Najib forgets that many of the people who are disgusted with his rule are the young
Why is Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak reminiscing about his father, Tun Abdul Razak? Is it because he wants to remind us of the past in the years after Merdeka or is he savouring the moments before Malaysia undergoes its most defining moment in her history since Independence?
Najib should be aware that very few of the older generation care for the way he (Najib) has led Umno/BN and that few of the things most of us valued since Merdeka, like justice, equality and respect, have been upheld by BN.
Najib said of his father, “Among the things I learned from him was on how to be patient and not to be too power-crazy.
“My father told me that he was afraid of absolute power. He was willing to make way for others to lead Umno after Datuk Onn Jaafar resigned as Umno president as he felt that he was not ready to be the number one in the party at that time.
“I don’t think such values are practised now as there are many power-crazy people who do not mind undercutting others, just to stay above the rest.”
Najib must be living in cloud cuckoo land. All he does has been about remaining in power. What does he call the Perak debacle when he allegedly paid various people, including VVIPs to do his bidding?
There are the other states too; the civil service appointment in Selangor was supposed to topple the state goverment, the Sarawak state elections and more.
Today, Najib talked about how his father taught him patience. But how many of the old are listening? Many of those who still remember his father, Abdul Razak do not have fond memories of his involvement and careful manouevering of the May 13 incident.
They may praise Abdul Razak for Felda, but it is his son, Najib, who has reduced this organization to a pitiful version of this once mighty outfit.
Saturday July 9 will be Malaysia’s defining moment. By and large, we are a peaceful nation and we do not spill over onto the streets just because we are displeased with something.
If anything, we are very reticent about revealing our true feelings and would rather take the ‘tidak-apa, sabar lah’ attitude, rather than talk rationally and discuss with those who have courted our displeasure.
Perhaps this is our failing – the failure to properly engage with others around us. Is this because of our culture? Or our upbringing? Or is it the Asian values which we are proud of and which we practise in our daily lives which are the complete opposite of those ‘westerners’ whom we feel hold nothing back? Why is it that when we protect our ‘face’, we are prepared to be trampled on or trample on others?
Malaysians versus political thieves
Malaysia does not have her own Mohammed Bouazizi, the Tunisian student who had to peddle fruit and vegetables in the streets in order to feed his family. Boauzizi died after his desperate act of self-immolation and became a hero, not just in Tunisia but also across north Africa and the middle east.
No we do not wish anyone to be harmed or to harm others or for property to be damaged or that people are inconvenienced.
What we do demand is for acknowledgement and the right to be heard. As individuals, we may not achieve much but at least the authorities will realize that people are not prepared to keep silent or tolerate injustices or human rights abuses any longer.
As a collective, we realize that our requests might be heard. That is where Bersih comes in. But our leaders are too vain or too arrogant to realize this. Perhaps that is why they have been able to continue with their ways at our expense.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has compared the Bersih march to a clash between Malays and non-Malays. He is wrong.
It is a clash between Malaysians and political thieves like himself who have stolen our rights and who have used race and religion to divide us.
Prime Minister Najib, in the remaining hours before he departs for the United Kingdom, is panic stricken and an ineffective leader.
His deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin has passed the buck to the police to deal with the demonstration on 9th July. What sort of a leader is that?
He said, “I leave it to the IGP (inspector-general of police) to decide what are the appropriate actions that should be taken, I don’t want to assume.”
After days of arrests and intimidation, is this the Malaysian cabinet in action? One flees the country, one absolves himself of responsibility whilst the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein just bans everything in his sight.
After dragging royalty into the political limelight, Najib then retracted on earlier promises about holding the rally in a stadium or meeting with Bersih and he wonders why the people are angry.
Earlier, Najib had told the crowds at Universiti Teknologi Mara in Bandar Tun Abdul Razak that lessons should be learnt in history so that mistakes will not be repeated. It appears that history is not one of Najib’s strong subjects.
In the final hours as Malaysia faces its most crucial upheaval since Merdeka, the Umno/BN government has again failed its people by refusing to engage with the rakyat.
Enough is enough
Najib forgets that many of the people who are disgusted with his rule are the young. How many of our graduates are jobless? How many are denied scholarships?
How many of the rich and well-connected are given study loans, scholarships and places at university? How many Malays does he think he can give civil servant jobs to?
He must know about the endemic corruption, the rising prices, the waste of taxpayers’ money. Does he care?
We loathe politicians who have made our lives a misery whilst they grow rich and abuse their power, at our expense.
How many of us would have predicted the democracy march of July 9? We have long been seen as a stable country, a moderate Muslim state whose people were seemingly happy with the way they are ruled.
How many foreigners who pass through realise that it is a land of unemployment, corruption, repression, arrests without detention and divisions created by race and religion?
Tomorrow, Malaysians will wake up to a better future and tell each other, that ‘enough is enough’.
Mariam Mokhtar is a local political observer and an FMT columnist. She is presently in Geneva looking for a Bersih rally to attend.
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