Option 6 for Abdullah – Be a courageous reformist PM in his last six months in at least 10 areas which will be a lasting legacy for future Malaysians

Tonight, let us explore another option open to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, faced with an ultimatum by the Umno Supreme Council’s “926” emergency meeting that he abandon his mid-June 2010 power-transition plan and to relinquish his posts as Umno President and Prime Minister in March next year = his decision to be announced before the start of the Umno division meetings on October 9.

This may be described as his sixth option as I had last night referred to five options he would have to mull over in the next 12 days.

If Abdullah is not prepared to take on the Umno warlords by contesting for the Umno President’s post, be a lameduck Prime Minister for the next 12 months, immediately resign as Prime Minister, advise the Yang di Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament to hold new general election or co-operate with Pakatan Rakyat to establish a new federal government, there is one more option open to him.

This is to accept the Umno Supreme Council ultimatum that his premiership ends by March next year but ending his hitherto lacklustre premiership in a blaze of glory in the final six months by leaving a lasting legacy for future Malaysians by being a courageous reformist Prime Minister.
Abdullah can begin his six-month programme of reform in the next Cabinet meeting by choosing to act in at least ten areas, viz:

1. Police – Establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) by the end of the year, based on the Bill proposed by the Royal Police Commission, in order to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class service to restore to Malaysians their fundamental freedom to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

2. No more foot-dragging with judicial reforms by ensuring that a Judicial Appointments Commission is established by the end of the year and that the country is not plunged into another era of judicial darkness and scandal with the appointment of the first Umno Chief Justice in the 51-year history of Malaysia.

3. A total revamp of the Anti-Corruption Agency, which has proved to be an utter failure with Malaysia’s Transparency International Corruption Perception Index plunging from No. 37 in 2003 to No. 47 in 2008, when we should have improved to at least No. 30 according to the National Integrity Plan – with the formation of a completely independent anti-corruption commission by the end of the year.

4. Far-reaching parliamentary reforms including the introduction of a full-fledged Parliamentary Select Committee system whereby every Ministry is shadowed by a Parliamentary Select Committee.

5. Repeal of draconian Printing Presses and Publications Act to ensure press freedom and an independent media.

6. Immediate release of Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the Hindraf Five and all other Internal Security Act detainees and the repeal of the ISA.

7. Declaration of Malaysia Day on September 16 every year as a national public holiday.
8. 20% oil royalty to Sabah and Sarawak to be devoted solely for the development of the people in the two states and not for the enrichment of a handful of political parasites.

9. Meritocracy as a national policy to reverse brain drain and to retain the best and brightest to transform Malaysia into a competitive global player in the international economic scene.

10. Full acceptance of “Bangsa Malaysia” as primary nation-building objective and not ketuanan Melayu or any other communal, retrogressive or obsolete concept.

[Speech (3) by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang at the DAP “Abolish ISA” ceramah at Serdang, Selangor on Sunday, 28th September 2008 at 9 pm]

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66 Replies to “Option 6 for Abdullah – Be a courageous reformist PM in his last six months in at least 10 areas which will be a lasting legacy for future Malaysians”

  1. “He said he is also given the previous day’s NST newspaper to read. Then he asked us about what he was told by an officer on a report in the NST that there was a signature campaign asking for 150,000 signatures to free RPK and it was not getting any respond and it was a failure.”

    – Excerpt from Anil’s Blog on Marina’s visit

    Are We Going to Take This Lying Down?

    It Definitely Won’t Be Me.. I have come too far to Stop Now.

    Fellow Bloggers and ‘Friends of Change’,

    Lets take this message as a challenge to start a Drive to collect more signatures to Free RPK and All the ISA Detainees, and call for the draconian ISA to be Abolished.

    Pass the words around and promote this signature drive on your blog.

    Petition link: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?isa1234

    Total Signatures currently stands at 34.845.

    Time for Us to Show Them that We Mean Business and We are Here to Stay!!

    Target: 150,000 or more

  2. Pak Lah had four good years to implement any or all of the above 10 initiatives. That window of opportunity closed on March 8, 2008.

    It is still far too early to suggest that the electoral setback was self-inflicted. For all we know, and it is not beyond speculation, Pak Lah’s feeble responses could have been the result of being Dr M’s deputy.

    That horrible experience might have been enough to shatter beyond redemption his self-confidence.

