May 9, 2018 marked the
watershed in Malaysia’s history. Barisan Nasional, of which UMNO was the shot-caller,
was voted out of power. For the first time in many years, we could speak
freely. We could post stuff in Twitter and Facebook without fearing being
visited by the state’s cyber security apparatus. We could openly identify MO1;
we could call him a kleptocrat. Hitherto, only Mahathir could do so openly.
I don’t usually comment
on politics, especially the Malaysian politics. This is my first break from my
own promise.
We looked up to the Grand
Old Man; we worshipped him. We were prepared to forgive the excesses that he
had inflicted on the country when he was the prime minister. He was going to
lead us to a new plane – a plane where corruption is not to be tolerated; a
plane where racial and religious prejudices are to be corrected; a plane where commonsense
and wisdom will always prevail.
Dr M did not disappoint.
We saw all these things coming.
We are prepared to keep
an open-mind when the new government decided to abolish GST, when we all knew it
is a fair form of taxation. We were also prepared to see the High-Speed Rail project
between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore shelved, although many of us welcomed it
when it was signed. We were happy that the East Coast Rail project was stopped.
It was said that the cost had mysteriously ballooned from about M$30 billion to
M$60 billion. We all knew where the “fat” was going. We also saw millions of
handbags, watches and jewelry seized and we applauded the work of Amar Singh, Police’s
commercial crime director. And MO1 and Mrs MO1 have been slapped with criminal
charges. So had the former deputy prime minister Zahid Hamidi and a couple of other senior
ministers like Tengku Adnan Mansor
And the hated AG Appandi
Ali, IGP Khalid Bakar, Chief Secretary Ali Hamsa, Treasury Secretary Irwan
Serigar, 1MDB’s Arul Kanda have either gone “underground” or being pursued by the
country’s anti-corruption body. So had many other lesser mortals in the last administration.
But to many, the wheel of
justice is too slow. There were prima facie evidences against their wrong doing.
Yet, MO1 is still talking as if he is the voice of conscience. Zahid Hamidi and
Hadi Awang are asking their constituents to run “amok” to save themselves.
Why can’t we just lock these
people up, since they are jeopardizing internal security, say, under SOSMA? We
are allowing MO1 to make all sorts of Trump-like statements. Our heartland lot
must be pretty confused. How can someone like him steal? And he is stealing for
the good of his constituents, what’s wrong?
In spite of all these concerns,
we are prepared to let Dr M rule. Give him a chance, he has all the wisdom!
But as time progressed,
we found him revisiting some of the silly projects he was trying to champion
when he was last in power – another national car, the crooked bridge between
Johor Bahru and Singapore, etc. He is accepting UMNO has-beens and dangerous
characters to his party. Wasn’t Rahim Tamby Chik, the former chief minister of
Malacca, guilty of statutory rape? Isn’t the chap up-north Shahidan Kassim also
being investigated for sexual-harassing someone. Weren’t those in UMNO Sabah outright
crooks or shameless mouthpieces of MO1, like Salleh Said Keruak. Yet, you want
them in your Bumi Bersatu? Dr M, you talked about the evil of corruption.
People devoid of good character or principle are just as bad.
Why are you not disciplining Maszlee Malik
and Waytha Moorthy? Each time the former opens his mouth, he shoots himself in
the foot! As for the latter, he is not inclusive, which the country can
ill-afford.
There are many talented people in Malaysia.
Make good use of them!
And you don’t need honorary doctorates
anymore!
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