set of rulesfor the elites and one for the rakyat, one for Barisan Nasional andone for Pakatan Rakyat.
If the public believes that the government is not beholden to a set ofcommonly revered values and principles, and its actions are tainted byracial biases, there will continue to be physical and emotionalsegregation of communities, regardless of how may times we change theslogans to break such divisiveness.
The notion of creating a free anddemocratic Malaysia therefore becomes unachievable.The ultimate price that the country suffers from the present politicalculture is that the Malays and non-Malays will continue to be denied asense of ownership of Malaysia ’s nation-building journey.
And insteadof become partners in this voyage to mature nationhood they continueto bicker and remain suspicious and distrustful of one another.Because of this segregation, the government is unable to set a newdirection of the country. Because of racial polarization the peopleare not ready to accept a multiracial dimension of this country. As aresult, we are not able to enact or even discuss comprehensivenational policies whether it is regarding the police, education orjudicial and civil service reforms .
The distrust of the communitieswill prevent objective appraisals and solutions to the problems.Ethnic interests take precedence over national interests. Nationalinterests become a strange and fearful concept. And there willcontinue to be a brain drain of Malaysian talents who would havedecided that they would rather make their home elsewhere. This is ahigh price that the country can ill-afford to pay given theincreasingly challenging global outlook.
Authoritarianism, patronage, and nationalist extremism from anyquarter destroy the key ingredients necessary for the Malaysiancommunity to really build on and retain that wealth and knowledge.Competitiveness and true economic and scholastic success, is afunction of instilling in the hearts and minds of beneficiaries a setof new behaviours, around the capacity and desire to take personalaccountability, to trust one another, to be achievement oriented, todevelop a sense of curiousity, a sense a solidarity that go beyondyour own ethnic clans and groups; so that together, we are to be ableto build this country.
We must do away with unprincipled politics,with Machiavellian methods, but instead seek to change with reformsthat encourage the development of a viable democracy and a prosperouscountry for all.The government says it hopes to amend up to 33 laws, which involvediscretionary powers to the Home minister, beginning with thecontroversial Internal Security Act (ISA), in the next Parliamentsession.
Let’s hope and see if this will bear fruit. Authoritarianismin government will continue albeit in a different guise, unless thewhole of the ISA, Official Secrets Act, The Sedition Act and similarsuch laws are abolished. This would be an example of good governance.
However, authoritarian policies will most likely continue whilecorruption is rampant, when the elites need protection from theirmisdeeds. Najib will not be able to change any of these.Perak State Government.
The whole cloak and dagger story of intrigue about the overthrow ofthe Pakatan Rakyat government gave rise to much suspicion aboutNajib’s style, well before he took office. He could have allayed thefears that he would not be one to resort to under-the-belt tactics inhis leadership, by calling for fresh elections. Najib’s unwillingnessto dissolve the Perak Assembly has gotten the country deeper into apolitical quagmire.
By doing so he will also help the Federal Courtjudges from having to come up with a convoluted legal reasoning, likethat of the Court of Appeal, to please the Prime Minister.Malay Unity TalkThis is again Najib’s idea to strengthen himself.
If PAS were tosupport UMNO under the guise of a unity government, a viablealternative to Barisan Nasional at the next elections will beseriously undermined. Najib wanted the internal difficulties betweenPakatan Rakyat parties to continue and fester as the mainstream mediawent full steam ahead to ensure Pakatan’s demise. Let me assure youthat that such a scenario will not happen.
Pakatan will only getstronger. Pakatan has its weaknesses but we do not have the culture ofhegemony. We do not suppress dissent. Hence you will hear ofoccasional disagreements. You will hear of occasional flare-ups; butPAS, Keadilan and DAP are committed to finding ways to strengthentheir partnership. They will not break up. Instead, they will form aformidable coalition that will be ready to provide an alternativegovernment to the people.
Today, Malaysians are suffering the deleterious effect of a stagnatingworld economy, and the GDP will contract by 4.4 per cent according tothe World Bank. FDI’s continue to fall, while talent is being lost.
The standard of education and the skill sets, including the command ofEnglish, necessary for the work force to remain globally competitivecontinues to fall. Now after spending billions on teaching Science andMaths in English in the last 6 years, the Government has announced thereversal of the policy effective 2012.
One wonders if the farcicalNational Service programme, which is neither a national service nor aneducational programme will be scrapped too. .Crimes and home security issues have increased since 2003 and theseremain major concerns of the people.