  3. We must fervently hope that he would be awoken from his slumber to realize that the Raayat had indeed endowed him with the power in ’04 and which he forgot to use since then. By this very ACT, he would surely endear himself to all Malaysians who have the interests of the nation in their hearts! Great ACTS can come as surprises and let’s see if this Hari Raya can bring us that surprises!

  4. Whether it is Badawi or Najib making their last stand on reform, many politicians (including PR leaders) will see their careers go up and down following the Tsunami wave of Reform that has started to sweep through the nation. They can either flow with the wave towards safer harbour or sink against the waves.

    The safe harbour is NOT Pakatan Rakyat nor DSAI nor Raja Petra nor a renewed UMNO. All these entities and personalities are mere instruments of reform that the nation needs. The authorities can oppress and suppress the leaders of reform but they will only give more weight and momentum to the Reform wave.

    With Najib and new players fighting for the top post in UMNO, the reform agenda is back on track as now the number of players is reduced by one and the probability of defeat and victory is more clear cut. Can Najib reinvent himself to be the new reformist? Let’s give him a chance lah before March 2009.

    And the rest may just be history..

  5. Abdullah will never have the courage to have ACA and Judiciary reforms because he and his family might be in trouble when he is no longer a PM.
    Therefore, your above option is never an option for Abdullah!
    The only way is we the Nations utilise our votes in the coming 13th General Elections to tell the BeeNd govt what we Rakyat want for the Change!

  6. We can forget about any reform. He had wasted the whole 4 years and you expect him to do ALL THESE in 6 months??!! Unless it’s getting married again you can forget about the above 10 areas mentioned. Sad but true.

  7. Somewhere in Bolehland there is a huge cupboard full of the scandals of financial deals that are known only to the top leaders – that is the glue that holds all the leadership wheeling and dealing together.
    Sadly that is also why no leader dares to take serious actions against past leaders and that way will continue untill we have a change of government leaders who put Malaysia and its citizens first.

  8. Poor bugger!

    When he was handed the PM’s job and reinforced with the overwhelming election victory in 2004, he thought he was made for life. Some of his early speeches indicated as much.

    He thought he was so firmly entrenched that he can afford to go gallivanting all over the world. He even bought a new luxury plane for this purpose and went holidaying in Oz land with the likes of Jean Todt while the country drowned in its worst flood in 100 years. He paid for all this in the March 8 elections.

    His power base is now so eroded, there is no way he can impose his authority on those critical reforms suggested. At his best, he was resisted by those warlords. Now that he is on his way out, no way will those warlords will cooperate with him. YB, let him fade away quietly.

  9. This so called war lords are more afraid of losing the RM millions they are making corruptly.
    PAK LAH and his gang are seeing a very bleak future and they are running scared .what a way to spent HARI RAYA.

  10. YB Kit, I had previously preferred option 5 that Paklaaaaa works together with Pakatan as opposed to handing over power to that Najissss fella… but option 6 is even better.

    It is been an conspiracy theory that Paklaaaaa is hanging on to power till DSAI can pull his upset because of his hatred towards Old Man Dr M and Najis himself…

    As for RPK, as long as Najis stays within the reach of power, he will never be set free because RPK alone holds the key to Najis and his cronies downfall…

  11. AAB: Hai yah, LKS must be joking! Where got time lah to do other things? Only 6 months left to suck as much as possible. Some more got to make sure son and SIL will be well taken care of after March 09. Got to make sure how to give up some to NR, Rose, and their kaki. Also got to get a firm deal that they won’t come after me and SIL after March 09. Too much to do. No time to doze off or to make overseas trips. Don’t want to be like Zakaria. Aiyah!

  12. Sad, isn’t it? He came in, riding high, with tonnes of congratulations and we’re watching with such hopes and expectations at all his promises. I shook their hands, laughed with them, ate and drank with them.

    Now he has only 6 months left. How sad, thinking that he could do within 6 months what he can’t (or failed to) do in the last 4.5 years? No, YB Lim KS, don’t impose anymore thing on him; if he really go, let a good man leave, but he didn’t do nothing when he could have. Huh…, goodbye to him.

  13. YB Kit, the above 10 things are linked. Its all or none. Can Slezzhead do all those? No way. Well, miracles do happen if he wakes up from coma – why not.

    Sorry, side track to previous thread on Gerakan. This is how Umno respond : “Barisan leaders to Gerakan chief” Make a stand!
    Penang Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid Abdullah: These factions can leave if they want to,” he said.

    Och!!, See, KTK? Now KTK’s happy: Get Out!! Shame Shame, indeed. Anyway, should Gerakan decides to stay, I feel sorry for those members because they are the ‘Unwanted’.

