by K George
Aliran Monthly Vol 25 (2005): Issue 1

	In the long run, you will be judged not for your rhetoric but for translating your promises into reality. K George

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s entry as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 31 October 2003 gave us, the law-abiding and peace-loving people of Malaysia, happiness and a sense of relief from the fear that had loomed during Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s reign.

Abdullah, affectionately known as Pak Lah, Nice Guy and Mr.Clean, promised to eradicate corruption and grant us equal and fair treatment and pledged transparency and accountability as a hallmark of his government. He asked the people to work with him. He declared that he wished to listen only to the truth which effectively meant that he would reciprocate with truth and nothing but the truth.

Over and above, the PM assured us that everyone irrespective of race and religion would be treated equally and without discrimination and that Malaysians will have an equitable share of the nation’s wealth. Abdullah did not stop at that. He called upon NGOs to point out the government’s short-comings and also urged the people to criticise his administration.

All these declarations and assurances gave us hope for a better Malaysia. A feel-good atmosphere prevailed following this. But it is fast receding now. Let us review Abdullah’s administration over the last 14 months.

Speaking truth

We, the people, do not speak lies to our PM. There is no reason or purpose to do so. But the PM has misled Parliament. He is on record as having stated that the 18 high-profile corruption cases do not involve individuals, but corruption-prone sectors.

Answering a question from DAP Member of Parliament, Teresa Kok, Abdullah said that former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim did not make a police report regarding the misappropriation of Pewaja funds. But it was a lie. Anwar not only made a police report, he even urged the prosecution in Eric Chia’s case to subpoena him (Anwar) and Mahathir to give evidence.

After the UMNO Supreme Council election on 25 September 2004, Abdullah announced that all those elected were his men. But the truth was that it was the first time in the history of UMNO that its president, who is also the prime minister, lost control of the Supreme Council. There are two camps in UMNO now - the Abdullah camp and the Najib camp. In spite of Abdullah’s rhetoric it is well known that their relationship leaves much to be desired.

Malaysian’s pliant mass media - both print and electronic - remain subservient. They continue to sing praises of the Barisan National (BN) leaders. The editors and managers of the mainstream mass media seem to have abandoned investigative journalism altogether. After receiving a massive mandate in the general election on 21 March 2004, Abdullah ignored the advice and suggestion of several leading personalities such as Musa Hitam, Dr Nordin Sopiee and Dr Chandra Muzaffar that the mass media be given enough freedom to report the truth and to appoint a cabinet comprising honest, committed and capable members.

Abdullah missed an excellent opportunity. We now see the same old tired faces in the cabinet - except that the number of portfolios and cabinet members has notably increased.

Corruption, money politics, draconian statutes

Money politics in UMNO is about buying votes to get elected to the leadership. In the context of UMNO, it must be borne in mind that it is the party that rules Malaysia. It has been well established that money politics is corruption - a serious crime under the penal code. That is why we have a separate Anti-Corruption Agency with trained personnel and the necessary facilities to tackle corruption. It is, therefore, wrong for Najib Razak to say that vote-buying is UMNO’s internal matter and need not be referred to the ACA.

The Prime Minister fully agrees that vote-buying is a violation of the law and that the Anti-Corruption Agency must deal with it. It is not a healthy sign that the PM and the deputy PM are openly in conflict in this matter. Abdullah feels that the ACA need not wait for reports in order to investigate cases of corruption. Nevertheless, the DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng, has already made a police report to force the hand of the police to act. Incidently, in an article dated 4 Dec 2004, veteran journalist MGG Pillai asks, “Is there not a rule in UMNO that if a member files a police report, he is suspended or sacked?” It could be yet another controversial article in UMNO Baru’s constitution that prevents members from acting on matters of corruption.

Two months before he assumed the position of PM, Abdullah declared that his primary agenda was to eliminate corruption. He has repeated this several times since then.

The King, on his recent birthday, issued a royal command with regard to dealing with anybody involved in corruption. Don’t look at the face, charge the culprit. So, I am really puzzled as to why the PM made a statement in Parliament on 24 May that the 18 high-profile corruption cases do not involve individuals.

