Najib's Political Transformation Programme spells Extinction for BN

Accused of being a slouch and going on endless overseas holidays, Prime Minister Najib Razak must have decided to show up his critics. Suddenly he turned busy this week. Besides repealing the Internal Security Act and tabling the Peaceful Assembly Bill, he also tabled a motion in Parliament to end three emergency proclamations.

But he might as well have stayed on holiday. All three of his actions only served to underscore his weak hand on the government and his inability to push through much needed reforms to the country. It ended up another huge fiasco for the 58-year-old Umno president, who promised in September to make Malaysia the "best democracry in the world".

However, he lacked the all-important quality - sincerity. In the end, all of his promised reforms were revealed to be mere talk. Really, he had no intention to give Malaysians more democratic space in the first place. Instead, what he has done is to actually tighten even more the already oppressive laws in Malaysia, so as to protect his hold on power during the 13th general election, widely expected to be held in January.

Making a hue and cry over already redundant laws!

The three declarations that Najib lifted are the 1966 Emergency proclamation in Sarawak aimed at resolving political disputes in Sarawak; the May 13, 1969 Emergency proclamation following the May 13 racial riots; and the 1977 Kelantan Emergency proclamation aimed at resolving political disputes in Kelantan.

However, there is nothing much to be celebrate because the proclamations are not relevant anymore. As the prime minister himself admitted the three proclamations are actually “no longer necessary” since Malaysia is no longer in a state of emergency and has not been for a long while; thus, the laws are and were redundant. It is like removing our appendix which has nothing to do with our digestive system.

All out to demonize the ISA-13

The much-hyped repeal of the ISA has been described as “old wine in a new bottle” and this seems to be most apt. As chance would have it, just last week 13 people were arrested under ISA in Sabah, purportedly being so dangerous to the state and Malaysians in general that Malaysia's entire police and military forces could not contain.

So desperate was the BN to fudge this telling sign that it was indeed all talk and hot gas, an impression was even created that they were a huge militant group with an arsenal capable of overthrowing the government of Sabah or creating mayhem throughout the state. The latest is that they were also trying to murder a Sabah assemblyman.

So many accusations and just 13 men but no trial, just detention. Which of course, is the crux of the battle to abolish the ISA. But Najib and his government not only do not understand. They have lied to the people again.

Then the Peaceful Assembly or is it the Anti-Freedom of Assembly Act?

Najib's Peaceful Assembly Bill and Police (Amendment) Act 2011 now exempts the need to apply for a permit to organise an assembly, but it imposes so many other strict conditions that Malaysians are worse off than before, and more and more in the power of the police.

The long and short of it is that the Peaceful Assembly Bill still require Malaysians to seek permission, albeit not in the present and milder form. Otherwise, the police can still use force to disperse the assembly. It really is just like an anagram of sentences!

PTP prognosis - extinction!

The above are the actions taken by Najib as part of his Political Transformation Program or PTP, that he insists will bring about 'real' change. But it has not turned out to be so. Or perhaps, it is change but change for the worse.

Najib's weak hand and the BN's fear of losing power has smashed Malaysians' hope for a fair and just society, where people can live civilly with various creeds and beliefs able to pass a day without endless accusations of 'the Christians' or 'the Chinese' or 'the Indians' over-stepping their boundaries and eating into Malay space. Malays and Muslims too hunger for peace and space, where they do not have to be forced to be on guard for what does not exist.

Basically, Malaysians long for leaders who will ask them to use their 'good' sides and not their 'bad' sides to suspect and hate each other, while the leaders themselves stealthily and busily empty the national coffers.

But it is not so now. Najib's PTP is like an half unsolved Rubik cube puzzle. It has just been a waste of everybody’s time. It should more aptly be labeled as a Political Transformation Prognosis - the answer to which is very likely to be Extinction for the BN.

Malaysia Chronicle