  14. YB Kit,
    No hope from hopeless.He is busy arranging to get TUN SHIP from Agung and transferring cash to down.Given him 4 years for reform and you expect him to do it in 6 months,keep dreaming!!.Wht shall we call him as soon as he step down,BAPA PENIPU MALAYSIA.Any other suggestion for the name?????

  15. I think one of the reasons why Abdullah is so resistant to reform is that should he really embark on reform, he and his family will be among the first to come under the police and ACA’s microscope. Otherwise, the rakyat will say he is a hypocrite. Most people believe that putting the house (country) in order should begin with the top-ranking figures, i.e. catch the big fish first.

  16. General consensus here is correct. That nincompoop slept through 5 years, did nothing and is now expected to finish everything within 6 months? Pigs will fly.

    Umnoputras will never let him. If he really did manage to pull off IPCMC, ACA and other reforms he might delay his departure. Those warlords just can’t wait for their chance on dirty money. They have always thought of that as a birthright.

  17. Being a Sarawakian I would like to touch on the 20% petroleum royalty. Petronas has for so many decades being used as a cookie jar by the federal government for corruption, mega white elephant projects, bailouts of who’s who’s companies, etc. That cookie jar must be filled else the federalists excesses cannot be satisfied.

    The first thing the clean ACA should do is to investigate Petronas’ books and give back to Malaysians what is ours.

  18. Do you guys seriously think a serial KILLER would simply confest he was the culprits during the interrogation even he was caught?

    These bunch of “CRONIES” even they seems fighting each other, they are bunch of crooks, abunch of thieft who possessed power that could do anything beyond gods can do to normal human being who dares to apposed them.

    Now only ALLAH can help us now, if theres any.

  19. Hope springs eternal, but this is getting ridiculous – thread after thread on what Sleepy Head should contemplate doing. Perhaps someone should add a seventh option – which is to commit sepukku.

    There is no greater treachery in UMNO than to leave the party and join with the auld enemy. The next level of treachery is to disobey the wishes of the majority of the Supreme Council, especially if the majority has spoken.

    You guys are wasting your time speculating on what Badawi would do. There are only 2 options open to him – contest or quit. Period.

  20. We should be focusing our efforts on identifying real issues e.g. the fact that Sarawak intends to start work on a new dam that wreaks further havoc on the environment – especially since it is clearly not needed.

  21. Anwar is having a reprieve only because it is not Pak Lah’s character to be totally brutal and ruthless.

    The problem is that it is also not his character to fight. It causes too much stress. You can induce or coax him to do so.

    Though not 100% certain, greater likelihood is that he would throw in the towel and let the other warlords and power brokers rein.

    When that happens, Anwar will be arrested to unglue Pakatan Rakyat that he holds together which is presently threatening the existing order and vested interests.

    The only thing that can prevent this is for Anwar/Pakatan to take over earlier via cross overs.

    This is possible only if Anwar really has the numbers and not hyping false claims.

    If Anwar has made exaggerated claims, then too bad, he will face the music of a tremendous backlash of force from those who have less reservations of force as compared to the present premier.

    That too will deal a lethal blow to PR survival.

    As it is Anwar’s prevarication is giving those with intentions to defect jitters. They don’t want to jump without a landing pad.

  22. Jeffrey wrote: ‘When that happens, Anwar will be arrested to unglue Pakatan Rakyat that he holds together which is presently threatening the existing order and vested interests.’

    Right on.

    Same story regarding RPK. It was beyond doubt that RPK MUST be detained, and all the reasons for it to happen was written on the wall. No surprise.

    As to Anwar’s freedom, I too don’t think that it will last any much longer. Except if so-called elected representatives defect en masses before AAB is thrown out into the street, headlong, hitting the dirt.

    After that time, people will be too cowed to even write in here too.

    Cheers, and no thank to AAB for lost opportunity.

  23. Why won’t he just go. Yes GO – today, tomorrow!

    Aren’t we all fed up of him? Why cling to power when he has been so incompetent and ineffective the past 5 years. He might as well retire and continue sleeping, make more children perhaps!!!!

  24. Unfortunately, besides being dopey, Abdullah is cowardly. He has no courage to do anything to offend the warlords. He will do cowardly deeds like detaining RPK and others under ISA. Expect more cowardly deeds to come from his hands.

