The Royal Address was a valedictory address to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the end of his address touched on the transition of leadership of the country, with the hand-over of the premiership to the Deputy Prime Minister next month.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong recorded appreciation to the Prime Minister for his leadership and contribution, mentioning specifically to issues concerning “democracy, accountability, integrity, the fight against corruption, strengthening the judiciary and the application of Islamic Hadhari approach”.
To the majority of Malaysians, Abdullah’s tenure as the fifth Prime Minister will be remembered more for its missed opportunities than any real achievements.
We are told that a second stimulus package in the form of a mini-budget would be presented in Parliament on March 10 to boost the country’s economy, when more than four months ago, I had called on the new Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to present a revised 2,009 Budget to take corrective measures to shield the country from the world’s worst economic crisis in 80 years so as to enhance competitiveness, boost growth and tamp down inflation. A missed opportunity.
We are told of a Cabinet Committee to Identify and Monitor the Participation of Indian Community in Government Programmes and Projects chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, when immediately after the landslide Barisan Nasional March 2004 general election, I had called for a high-powered Cabinet Committee to present a blueprint in the first meeting of Parliament to address the long-standing issues of marginalisation and alienation faced by Indian Malaysians in the country and to bring the Indian Malaysians into the mainstream of national development – political, economic, educational, social, cultural and all other aspects of the nation-building process. Another missed opportunity.
Immediately after the March 8 political tsunami in last year’s general election which swept away the Barisan Nasional’s hitherto unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority and power in five states, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that he had heard the “strong message” of the voters, conceding:
“The result of the elections was a strong message that I have not moved fast enough in pushing through with the reforms that I had promised to undertake.
“I thank the Malaysian people for this message. Point made and point taken,”
However, Abdullah missed the whole point of the March 8 electoral verdict – not that he had “not moved fast enough” in reforms he pledged more than four years ago, but that he had hardly moved at all apart from periodically paying lip-service to them!
With Abdullah entering into his last 40 days of his premiership, it is clear that his premiership, forcibly ended by an unholy compact in the Umno leadership without any consultation or reference whatsoever to the other Barisan Nasional component parties – highlighting continued Umno hegemony and its role as the “bully” in Barisan Nasional – the country is presented with further examples of missed opportunities to bring about genuine reforms to strengthen the country’s foundations in nation-building, democracy, accountability, transparency, integrity, the fight against corruption, the just rule of law, a truly independent judiciary and good governance.
A day before the first meeting of the new Cabinet on 26th March 2008, I had sent an urgent fax to the Prime Minister on the eight matters which the new Cabinet should give priority to show that the second Abdullah administration is prepared to respond to the March 8 political tsunami and be on top of the changes demanded by Malaysians, viz:
- Immediate and unconditional release of the five Hindraf leaders, P. Uthayakumar, newly-elected DAP Selangor State Assemblyman for Kota Alam Shah M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and T. Vasantha Kumar from Internal Security Act (ISA) detention as their only “offence” was to voice out the legitimate grievances of the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysian Indians and which had been vindicated by the March 8 general election results.
- Restoration of national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary with the establishment of a Judicial Appointments Commission and a Royal Commission into the two decades of judicial crises starting with the arbitrary and unconstitutional sacking of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President and Datuk George Seah and the late Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh as Supreme Court judges in 1988.
- First-World Parliament – full commitment to comprehensive parliamentary reform and modernization including a full Select Committee system headed by Parliamentarians where every Ministry is shadowed by a Select Committee.
- All-out drive to eradicate corruption with the elevation of the Anti-Corruption Agency as an autonomous agency answerable only to Parliament.
- Leadership by example on integrity by Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Chief Ministers, Mentris Besar, MPs and State Assembly members, including public declaration of assets, end of discrimination in allocation of constituency development allocations to Opposition elected representatives, eradication of money politics as its use to induce defections and electoral reforms for free, fair and clean elections.
- Full implementation of the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights, particularly the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
- All-party inquiry to enhance Malaysia’s international competitiveness to enable the country to successfully face the challenges of globalization.
- Public inquiry into the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bailout scandal to demonstrate the new Government’s commitment to accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance.