In the 1998 case of AnwarIbrahim, allegations by the investigating officer himself of tamperingwith evidence by the IGP and the AG have not been answeredsatisfactorily. Of course the government had formed a certain panelcomprising three ex-judges deliberating in a secret place. Notsurprisingly the Panel cleared them.
The findings of the RoyalCommission in the Lingam case have not been acted upon in satisfactorymanner. And many high profile cases reported to the MalaysianAnti-Corruption Commission (MACC) remain unattended. Such is the stateof the Rule of Law in Malaysia . Will Najib attend to these issues?Certainly not.
All he can do is to announce the scrapping of some outdated policiesthat he had little choice but to do it anyway, as part of the demandsof the international and ASEAN trade agreements. After decades of theNEP, the 30% equity requirement in companies listed amongst the 27services sub-sectors are taken away.
Also, the Foreign InvestmentCommittee regulating investments in Malaysia , have been scrapped. Thereasoning of the government, which is disputed by many Malays, is thatthe Bumiputra participation in the relevant services sub-sectors aresatisfactory and hence the removal of the quota requirement.
Whilstthe move has made Najib popular in the short term, it will come backto haunt him. Economics and social justice require him to address thelarger question of disparities in income of the rakyat. The plight andgrievances of ordinary people will not be redressed by one or twopopulist policies.
On the question of the preservation of the Rule of Law and Democracy,he did nothing and probably will continue to do nothing. He shouldhave acted as if he has only 100 days before his reign comes to anend. He should have embraced Roosevelt’s dictum, ‘There is nothing tofear but fear itself’, and embarked on far reaching policies to giveback judicial power to the Courts, to give back integrity, trust andrespectability to governmental institutions like the Police, theAttorney General’s Office, the Election Commission; that of whichMalaysia desperately needs. In doing so he can show the people he wasprepared to sacrifice his neck if that is required of him.
He should not have started the Perak debacle but since it had alreadygot under way, he should have had the courage to win back the supportof the people by allowing for the dissolution of the LegislativeAssembly.
Instead of embarking on the inane idea of UMNO-PAS unity —confirming the suspicion that he is like his Deputy who onlyunderstands UMNO-PAS unity at the expense of everything else — Najibshould have called for a national debate amongst all leaders of majorpolitical parties for a serious discussion on key and core values forthe country.The problems in our country are not race or religion based, but BN hasworked very hard to make them so.
It’s always about the Rakyat againstthe elites or the powerful oligarchs that run and control thecountry’s institutions and wealth. The Rakyat, for too long havebecomes pawns in this political game where the race and religiousissues are being played out to divide them.Najib should have started his administration with pushing through aRace Relations Act that will punish racism and racist speeches andwritings from all quarters, even if it’s from leaders of his own partyand from Utusan Malaysia .
The single greatest impediment toMalaysians being united and working together for the common good, isracist politics in Malaysia . Racism here is not the same kind thatthe Anglo Saxon whites have over blacks and coloureds (or vice versa)for many years. It’s not the apartheid kind of racism where whitesgenerally believe they are superior to blacks and coloureds ingenetics and all spheres of life.
Our racism is driven more by ethnicdistrust and ethnic rivalry for the economic cake. They are mainlyeconomic and cultural in nature, based on the fear that the wealth ofthe country will be taken away by the Chinese, and vice versa. Butit’s just as divisive and dangerous. It refers to bothinstitutionalised racism and those exhibited by individuals. Malaysianeeds to combat this problem because it’s particularly acute.
Because we have three major races that did not have the luxury of time fornatural assimilation or the time to gel and live in harmony, we needlegislation and governmental support to push through the unity factorsand manage the divisive factors found in the community.
To bring about a truly united 1 Malaysia , our PM must not alwaysrefer to the deprivation of the Malays suffered under the British. Noamount of wallowing of the past can change history, nor can we justtell the Chinese and the Indians how grateful they should be forevents taking place 100 years ago.
Equally, he cannot just be happythat he has the MCA and MIC taking care of the non-Malays. He has todo more to make sure the non-Malays are equally responsible andgenerous with the Malays. Will they open their businesses to theMalays? Will they give credit on the same terms they do to their ownclans?But at the same time the people, including the Malays, must beconvinced that democracy and a functioning bureaucracy is good forthem.
That they have a better chance of realizing their potentials andbenefiting from their rights and privileges under a government thatrespects just laws. They must resist corruption by all means at theirdisposal.