  25. Instead of lamely handing power over to just one (questionable) fella,he might as well return the power to the rakyat like the above said option;resign,dissolve parliament and call for fresh election.By taking this option,firstly he would leave himself a lasting legacyas as Bapa Democracy for freeing Malaysia from UMNO’s racial supremacy rule just like Tunku Abdul Rahman(Bapa Merdeka)for freeing Malaysia from British colonial rule. (note:the British also left a legacy in Malaysia….they stole a word [amok] from us and adopted into the English language ha ha) Secondly, he practically and effectively kills with one stone ALL those(known and unknown) who betrayed and back-stabbed him.As for the ten steps to reform in six months,why not ….when humiliated,betrayed,back-stabbed and cornered to the wall a man yields the strongest will and determination to fight back.

  26. as we fiddle over 916, 926, 1003, or God knows whats next….the good old mighty united states of america is printing money out of thin air. Already the most debted nation …i think in the region of 13-17 trillion us dollars… the printing press is working overtime once again to bailout their prestigious companies at a huge premium to what the market is crying. As they continues to create money out of thin air their actions are not without consequences. It will render the already ‘worthless’ US dollar ‘more worthless’. On layman terms the US dollar will decrease in it value and more and more countries are limiting or abandoning the useage of it for commercial trade.

    The PNAC or project for New American Culture which propagates NWO or new world order are the main culprit of this world turmoil. Guess who is rigging all the futures contract of oil and gold trading? Guess who plants and supports opposition leaders in seemingly politically stable countries like ours (for example)? Guess who is sounding the war gongs against IRAN now?

    And we think that these colonial masters are going to enrich us. Here we listen to the bakris and petras and so on…..just to tickle our already busybody ears. But the dollar is going to collapse and the world is heading for a real big crash.

  27. Theres only one thing good AAB can do and all Malaysians (excluding UMNO) will salute him for it. AAB has nothing to lose espically now that he is ‘sacked’from UMNO. Dissolve parliament in the short time you have and call for fresh elections and walk away. Let Najis work on his own steam with his UMNO henchmen to see if they would be voted in.
    This if you do will be the greatest legacy you will leave to all Malaysians

  28. Of course PM will not be able to effect reforms in the short remainder months what he could not do when he had four years before now.

    So is YB Kit so naive?

    On the contrary Kit is real sophisticated politician, thinking (strategically) of the best interest of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) within the existing limitations and acting in subtle and not too obvious ways….

    It is in PR’s interest that PM stays in power as long as possible : after all four years of his administration was able to deny BN 2/3 majority and deliver to PR control 5 states. If he were to exit tomorrow, it might well mean that Anwar might be arrested the week after, thereby ungluing PR!

    At the same time it would not be good politic to stress this obvious point (that will only make warlords usher him quicker!)

    So indirectly to ask him to focus on reforms is to actually to indirectly ask him to stay longer and preempt him from immediately resigning that has calamitious effects on Anwar and PR.

    To ensure this Kit also instigated (in earlier thread) BN component parties to challenge warlords from effecting a coup on Pak Lah via BN Supreme Council, and whilst doing this also tried to facilitate or boost the cross over process by telling Dr Koh Tsu Koon to respect 60-80% of Gerakan rank and file wishing to leave the BN!

    My take on YB Kit’s bigger picture : It will be to PR’s interest to take 3 pronged simultaneous approach of: (1) prolong Pak Lah’s stay in office as long as possible in order to (2) buy time for Anwar to gestate his 9/16 project to beat the deadline of Pak Lah’s exit which may well be a prelude to Anwar’s arrest and (3) instigate and facilitate the cross overs beginning with Gerakan as target to “start the ball rolling” for the rest sitting on the fence.

    This the best he could do. The rest is really up to Anwar. Could he get the ‘numbers’ for vote of no confidence on the budget when Parliament resumes on 13th?

    If not, he as well as PR’s Cause will be in dire straits.

    Hence everyone now is engaged in a race against time….

  29. There is clearly only 2 options for Badawi – to quit or to fight.

    The 3rd option to announce he is not contesting but stay on as PM until March is no option at all. He at once becomes a lame duck PM to be ridiculed, abused and sidelined as all power transfers to Najib. He will not have the power to do any reforms. Don’t expect Mahathir to keep quiet for 6 months

    Despite this, there is a possibility that Badawi may choose option 3 as he abhors fighting for the post as much as he abhors resigning. Malaysia will become even more unstable and rudderless. BN may even break up.