Efforts had been made to address two of the eight points I highlighted, like the establishment of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) but both are a pale shadow of truly credible and independent institutions to fight corruption and restore national and international confidence in the independence of the judiciary.
In fact, since my first election as a Member of Parliament 40 years ago, I have never felt such disgust and distaste at the sordid state of politics in the country which have descended to a new depth marked by the illegal, immoral and unconstitutional grab for power in Perak and the violation of privacy and outrage of modesty of Elizabeth Wong, woman Exco member in Selangor.
This sense of disgust and distaste is the general feeling of Malaysians, regardless of race and religion. The Yang di Pertuan’s speech, for instance, had been completely displaced by the illegal power grab in Perak and the violation of privacy and outrage of modest of Elizabeth Wong, in all the media when the one and common concern should be the looming economic crisis facing the country!
The March 8 political tsunami represented the hopes of Malaysians for change and improvement to become a more united, harmonious, democratic, progressive and competitive nation so that Malaysia can take our rightful place in the global community instead of continually losing out to other countries.
The greatest challenge facing the country is how Malaysians are going to tide over the worst global economic crisis in 80 years with economists even forecasting a looming recession for Malaysia, but national priorities and energies spearheaded by the Prime Minister-in-waiting and the Finance Minister are completely misplaced – orchestrating an immoral, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak to topple the legal, legitimate, effective and functioning Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government.
In the sixties, there was what is known as the Great Train Robbery in the United Kingdom. We have now our version of the Great Political Robbery resulting in outrage not only among the people of Perak but among all right-thinking Malaysians throughout the country at the robbery of the people’s legitimate and duly elected democratic government of Perak.
Malaysians have found that they have the lost the fundamental right to be free from crime and the fear of crime, aggravated by the refusal of the Abdullah administration to fully implement the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to keep crime low, fight corruption and respect human rights.
Malaysians, tourists and investors do not feel safe any more in the country, whether in the streets, public places or even in the privacy of their homes.
Now, with the Great Political Robbery orchestrated by Najib, Malaysians have also lost the safety of their political rights, when the legitimately and duly elected government of Pakatan Rakyat in Perak could be robbed by an immoral, illegal and unconstitutional power grab orchestrated by Najib.
As the sixth Prime Minister, Najib will not have his first 100 days to dazzle the people with bold promises and pledges of a new beginning, as what he had done in his pre-100 days, in particular the immoral, illegal and unconstitutional power grab he orchestrated in Perak, producing two Mentris Besar in Perak, will cast a long dark shadow over his premiership.
With the immoral, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, with defections of elected representatives, re-defection, public disappearances of defectors, monetary inducements in millions and even tens of millions of ringgit and intimidations, coupled with the latest outrage of the violation of privacy and outrage of modesty of Selangor woman Exco member, Elizabeth Wong, Najib will start off his administration as the most divisive and polarizing Prime Minister in the nation’s history.
With such a background, how can Najib command national confidence to successfully unite and rally Malaysians to lead the country to tide over the looming economic crisis?
DAP’s position against unprincipled, unethical and immoral party defection is clear and consistent.
As far back as 31 years ago in March 1978, I had sought to move a private member’s bill intituled Members of Parliament [Prevention of Defection] Act 1978 to ensure political integrity of Members of Parliament.
I had said in Parliament in my motion in 1978 that the defection of MPs or State Assemblymen from parties on whose ticket they got elected is most undesirable and unethical, because they are elected not because of their personal qualities, but because of the Party they represent. Such practices also permit elected politicians to be bought and sold as if they are on the market place.
If an elected MP resigns or is expelled from the Party on whose ticket he was originally elected, then he should resign his seat and cause a by-election to be held. If the resignation and expulsion is over a matter of political principle which has the support of the people, then the MP or State Assemblymen concerned should have no qualms about getting re-elected.
However, the Constitution two decades ago providing that an MP or Assemblyperson who resigned his seat would not be able to recontest for five years – an amendment the DAP had opposed.
What is urgently needed is the enactment of anti-hopping legislation and repeal of the five-year ban from recontesting for an elected representative as in Article 48(6) on the Federal Constitution.
(Extract of speech on the Motion of Thanks on the Royal Address in Parliament on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009)