Suddenly pro-Chinese Nazri: Very "jantan" but insulting, says Robert Phang

I am amused by the statement made by Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, the so-called de facto Minister for Law, who declared that he would fight tooth and nail to ensure Chinese representation in a Barisan Nasional (BN) government even if the Chinese component party, namely MCA fails to secure a single parliamentary seat in the coming polls.

That seems to be a truly “Jantan” statement in championing the Chinese cause. If that statement is supposed to elevate Nazri Aziz in the eyes of the Chinese community, then he is mistaken. That statement would in fact constitute an insult to the Chinese electorates.

Who is Nazri to make such offers if the Chinese voters have rejected this Chinese-centric component party? Who appointed Nazri to be the Chinese champion on this issue? Since it is a historical fact that the BN political parties are race-based parties, it is best that Nazri look into his own backyard. I am sure my Malay brothers and sisters would appreciate to have their welfare being continuously taken care of by a vocal Malay Minister like Nazri Aziz, and not only during elections time.

There is more than meets the eye to Nazri’s statement. I have said it before that the statement by MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek is nothing more than a cheap political gimmick. Soi Lek loses nothing by making that statement. He knew that his “pornographic” background makes him unsuitable to be a government Minister. Thus, Soi Lek is actually sacrificing the government posts of other MCA leaders who could pose a threat to his MCA Presidency. The Chinese community is not stupid to not see Soi Lek’s objectives.

It was only recently that Nazri Aziz was seen interfering with GLCs by instructing them to appoint a favored legal firm in order to cause a withdrawal of the cases that these GLCS have against former MAS Chairman, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli. The public uproar showed that Nazri had miscalculated the public intelligence and reaction.

But more than that, I am told that it showed Nazri’s failure to comprehend basic principles of corporate law. I am also told that Nazri’s directive offends the Rule of Law because a government Minister cannot suborn the board of directors of a GLC which is a public listed company in that manner. I believe that Nazri Aziz should know these things better as he is a lawyer, while I am not.

By the same reasoning, Nazri’s statement on Chinese representation in the government offends basic logic on the purpose and objective of elections. A general elections is part of the democratic process to allow the electorates to select the leaders whom they would want to govern over them and the country. If the Chinese electorates have rejected the Chinese leaders from MCA, who is Nazri to force upon us to accept such leaders as our representatives in government?

It is more alarming to note the second part of Nazri’s statement that “The system allows us to appoint senators and we need to have representatives of the non-Malay community.” This confirms the public skepticism that appointments to the Senate have been abused as a backdoor entry into government. This is preposterous. More than that, this statement coming from a senior Minister who is a lawyer, displays sheer arrogance which will be deservedly punished in the coming GE 13.

Let us be reminded that the being elected to form the government is part of the democratic process. It erodes the fundamentals of democracy when a government is formed not from elected representatives but by back door appointments from politicians who have failed. A government post is not a trophy for political gratification.

I hope that as a person trained in the law, Nazri would recant his statement as it demeans the democracy that we hope to nature as we mature as a nation. Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

P.S. “HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL, THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

- Robert Phang is a well-known philantrohphist and a former member of the MACC's public panel