  30. Whether Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi step down or not, it is non of the business of DAP as it is the family matter of UMNO. DAP should go mind their own business and not speculating who should step down and what will happen to the leadership of UMNO. No matter what happens, UMNO is united and it will never fall. UMNO will continue to safeguard the interest of the Malay, which Anwar failed to do. Based on my observation, it seems like after PR have lost their political game to BN, they now resort to coffee talks. How sad! Let me tell you, even though Abdullah steps down, there will be new leader up there and whoever he is, he can only be tougher and better. By then PR will not have any chance in toppling the BN government. My last advice to all MPs from PR: Stop wasting time speculating and spend more time to serve your own constituency.

  31. People should understand that 50 years of ruling the country would accumulate a lot of vested interests shared amongst BN politicians, their relatives, cronies and busines associates….

    With that much at stake, would they give up power so easily to Anwar & Pakatan Rakyat? It is hard enough to concede power in (say) 13th general election, 4 years down the road. At least there is time to organise their financial affairs, take care of incriminating paper work, complete the contracts in progress and siphon funds off shore. Honouring the people’s will in a ballot is a bitter pill which one may or may not gracefully swallow since rightly or wrongly one has another 4 years to ‘reinvent’ to meet the voters’ expectations.

    It is a different ball game when immediately after winning the 8th March election with a 30+ seat majority, a guy like Anwar comes out cajole, poach and persuade by whatever means the 30+ kataks from BN to cross over to kick out the incumbents, destroy the vested interest, not even with comfort of an iron clad promise of amnesty.

    If you were an incumbent with vested interest would you allow this to happen ? – ask yourself honestly. Since when has the much touted argument of rakyat’s wishes been the firtst consideration?

    Of course you would use every power in your disposal to thwart and frustrate Anwar’s plans – whether Sodomy II criminal charge, failing which ISA, and failing which Emergency Rule.

    There are but only 2 factors keeping Anwar safe so far – (1) gentleman character of Pak Lah, not that quick to brutally repress, incarcerate and show the iron fist and (2) the economy, investment and market sentiments/international reaction which if adverse due to blatant repression will directly hit and undermine the crony/patronage projects (the raison de etre of seeking power and public positions).

    (2) is where our elites are different from the Myanmar generals. The latter clamp down at will – even monks – because they care a hoot about economy, investment and market sentiments/international reaction.

    It is not that they do not care about money. They do – but they are safely taken care of by the narcotic/opium/heroin economy that the generals controls…….which our elites are not in parallel position.

    However the point remains : once repression begins – widespread arrests and military and police action – it is difficult for Makkal Sakti “warriors” to fight it with civil disobedience.

    Ask yourself how many years Aung San Syu Kyi has been incarcerated and Myanmarese junta preserve power.

    If we court it here by Anwar’s actions, be prepared for the consequences.

    I don’t like what I say but I am just being realistic.

    Ar

  32. Well well, look who’s back. kasim Umno Amat. Sama sama lah,
    What DAP blog says here also none of your business. Why don’t you just go back where ever you come from? Politic’s like that mah, not everytime behind close door thinggy. Can you tell us how many doors are there actually in Umno? I’m sure most of the doors can be open both sides too, right? Umno will still be around, don’t worry Amat, as opposition right? Stop giving advice to anyone here. This is no Umno blog, u dig? Its DAP blog in case you loose your bearings again. Relak lah.

  33. UMNO is basically a fascist, supremist and feudalistic party. It has never sincerely wanted others to be its equal. Let’s go back to the days before Independence.

    In 1951, Onn Jaafar, a leader ahead of his time, was willing to open the membership of UMNO to non-Malays but was vehemently opposed by radicals in the party and he sadly left the party. Onn Jaafaar realised that in order for Malaysia to progress all the races had to be included. Unfortunately, many from his own party failed to see this truism.

    The British colonist master also realised this truism: that unless all the races are in together, Malaysia would one day be a basket case. That’s why the British unequivocally insisted that UMNO had to work with the non-Malays or there would be no Independence. The British, having established themselves and ruled in many part of the world, naturally had acquired the knowledge of being shrewd judges of the characteristics of many peoples. They knew that without the cooperation of the non-Malays there would be no progress and they were afraid that if only one race were to rule the country to the exclusion of the other races, the country would invariably revert back to the era of feudalism.

    Remember before the British came, the country was in a state of anarchy. Warlords were literally warring and killing one another. There was no peace and development. The population were just treated as cannon fodder for the war efforts of the struggling protogonists. They were never taught new skills or to think on their own. Everyday of their lives was on a war footing. Needless to go further, the British finally stamped their authority and brought peace and development to this troubled country. So much so when they gave Independence, the land area of this country almost doubled its original size and left a legacy of an efficient Civil service, a respected and trustworthy Judiciary and a world-class infrastructure and economy.

