If only Najib & Umno had Tunku's principles: Using top civil servants to campaign for 2/3 win

Late last night, I tweeted: “Workers Party Lee Li Lan wins Punggol East by-election in Singapore with impressive 3182-vote majority against PAP. Najib more nervous about 13GE.”

It is the height of irony that with the winds of change blowing strong and hard in the region,  resulting in  the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak becoming more nervous than ever about the 13^th general elections, a government agency has been misusing its position and abusing public funds by going around the country to spread the  word that Barisan Nasional has the ability to obtain a two-thirds majority in the 13GE.

This was revealed by none other than Bernama in its report yesterday that the director-general of the Department of Special Affairs (Jasa) of the Ministry of Information, Fuad Hassan, in a question from a participant in the Johore Social Media Partner gathering at the Johore International Convention Centre in Johor Baru yesterday said:

“God willing…BN could obtain a two-thirds victory in the upcoming general election if we continue to work hard and strive to achieve what was targeted.”

Gross abuse becoming more blatant

Fuad said to garner two-thirds majority, BN needs to draw at least 30 per cent votes from the Chinese voters and respectively 65 per cent from the Malay and Indian voters, nationwide.

Fuad expressed confidence that the Malay support for BN in Johor could exceed 80 percent while support from Indian voters has also recovered fully from the fall in the 2008 elections and so too is the support from the Chinese community.

Fuad is entitled as a private Malaysian citizen to believe and to work towards the objective of BN recapturing two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 13GE, but he has no business to lead an entire government department, Jasa, paid from public funds, to campaign for UMNO/BN.

This is a gross abuse of public funds and misuse of government facilities, government malpractices which  have become more and more blatant,  flagrant and rampant after 55 years of UMNO/BN rule.

The first generation of Merdeka leaders led by Bapa Malaysia  Tunku Abdul Rahman were very conscious of the important distinctions separating the government, the political party in power and private personal capacities, which was an important reason why corruption and abuse of power were kept under firm check in the early years of Merdeka unlike in the past three decades when  abuse of power and misuse of public funds virtually run riot as  all the checks and balances were dismantled and destroyed one by one.

This was the reason why Bapa Malaysia, Tengku Abdul Rahman resigned as Prime Minister in April 1959, when he felt that he had to go round the country to consolidate national support for the Alliance before the 1959 general election, in the face of a formidable challenge from the Opposition.

Did you all know Tunku stepped down temporarily

Tengku stepped down temporarily as Prime Minister between April to August 1959 so that he would not be accused of abusing his powers and position as Prime Minister when he led the campaign for public support for Alliance, resuming the Prime Minister’s post after the Alliance won the 1959 general election.

Tunku’s action would be completely unthinkable today when there is even full departments and entire Ministries devoted to one objective – abuse their powers and public funds in a blatant and unashamed campaign for votes for UMNO/BN for the 13GE.

Fuad Hassan should be sacked as director-general of Jasa, because he had grossly abused his powers and position as a public servant as well as misused public funds.

Alternatively, Fuad Hassan should resign from the civil service and the whole Department of Special Affairs in the Information Ministry dissolved, as Fuad should join UMNO as a special officer to promote social media reach-out for UMNO/BN in the run-up to the 13GE, paid from party funds and not from public coffers for such a blatant political party objective.

It is clear that Fuad Hassan and Jasa are only tip of the iceberg in the blatant misuse of government machinery and abuse of public funds to serve the personal and party objectives of UMNO/BN leaders – another reason why there must be UBAH in the 13GE for a systemic end to such deep-rooted misuses of government power and abuse of public funds, which are the root causes of the rampant corruption and abuses of power in the country today.

Lim Kit Siang is the DAP adviser & MP for Ipoh Timur