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You can’t teach an old politician new tricks

Zan Azlee
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 12, 2013

What happens when an elected representative does something in office that is against the wishes of his electorate?

To be more specific, what if he does something without consulting his constituency and is mainly for his own personal benefit?

Well, in most cases around the world, this would be unethical and the elected representative would come under heated pressure and probably lose in the next election.

But in Malaysia, it happens to be quite all right. Because, you see, in this country, elected leaders are one step higher than normal people.

What they say is like gospel for everybody. Don’t believe me? Then check out our newspapers. It is filled with elected leaders saying this and that as advise for the people.

Take for example, the new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Ahmad Hamidi, who recently said that the Sedition Act should not be abolished.

He says this with full aplomb as if his judgement is the right one and should be the decision best for the country.

In truth, the Sedition Act is as archaic as the ISA and a sack of fosillised mammoth bones that is about to turn into petroleum and then processed by Petronas.

At the moment, the Sedition Act cover is just too wide and vague that it allows the authorities a lot of leeway for manipulation. So, it deserves at least an update.

Even the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, announced much earlier (many times, even) that the act would be abolished.

And it is not just Ahmad Zahid who is against the abolition of the Act. Many other BN leaders are too. So, I guess this just shows that many leaders are still too entrenched in old politics.

This old politics is the one that makes them think they do not have to answer to anyone and that they were elected through divine intervention.

An elected representative needs to listen to what the public wants because they need to realise that it is this public that holds the fate of their political career.

As it is, the popular vote has already been lost by the Barisan Nasional. They cannot afford to further alienate this segment of the population.

It does not take a genius political analyst to deduce that the Malaysian public wants an immediate change. If it is not a change of the guards, then at least a change within.

Malaysians are smart and getting smarter, and likewise, they want smart people to represent them too. This is only natural.

So to stay on top, politicians these days cannot be same old guards who are not of the same intellectual capabilities as the rest of Malaysia.

Gone are the days when democracy was supposed to be ‘Malaysian style’. It is no longer top down where those who have been elected write the rules.

Democracy is democracy no matter where it is practised, and what it means is that the people decide and write the rules.

Those who have been elected are only there to serve that purpose, which is to represent those who elected them, with their best interests at heart.

And then, boom! What does Ahmad Zahid decide to do again? He, along with his deputy, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, goes all god-like again!

They decide to go against the decision of a panel of distinguished law professionals consisting of chief justices, lord presidents, lawyers, academics, journalists and thinkers.

According to these two who seem to know the law better, setting up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is unconstitutional.

Oh well, as they say, you really can’t teach an old politician new tricks. Or something like that, right? – July 12, 2013.

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8 Replies to “You can’t teach an old politician new tricks”

  1. Why want EO if they say Selangor don’t need auxiliary force? It makes no sense. If Selangor don’t need auxiliary force, it means either the situation is not bad or the police can do with what they have.. Otherwise, give Selangor all the auxiliary force they need. ONLY If AUXILIARY FORCE OF SELANGOR SAYS THEY NEED EO – then we will think about it..

    1. If RELA is running all around, what is the actual authority doing then ? Then if everybody SMS everyone in authortiy, what is the actual authority doing also ? Anyone can be a spy with the help of a mobile phone. Just one SMS up until the Prime Minister also can. In that case, what is the people with the official authority doing ? It makes everybody feel like god and feel so great and powerful.

  3. Well, in most cases around the world, this would be unethical and the elected representative would come under heated pressure and probably lose in the next election. – End of quote

    Well, well, well.
    In a true democracy, yes!
    But ours is a dictatorship masquerading as a democracy!!!
    The answer is NO!
    The raison d’etre for the existence of this bunch of lunnies is the gravy train.
    And everything is concentrated in retaining it.
    The question is: Do we allow them??

  5. The only prerequisite to be an UMNOputra politician is that he must be brain dead, act like a zombie and when all other fair and rational minded people object to draconian laws, the UMNOputra politician like Home Minister and his sidekick deputy go against the tide to show they are smarter than the others.
    The newly minted Home Minister is trying his best to show the PDRM that he is their saviour. He is doing this because he doesn’t want the PDRM and the AG to charge him for criminal assault and battery that he did in 2006 just like a common thug.
    I wonder why Najib selected this retarded fellow (PhD?) who doesn’t even care to read up the RCI supporting the IPCMC but shoots his drivel as if it is the Quranic truth, just because he says it.
    I suppose what they say about the leopard not being able to change its spots is true. These UMNOputras would rather see the country going the way of the banana republics than to try changing themselves according to the times.

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