Four days later, ACA Director General Zulkipli Mat Noor told the press that the ACA had submitted its report on the investigation of the 18 cases to the Attorney General. To a question by the press whether any Menteri Besar or Chief Minister was involved, his reply was “I do not want to sensationalize the issue.”

Seven months have passed by and the AG is still sitting on the report without any sign of prosecuting the culprits.

Two out of the 18, according to Malaysia Today, are an important minister and his wife. If you are curious to know who they are, please visit Malaysia Today’s website of 4 Dec 2004.

A resolution adopted at the 28th AGM of Aliran on 28 Nov 2004 has demanded an explanation from the PM as to why the AG has been delaying the prosecution of the persons involved. What happened to the royal command? What is happening to the PM’s repeated assurance of not sparing any culprit involved in corruption?

No wonder Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranking for Malaysia has slipped.

I have no doubt in my mind that there is more than meets the eye. What do you think?

As regards draconian laws, Suaram director Dr. Kua Kia Soong says in his report that Abdullah’s leadership has failed to meet the expectations despite his pledges to weed out corruption and bring about reforms. Kua went on to say that the substance of reforms has been lacking. Laws long considered draconian and contrary to international human rights norms have neither been reviewed nor repealed.

Kua, a veteran human rights activist said, “ Given the Government’s performance over the past year, there is little to indicate that the trend and politics to restrict democratic space and civil liberties will wane in future.”

The Internal Security Act, the Emergency Ordinance and the Dangerous Drugs Act, all of which allow detention without trial are still in force. Laws that restrict freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly remain intact. Have you ever come across a statute that prohibits university students (who are supposed to be the future leaders) from having any rapport with trade unions and political parties in any other country than Malaysia?

Recently, a 22-year-old student was disciplined for campaigning for Party Keadilan Rakyat. If she had campaigned for UMNO, most probably she would have been rewarded. It is common knowledge that Malay students studying overseas are invited to the annual UMNO general assembly. Perhaps, UMNO is above the law!

There are also other obnoxious laws. Several opposition leaders and activists and even ordinary members of the public were arrested, remanded and even charged; some were convicted under these laws. One such leader was Lim Guan Eng. He exposed an alleged statutory rape of a Malay girl by Rahim Tamby Chik .At that time Lim was a Member of Parliament; Rahim was not remanded or charged in court. Apparently he was not even questioned by the authorities. but the police found a loop-hole to charge Lim under the Sedition Act. He was found guilty and ended up in prison for 18 months. The girl gave birth and yet the police, it seems never bothered to conduct a DNA test to identify the child’s father.

Another victim is Dr. Irene Fernandez, the director of Tenaganita, an NGO concerned with the migrant workers. Her offence was that she submitted a memorandum to the government highlighting the miserable and filthy conditions the detainees were being subjected to in a detention camp in Selangor. But she was charged for publishing false information. The trial lasted more than seven years and it became the longest criminal case in the country. She was eventually found guilty and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. She is presently on bail pending appeal.

In September 1998 at the height of reformasi, police assaulted several EPF employees - one of whom was my daughter - in the EPF building without any reason whatsoever. My daughter made a police report and also wrote a letter to the NST. but there was no investigation by the police and the NST couldn’t find enough space to publish the letter!

Let us hope and pray that PM Abdullah, the Nice Guy, will ensure such injustices are not repeated under his regime.

Let me now draw Abdullah’s attention to a landmark judgment (extracts reproduced in this issue) by the House of Lords in the UK in Dec 2004. The court, comprising nine judges, voted 8-1 to declare that that the government cannot detain terror suspects indefinitely without trial because it is incompatible with human rights.

Taking into consideration the above judgment and the fact that the official religion of Malaysia is Islam, , it will be a gesture of greatness if Abdullah could boldly decide either to release the detainees or charge them in court. He is an Islamic scholar and he loves the Almighty God. I understand there are still more than 80 ISA victims in Kamunting. Most of them have been there for more than two years. If he does this, his prestige will be enhanced and the detainees, their families, relatives and friends will remain forever grateful to him. Better still, if he repeals the ISA.

