By Hussein Hamid
If like Anwar I am call a traitor for denouncing UMNO as failing to defend the special rights of the Malays and the Monarchy then let me stand beside Anwar and be a traitor.
UMNO defending the rights of the Monarchy? Was it not your President Mahathir who stripped away the legal privileges of the Sultans – the hereditary and cultural symbols of the Malays? The Sultans to whom we all go for protection against political and administrative excesses? And then you all have the audacity to put yourself on the same level as we had once had placed the Sultans on – but this time giving the Malays no access to protection from the excesses you have indulged in and now continue to indulge at the expense of the Malays? I did not hear of any Sultan taking Ringgit $500 million for services rendered. I did not hear of Sultans using the Police to impose their will upon the Malays. I did not hear of Sultans blowing up foreign nationals. I did not hear of Sultans willing to allow the Malays to suffer economically as they do in Kelantan, just because the people in that state choose to have, as their government, a party that is not UMNO.
And you call us traitors to the Malay cause? Are the people in Kelantan not Malays?
If they question Anwar’s sincerity for not raising the matter when he was in power then I too am not sincere because I was once one of those that look upon UMNO as our savior and never did denounce UMNO until now.
If what I say now shows disrespect to the Malays then I rather do this then to sit quietly while our Malay leaders enrich themselves through greed and corruption – as they continue to do today. If I am guilty of showing disrespect to these Malay leaders – so be it , I plead guilty as charged.
It is because I am sick to my stomach of UMNO leaders and their cronies taking, taking and taking for themselves what is rightfully for the Malays that they say they have been championing that I now stand up and point my finger at them and say to myself that if anything, I have been guilty of keeping quiet..because I, like Anwar, have had hopes that the aspirations of the Malay would have taken precedent over the greed of our leaders.
UMNO is greed. UMNO is deceit. UMNO is dishonor. You Muhyiddin, You Najib, you Khir Toyo, you Mahathir, You Daem, …and so many other UMNO cohorts have brought dishonor to UMNO and shame to us Malays. You dare call Anwar a traitor. Then call me one to.
There was a time when we had to expose the goings on in the award of tenders, privatization deals, projects failure…to make the people understand your misdeed while in power – NOT ANYMORE – that UMNO has become a bloated, corrupt and sleazy organization is a given fact – a fait accompli – a fact realized or accomplished – a decided fact – now days we can say that in your face and your leaders and past Presidents have accepted it as FACTS. Let me say it again – it is a given fact that UMNO is corrupt. Whether Anwar and me are traitors is still to be decided!!
Our worry is this. Now that you know that you will lose the next GE – what will you do to win it? Or should the question be what will you NOT do to win the next GE. Murder most foul. You have done it. Giving Ringgit 500 million for ‘services rendered’ to your running dog? You have done it. Using the ISA indiscriminately separating our leaders from their loves one? You have done it. I can name any evil under the sun and you have done it. UMNO through its leaders, have done it…and you dare to call me and Anwar traitors for speaking up? I can only shake my head in disbelief when trying to work out what is that you will NOT do? But this we pledge…whatever you do, do not think that you will be able to make us go away…. Never. We will be your worst nightmare – not money, not your might, not you threats not your gifts will deter us from doing the right thing. We will keep our anger until the next General Elections.