    Hardly, a decade after Independence the path to a state of feudalism had begun. One person who had played a vital role in this development is Mahathir. It can be said that he single-handedly ushered a country with a workable Constitution into the slippery path of feudalism. It was his belief that feudalism is still workable in this modern era and he avidly worked full-time to dismantle every institutions in this country. Everything that he touches turned to dross and he is still in this game up to today! A country whose Civil service and Judiciary which were the envy of many countries turned to shambles. It was Mahathir’s shrewd hands that had guided the morbidity and destructiveness of UMNO that we are witnessing now.

    UMNO had never respected the other races capable to rule this country. They depend on the divide-and-rule concept to perpetuate their power. Unfortunately, MCA and other component parties were fooled by UMNO in that political power were to remain the exclusive preserve of UMNO while the rest can go unhindered in their search for pots of gold. However, as time passed even this ‘agreement’ was trampled upon by the UMNOputras. Things came to head recently when they unashamedly brandished their keris and go amok and told the non-Malays that they are still pendatangs in this country. The ISA, a colonial tool, was used unjustly to imprison innocent parties, while the UMNOputras culprits were left unscathed.

    In conclusion, it seemed that Malaysia has come full circle: from anarchy to colonialism, to independence, back to feudalism and finally to a state of anarchy where the UMNOputras are at each other’s throats. The fear of the British have come to haunt the people of Malaysia!

  34. kesian ahmad ur saying safe guard UMNOputras pocket instead, If umno is good today Malay in Singapore would migrat to MALAYSIA Already! HAhaha Kesian mia bugger bunch of losers…

    u ingat u bagai muslim dan malayu awak boleh makan duit rakyat sesuke hati ah pergi la mampos ko org penyamon bangsat tak berbangsa agama!~

  35. Nobody bothers if a commoner stops work. But here we are, trying to give our P.M. a honourable discharge. Again, I am reminded of the story of the Emperor and his transparent special robe. The length we go to cover his shame and our shame too. Instead of he himself thinking of his political career, Malaysians help him to think. There are many potential great P.M. out there. Ever considering making yourself known ? A nice person cannot be a great leader. Throughout history, ” great ” leaders were mostly tyrants.

    Anyway, the holiday season is coming around again. Here’s wishing you who celebrate the occasion, a Selamat Hari Raya. Probably back in your kampungs, there will be a lot of political talks.

  36. I think the suggestion to have Judicial Appointments Commission (the item 2) is necessary but not good enough. Whatever the commission that we plan to create is not a equal counter balance to the power of the Prime Minister; At best, the commission can make only academic analysis with actual appointment power still well within the office of Prime Minister. This does not solve the problem of over-powerful prime minister who can make decision contrary to the interest of the people.

    In order to produce a sufficient check on the Prime Minister (or the executive branch), we must use other branches of our goverment to exert the influence. One of the obvious route is to require the acceptance hearing of high level judge appointment in the Parliament. We could make the bar of acceptance higher by requiring 2/3 approval of the paliamentary members before a high level judges appointment can be considered valid. This approach will ensure the Prime Minister only appoints someone that have a chance to get approved by the Parliament; otherwise the disapproval will be just an embarassment to the Prime Minister.

    For help releasing RPK, here is a grass-root activity trying to mobilize common men and women to the rescue of RPK, and in the process, trying to strengthen the civil society: http://malaysiacivilright.blogspot.com/. We analyze, take consensus, and act. Our last poll shows 47% people have voted for wearing “Free-RPK” T-shirt to the PM Hari Raya Open House. Join us when you could do so; detail is in the link above.

  37. A commentary in The MalaysianInsider attributes the premier’s present predicament to his young advisors, better known as Fourth Floor Boys, for wrong political strategies and misplaced priorities. See link here – http://tmi.interunix.my/index.php/component/content/9768?task=view#pc_2399

    There is lot of truth that a leader is often as good as his advisers.

    This is because no one man – no matter how smart and intelligent – can think of everything, and the collective deliberation of several persons would have explored with more breath and depth of any issue than the brilliance and knowledge of one man, let alone one not that brilliant or knowledgeable!

    A savvy leader will choose the right advisers, not one or two but several tiers of such advisers……

    And what is the “right” advisers?

    The quality of the deliberations by advisers must be good because of the quality of the adviser participants who will speak their minds without fear or favour to tell the leader what he should hear rather than just what he likes to hear.