Ethnic unity and equitable sharing

Now I wish to touch on the maiden speech delivered by Abdullah at the 55th General assembly of UMNO on 23 Sept 2004.

Abdullah was wrong in claiming that he inherited a party (UMNO) that was founded and led by Dato Onn bin Jaafar and subsequently by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn, and that UMNO was strong, united and led by dedicated and committed leaders and activists. The UMNO he referred to is dead and gone. It was burried in 1988. The party he inherited is Mahathir’s UMNO Baru, whose gates were barred from admitting Tunku (the Father of Merdeka), Hussein and so many other respected Malay leaders and the pioneers of the original UMNO.

UMNO Baru may have 3.2 million members now. But to claim it is strong and united is an exaggeration. Abdullah cannot deny that under his very nose, vote buying was taking place. He took a strong stand against money politics and threatened serious disciplinary action. Consequently most of his men were grounded in the election.

Datuk Abdullah, your predecessor, Mahathir, was present, and you welcomed him with praise. You flattered him as a statesman of the world. You went on to say he had done great things for Malaysia. What actually was in your mind? The money squandered, the white elephants he built, the bailouts of his cronies and a firm controlled by his son with taxpayers’ money, Bank Negara’s forex trading losses amounting to over RM 30 billion, the privatisation without open tender of profits and the socialisation of losses?

As a result of all these misadventures, the nation’s coffers are almost empty. MGG Pillai’s website says Petronas has lent a sum of RM25 billion. You say that Mahathir retired at the pinnacle of his career; but I don’t buy it. As an intelligent person, Mahathir knew it would be unwise to continue his dictatorship any longer.

As I was going through your speech (reproduced by The Star in toto), I felt, that for a moment you forgot you were the prime minister of 25 million people of Malaysia consisting of not only Malays and Bumiputras, but also of people of various other religions and races. Even though you were speaking in your capacity as the president of UMNO, you are the leader of all Malaysians and not just the Malays. That is an established fact. Of course, in your speech you mentioned the BN parties speak with one voice. That was a joke to please your audience. As far as Mahathir was concerned, he never really believed in consultation and consensus.

A few years ago, Mahathir at a Gerakan general assembly, declared out of the blue that Malaysia is an Islamic state. Everybody swallowed it including that vehement critic of an Islamic state, Dr.Ling Liong Sik. In your speech, you too casually mentioned Malaysia is an Islamic nation and that it should not bother the followers of other religions as one of the important tenets of Islam is that non-Muslims must be provided with all the facilites to practise their respective religions.

Since 1970, as a result of the NEP, the status of Malays in various fields - the economy, education, science, business, enterprises - has substantially appreciated. Spoon-feeding is no longer desirable. Your attention as the PM and UMNO president should be diverted to those who are disadvantaged and downtrodden irrespective of race or religion. The poor Indians who were once the pioneers of the economic growth of this country, the aborigines, the Kadazans, the poor farmers and fishermen - they all deserve the assistance of the government. The cake should be shared equitably

You might recall that a long time ago the government decided that the appointments and promotions in the civil service would be in the ratio of 4:1 in favour of the Malays. It is now more than 30 years. What is the present situation? Hardly a non-Malay face is visible in many government offices and departments.

When it comes to promotions the ratio is discarded in favour of the Malays. As for the Secretary Generals of various Ministries and Director-Generals of departments, almost all of them are Malays. UMNO could consider apointing more non-Malay chief ministers to bring about better ethnic representation. The situation is frustrating and not conducive for unity and harmony. It would be in the interest of our beloved nation if the ratio is gradually replaced by meritocracy.

Discrimination based on race, religon and gender is an insult; it is not in conformity with human rights. Datuk Abdullah, please stick to your commitment to the people and honour your pledges. In the long run, you will be judged not for your rhetoric but for translating your promises into reality. If you can implement all the noble ideas and values that you have articulated, you will go down in history as an honourable man who truly cared for the downtrodden.

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