Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics, have a rendezvous with history at the Bersih 5 rally outside Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, November 19, to send a clear, united and unmistakable message to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Malaysians and the watching world of their resolve to reclaim Malaysia as a land of democracy and not to become a land of kleptocracy.
The conviction and jail sentence of one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, and his disqualification to stand for election as an MP in the forthcoming 14th General Election, has highlighted the special pertinence and importance of Bersih 5 rally this Saturday.
Today, November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.
Let November 19, 2016 be a great day for democracy and a black day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.
Malaysians regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics must reclaim the country as a democracy and not a kleptocracy – and let this begin on Bersih 5 on Saturday, culminating in the 14th General Election expected next year.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for the rejection of hypocrisy in public policy and politics.
Is the Malaysian government led by the Prime Minister guilty of hypocrisy in public policy and politics, especially with regard to the greatest question confronting Malaysians today – whether Malaysia should be a democracy or a kleptocracy?
Singapore over the weekend saw the first criminal conviction linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal when former managing director of BSI in Singapore, Yak Yew Chew, 57, pleaded guilty to four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.
Yak was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail and a S$24,000 fine after he agreed to disgorge S$7.5 million and to co-operate with Singapore investigations into the multi-billion dollar international 1MDB kleptocratic, embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.
In Malaysia, our first criminal conviction is not to uncover and penalize culprits and criminals responsible for the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, which has caused the nation to suffer the international infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”, but against a person who had patriotically and valiantly stood up for full accountability and transparency in the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal!
Is this what justice and the rule of law have degenerated to, reflecting the deep hypocrisy of Malaysian public policy and politics?
Rafizi’s conviction for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal should be a priority agenda in Parliament, but no one expects this to be the case when the Speaker could make the unprecedented ruling invoking and mis-applying the sub judice rule to censor and outlaw question, debate and discussion not only about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but anything concerning the 1MDB scandal.
Even the most senior UMNO/BN parliamentarian, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, had spoken up against the Speaker’s unprecedented ruling, saying that MPs should not be barred from discussing active cases in other countries as the sub judice rule only applied locally.
Let Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics come out in unprecedented numbers on Saturday for Bersih 5 to stage a massive Gandhian peaceful and non-violent demonstration for the sake of our children and children’s children.
I am 75 and have been in politics for 50 years. I do not expect to gain anything personally from Bersih 5 but only to fight for a better Malaysia, a land of democracy and not kleptocracy, for future generations of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics.
There are agent provocateurs out of create fear and hate to sabotage Bersih 5, like UMNO’s Red Shirts.
In this connection, Malaysiakini must be commended for its latest frame-by-frame footage of the Jamal Yunos red-nose incident during the latest Red Shirts’ thuggish anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The Red Shirts leader, Jamal Md Yunos had sustained injuries to his nose during a scuffle when the police prevented members of the red-shirts movement from trailing PKR activists at the Ampang Point shopping mall.
Video footage showed Jamal shouting repeatedly, “Polis tumbuk saya (police punched me)”, but he later claimed that the assailant was linked to PKR Wanita chief and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin and subsequently lodged a false police report that he was struck by someone in a yellow Bersih T-shirt. From the video footage, the alleged assailant appeared to be wearing dark blue.
This is the morality, quality and character of agent provocateurs who are trying to sabotage a peaceful, non-violent, Gandhian and democratic Bersih 5 rally on Saturday.
Let Malaysians unite as one people for Bersih 5 at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, November 19 to start a national, democratic, peaceful , non-violent, Gandhian movement to reclaim Malaysia for democracy and reject the kleptocrats and their ilk in Malaysia.
Najib had asked how I could work with Tun Dr. Mahathir despite our decade of political differences.
Let me tell Najib, that if he is prepared to join the movement to Save Malaysia, to reclaim the country for democracy and to reject kleptocracy, I am prepared to work hand-in-hand with him for the national cause despite our political differences!
(Speech at the “Bersih 5 – Ke Arah Malaysia Baru” Ceramah at Kompleks Sukan Pandamaran in Klang on Monday, 14th November 2016 at 10 pm)
The fact we caught Jamal lying and wrong is really besides the point, we always known and he feels overentitled to it. The point really is so does Najib and he is official or not, a member and very very probable real top leader of the Red Shirts.
What that really means is 1MDB scandals will happen again, probaly already is with Najib’s unprofitable mega-projects. Each Red Shirts member or those who refuse to shut them down, represents a potential 1MDB scale scandal.
There is no more concrete proof of the failure of Najib’s leadership and programs than our current account decline. Najib presided over a remarkable growth period, largely nothing to do with him, and yet the current account decline proof his programs and plans are fake. There is no “transformation”, he changed nothing, the poor fundamentals he inherited from Mahathir era continues and he exacebrate it with his prodigality by destroying even more fundamentals that will eventually make the final end even worst and with decreases the options to fix it.
All Najib has done over his tenure is presided over what was inevitable evolution of Mahathirism. The crude form of programs and ideas of Mahathir was not sustainable, nearly destroyed the country when the Asian Financial Crises happened. It had to at least look better and that is what Najib did. Nothing changed much fundamentally although Najib is capable of liberal ideas.
To be fair, initially he may have tried to be liberal attempting to change some very crude levers of power and NEP policies, but it was never going to work with a faster changing electorate. His recent overtures to get bargain through MCA for Chinese votes with more Chinese schools without enough qualified teachers and needed land in expensive urban areas shows how over-entitled he is on his programs. He does something and expect full credit without achieving full targets. His original targets for Vision 2020, reduced from Mahathir’s goal, he is falling short and now wants to paint it over by resetting the target down 30 more years. He just feels entitled to falling short, failing and getting rewarded – the very definition of prodigality his father warned us about..
I say that the struggle for betterment must go on.
And in the same breath, I say that I am reaching the end of my optimism.
We are not dealing with one rogue. Nor a band of rogues. We have an entire system manned by rogues and a large section of blind and deaf and profoundly stupid electorates who insisted on supporting the rogues.
Red-nosed Reindeer reaps what he sows. As for Santa, time to throw out goodies through MCA. For fellow failure, MIC, Santa will give nambikai or what is more valuable, tembikai.
Even Sumatra is not welcome him back!