    Even then there should not be just a select few but several tiers of advisers from which a leader can canvass differing opinmions to weigh before deciding.

    Advisers should have the experience and maturity and appointed on basis of merits rather than just familial ties and academic qualifications.

    Their first priority should be loyalty to the leader and the nation’s good to which the leader’s position is co-extensive. It is disastrous if advisers’ loyalty is to their own business interest and personal aggrandizement.

    As an arbitrary figure I would impute as much as 80% of a leader’s achievements or failures to the quality of his advisers.

    I would reserve 20% for the leader’s intrinsic merits and wisdom of judgment.

    This is because even competent advisers – with expertise in their respective fields – can all be wrong, dwelling too much on trees than the larger forest, the details than the balance of the macro picture. Especially so when a judgment call is required based on values, or rather competing values, when the choice of one value represents a sacrifice of another. How the man chooses is what a sum total of what he is in these circumstances.

    Within the ruling party, many are banking on Najib now rather than Pak Lah for leadership to re-unite UMNO because rightly or wrongly it is believed that Najib has more and better and several tiers of advisers.

    What has been said applies not just to UMNO or BN’s leaders but equally to even Anwar’s and other PR’s leaders.

  38. ysp, you wrote a superb piece.
    Many people say some of the contents of history books used by secondary school students do not reflect the true history of the country. Malaysians in general and students in particular have to understand the Federal Constitution in greater depth, so that to save our country from being ruled by leaders in the likes of TDM. The Sultan of Perak (or Raja Nazrin Shah) has suggested that schools be taught the Federal Constitution.
    I understand that TDM had lofty goals. He wanted the Malay race to be among the world’s major races alongside peoples like the Germans, Russians, Caucasians, Japanese, Chinese, etc. His obsession with these lofty goals has led him to undertake mega development projects during his years in office. He built the KLIA, KL Towers, Petronas Twin Towers, Putrejaya, North South Highway, Penang Bridge, Pulau Langkawi, the sending of a Malaysian astronaut to ISS, etc. All these projects were designed to attract world attention and to demonstrate to the world know that Malaysia Boleh.
    But it could be he didn’t realise that we Malaysians were still one of the third word countries and the people were not highly educated and technologically advanced and as hard working as the Japanese. But TDM has my sympathy. In retrospect, we can see that TDM wanted Malaysians especially the Malays to make rapid progress like the world’s advanced races so much so that he made mistakes that he possibly still doesn’t realise to this day. The downgrading of English in our school system is one of the greatest mistakes which has done damage to the nation in more ways than he can realise.
    Pak Lah is also partly to blame for the mess we are in today. .We can’t point the finger at TDM alone. This is only personal opinion.

  39. Obviously most of the bloggers who posted comments on this article seemed to have missed YB LKS’s real intention in posting this 6th Option.
    We all know that Pak Lah, as his normal self, is incapable of even implementing one of the areas cited in the article.
    With this article, LKS is throwing the gauntlet at Pak Lah. Pricking his conscience so that he may ask himself some soul searching questions as to what kind of legacy he would like to leave behind as the 5th PM. Would he want to be remembered as the “loyal” UMNO member who placed UMNO’s interests above the national interests and that of the Rakyat? Or to be remembered for having done something that is “right” and “good” for the Rakyat? Or as the Saviour of our nation by destroying UMNO/BN with his incompetence and ineptness in political leadership and governance?
    Pak Lah has already destroyed UMNO beyond the point of redemption and he might as well pursue this course of “destruction of UMNO” by taking assertive actions to bring about changes for the good of the country.
    Pak Lah may have been sleeping for the past 5 years, but like the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty who woke up from the kiss of the Prince, he may suddenly wake up when God’s light shines into his inner self and realises HIS call of duty to serve the Rakyat.
    If only Pak Lah had read this article, LKS would have achieved half the success by stimulating and challenging him to implement the 10 areas if he wants to go down in history with a respectable legacy. The other half of the success rests on the WILL OF GOD.
    May GOD bless us ALL with Pak Lah taking unexpected and radical actions for the good of our nation.

  40. Kassim seems to have his head misguiding his sense when he said “Whether Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi step down or not, it is non of the business of DAP as it is the family matter of UMNO.”

    That whoever-he-may-be idiot who sits on top of umno will be the pm of malaysia. He must not only be acceptable to umnoputras and ordinary umno members he must also be acceptable by all malaysians. We all have a right to know the likely outcome of what is going on in umno now between badawi and najib and to voice our opinion.