The notion of Bangsa Malaysia will not detract or take awayanything from them, but instead they become a part of a larger andmore diverse community where they too can experience the generousity,beauty, strength, and richness of Malaysian cultures.They will benefit from the solidarity of people from all walks oflife, and their worldview will change to make them stronger and moreconfident of themselves.
PM of this country must not succumb to the idea that force andrepression will prevail over the people’s will. The PM of this countrymust not suffer from the delusion that the Police, the Army, theCourts, the Election Commission and the Attorney General could strikefear in the hearts of the people to the extent that they will retreat.No leader in ancient and modern times has survived the outrage of themasses.
We have witnessed a new sense of outrage; outrageagainst the abuse of power, against inequality, outrage against thecontinued persecution of Anwar Ibrahim, and outrage against thepolicies of divide and rule.Ladies and Gentlemen,The winds of change have never blown so strong. Today, the rakyat hasspoken and they want their voices heard.
They want a new beginning, sothat this country, which we all call home, will be transformed into adynamic, open and vibrant democratic sanctuary. A sanctuary where welive without fear of police harassment, without fear of wearing blackor yellow, without fear of detention without trial, without the nauseaof reading newspapers whose editors have to toe the line to keep thepapers alive.
We will make this country such that we have room andspace for all of us to have our dreams and hopes come true.But the window of opportunity has opened for one central reason. Andthat is because the people now have a choice; between theestablishment that has led the country over the last 50 years, or aviable alternative in Pakatan Rakyat that can inclusively carry thehopes and aspirations of all Malaysians, no matter they be Malay,Chinese or Indian.
For without this alternative, the self indulgentand delusional sense of self-importance of UMNO and its cohorts inBarisan Nasional will continue to impose itself.No doubt, Keadilan is a new party, and Pakatan Rakyat is in itsinfancy, and the coming together of different political parties tofind a common thread with which to build meaningful solidarity to worktogether, is a long and arduous journey.
Let us not kid ourselves.Many challenges lie ahead to make it a truly viable alternativepolitical force to Barisan Nasional and acceptable choice to allMalaysians. And the traps and snares to trip up this fledglingalternative are being laid everywhere; the Unity talks being just one.
My colleagues and I in Pakatan Rakyat must be cautious, and yetcourageous, patient yet purposeful, tolerant yet principled, to ensurethat Pakatan Rakyat steers clear of these traps, and that we build atruly robust and secure alternative from which the electorate canchoose to form government.
We must desist from any temptation to goback to the ways of the past, in which opposition parties representtheir own narrow factional interests, only to grant a walkover victoryto the status quo.At for Parti Keadilan Rakyat, it must soldier on come what may, as aparty that will protect the people regardless of race and ethnicity.The Special position of the Bumiputras and Islam as mandated by theConstitution will be honoured but will do so in an open transparentmanner; as a democratic multiracial party that observes the Rule ofLaw will be obliged to do.
Keadilan will not champion racial politicsand will not seek racial hegemony. We are a lot more humble than UMNO.But we will be fearless in the defence of the rights of the Rakyatagainst powerful oligarchs and vested interest groups.
We will makethe public institutions in this country respectable and full ofintegrity. These institutions will regain the respect and the trust ofthe people.Ladies and Gentlemen,We do not live in a world of black and white. We live in a world fullof different colours, shades and textures.
No truer is this than inMalaysia . I can stand here and tell you of my immense sense of prideand affection in being a Malaysian, just as I can do the same aboutbeing Malay. And I believe that we all are just as capable of feelingthat way about being Malaysian, and yet similarly proud of beingMalay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban, no matter who we are.And it is this mix of seemingly conflicting values, which when blendedand tempered with courage, tolerance, good faith, and framed byuniversally held moral and civic values, that makes the canvas ofMalaysia so rich, so powerful and so full of potential.
Let uspreserve this living piece of art, and ensure that it continues tobeautify and enrich our personal lives, as private citizens.For if we fail, then the providence with which we are blessed today tomake a breakthrough change, will disappear as quickly as it came, andwe will be back to square one. Our future and that of our children andtheir children, depends on our success. Failure is not an option. Godfavours the brave.
Thank You.
Best Regards
Regenerated by,
lvbala
After a big rally on 25th November 2007 by Malaysian Tamils, today 30th July 2009 another partial rally by Tamils at MIC HQ was carried out.
