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Mahathir jangan dijadikan contoh dan ikutan

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 28, 2012

28 MEI — Betulkah pandangan Dr Mahathir jika PR kalah dalam pilihanraya nanti negara akan huru-hara? Satu lagi yang menjadi persoalan ialah kata-kata Mahathir yang jika Umno kalah dan ditewaskan Melayu akan hilang kuasa politiknya? Kenapa Mahathir alih-alih terlalu sayang kepada Umno pula? Kenapa Mahathir alih-alih dan tidak semena-mena terlalu sayang kepada orang Melayu yang selama ini beliau pandang rendah? Persoalan-persoalan yang saya ajukan ini jangan di salah fahamkan.

Saya bertanya perkara ini, kerana orang Melayu telah hilang identiti asalnya oleh kerana Mahathir. Apabila Mahathir kembali bercakap pasal masa depan orang Melayu dan tentang ketakutannya kepada huru hara negara ini, ia amat bertentangan dengan apa yang beliau lakukan selama ini, terutamanya semasa menjadi Perdana Menteri selama 22 tahun dahulu. Segala yang beliau lakukan semasa sedang seronok berkuasa dahululah yang menjadi penyebab berlakunya apa yang berlaku pada hari ini.

Saya mempunyai keyakinan tinggi yang Mahathir sedang begitu panik dengan pergerakan perubahan yang sedang berlaku dalam minda rakyat termasuk minda orang Melayu. Yang pastinya Mahathir tidak mahu seboleh-bolehnya melihat Umno ciptaan beliau kecundang dihadapan mata beliau semasa beliau masih hidup ini. Kalau di nilai dari sudut mana pun, mahu tidak mahu Mahathir merupakan orang yang “accountable” terhadap kekeruhan politik negara kini.

Kecelaruan politik negara tidak akan menjadi begini buruk dalam sekelip mata dan tidak adil jika Mahathir dan konco-konconya meletakkan semua kesalahan kepada kelemahan Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sahaja. Malahan naiknya Abdullah Ahmad Badawi itu adalah kerana kesalahan Mahathir sendiri kerana Mahathir sememangnya mahukan Abdullah menjadi PM kerana beliau menyangkakan Abdullah boleh beliau pengaruhi dalam pentadbirannya. Continue reading “Mahathir jangan dijadikan contoh dan ikutan”

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Totally bizarre – Hanif’s insistence to head the “independent advisory panel” into Bersih 3.0 violence

It is totally bizarre – former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar’s insistence to head the “independent advisory panel” into Bersih 3.0 violence when he should have recused himself and even advised the other panel members to withdraw or better still, the Cabinet should have scrapped the panel altogether and given full support to the Suhakam public inquiry into the human rights violations at the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28.

The very fact that the Hanif panel had cancelled a earlier planned press conference after its first meeting today and decided instead to merely release a media statement is eloquent proof that Hanif and the panel members are fully aware that they do not enjoy public confidence that they will be able to act fairly, independently and impartially in the inquiry into the Bersih 3.0 violence, regardless of whether the victims were police personnel, media representatives or peaceful protestors.

For the past month, the government had launched a high-level campaign to vilify and demonise Bersih 3.0 and Pakatan Rakyat and the Hanif panel is regarded as an key part of this “demonization” campaign.

Hanif himself played an important role in the demonization campaign from the very beginning when he gave blind and unthinking support to the wild allegation by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that Bersih 3.0 rally was an attempted coup d’etat by the Opposition to topple the government.

Adding insult to injury, Hanif even said he identified pro-communist individuals at Bersih 3.0 from demonstrations in the 1970s and spoke to the media on the use of provocateurs and children in the Bersih 3.0 rally as “tactics of the communists”.

How can Hanif live down these highly prejudicial views on Bersih 3.0 unless he is going to retract and repudiate them? Continue reading “Totally bizarre – Hanif’s insistence to head the “independent advisory panel” into Bersih 3.0 violence”

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Umno needs to rediscover its soul

— C.L. Tang
The Malaysian Insider
May 28, 2012

MAY 28 — Malaysia, or Malaya at that point in time, was fortunate that the pioneer leaders of Umno were a group of exemplary visionaries. It has the fortitude and humility to be inclusive and fair, mindful of the great urgency for all Malaysians of all races to be united as they embark on building a newly independent nation.

Not unlike the founding fathers of America who laid a strong foundation for the former British colony to thrive, Malaysia might have gone the way of other failed states had these Umno visionaries not forged a strong partnership among all its constituents, regardless of race and religion.

Indeed, it is no small miracle that we have advanced so much since independence. For a small nation made up of such diverse colours and ethnicity, we were the envy of many former colonies and new nation states that failed to replicate our stable, harmonious growth.

However, this golden age of Umno, and along with Malaysia, began to ebb and deteriorate along with the quality of its leaders.

The gentlemanly conduct, open mindset and non-confrontational nature, which was the soul of early Umno, is now replaced by a hawkish, non-compromising stance of Umno Baru “leaders”. Continue reading “Umno needs to rediscover its soul”

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Najib’s government still in weak position, says Dr M

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
May 28, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the latter is still leading a weak government, repeating his call for federal polls to be held off until after the fasting month which ends in August.

The influential former prime minister told Bloomberg in an interview published today that the prime minister should delay plans for a general election that must be held within a year.

“Being weak, he has to respond to the criticisms. But when you are faced with this problem anything you do is not enough,” the long-serving former Barisan Nasional (BN) chief said, adding that Najib inherited a weakened coalition, which won Election 2008 by the narrowest margin since independence.

Najib took over from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in April 2009, ostensibly to reduce the record loss of 82 federal seats and five state governments with some observers saying that only a return to BN’s customary two-thirds majority can guarantee Najib’s hold on power. Continue reading “Najib’s government still in weak position, says Dr M”