    Still caught in the arrogant and denial and oppressive mentality, he certainly and obviously is.

    Back to uncle kit’s view in this thread. He has seen the coming and going of 4 prime ministers. Perhaps he is the only MP who has that experience. He would stand in good stead to propose the possible line of actions for badawi’s consideration.

    Besides, one must remember that players in the field often cannot think sensibly like the manager on the bench by the field. Further, badawi is indecisive and obviously seems lost. He needs help.

  41. If he gets even one thing done well, I would be let his legacy rest. As is, he is going to let his legacy go down in the crapper. His SIL knows that and is desperate to get UMNO Youth presidency otherwise he will be washed down the toilet too.

    But let realistically look at the list and say what is Najib-Muhiyiddin going to do? I say they will push for Judicial Appointment forward, they have no choice in the matter BUT it will be filled with people they can control. Everything else will be downhill from there. The ACA will be asked to make more headlines catching corrupt people that are not key to the party survival and they will impose discipline on the warlords underneath them and call it a victory.

    No fundamental change is coming. More likely the disintegration of criticism will be their goal. Blunt the sting and consolidate power is the most likely choice.

  42. If AAB cared to implement these changes, he would have done so from the very first day he became “Prime Minister for the people” and not wait till his position became so shaky to do so! Do you think by doing so, he can salvage his position in the nation and in UMNO?

  43. Dear Progressive Friends

    Here’s a limerick I wrote (also posted elsewhere):

    There’s a party called UMNO
    Prominent in local political
    folklore
    Originally led by the noble Tunku
    Its current leaders seem mostly to
    be rent-seeking “dungu”
    Unless it truly reforms, it’ll
    soon be shown the door!

    Phua Kai Lit

  44. I agree with Ling Mazen & teacher!

    Pak Lah’s best option would be to dissolve parliament and hold a fresh election. Let the people decide who falls and who stays and who will become the next government of Malaysia. For him, it’s all too little too late.

  45. ctc537, you gave too much to TDM, he just wanted his cronies to make as much as possible through all those projects! He didn’t care about those average Malays, only his Mamak cronies! There was nothing great about the PIRATIZATION programmes in the country. Just look around all those who headed those projects. You don’t business acumen jsut the connections and the Treasury would pay on your behalf all your investments! Great ? B…ls.
    Come another round, we would have to send malaysians to work as migrant workers !!

  46. waterfrontcoolie…hehehe… I heard China will be looking for workers for their moon project soon.
    Well, at least one Malaysian has the necessary training & experience to work in space, thanks to the over rm40m spent by our “longsighted’ government.

  47. Sdr. Lim is wrong that this is NOT Badawi’s last chance to correct his legacy. When Najib and Muhiyiddin goes after each other throat which is eventual, Badawi is the only person that can act as go-between. He can bid his time to come out looking like senior advisor to the party…

  48. One can throw Pak Lah any number of gauntlets to effect at least one reform for the sake of legacy, but (realistically) can he?

    It is not that he is not desirous or willing to do it but can he even if he wants to within the limited time?

    Even before now the bureaucracy has not been carrying out instructions as directed.

    Now, the transition period, it is worse.

    As I said in the earlier thread, “this transition is a depressing period. The surface forms of power still subsist; bureaucracy still churns the paper work for his signature but real executive authority slips away. Decisions bureaucrats disapprove will be purposely delayed (waiting for the next man); diplomats and business men go through the motions of deference but reserve their real negotiations and importunations for the next man.”
    I

  49. well…it came sooner than expected…the dow crashed single day historic 700 pts….the house of reps really split on bailouts….this time the NEOCONS couldnt have their way so the took it out on wall street….the game’s not over yet….next will be shorting the dollar…we will see the expedite devalue of the dollar (its about time)…..pegging will do us no good now….next stop for those treasury bills holders is to make a big rush to federal reserve and redeem those bills…the herds follow suit and thus we will see the fall of United states of America….and we think wolfowitz will help out our beloved anwar once he seizes power over here….think again.

  50. To solve or alleviate the people’s economic hardship, the best option left for AAB is to call for snap-election so that the new government, whether it is led by BN or PR, can get on with the urgent task of tackling the country’s economic problems. The problem is what if the outcome of the election is a difference of less than 20 seats in favour of either side? We will be back to square one, and political instability continues.
    We just can’t fathom why Pak Lah was found dithering in the past. Maybe he is different this time around when the whole nation is banking on him to make that vital decision for the country. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslims in the country.

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