Adam is our catalyst for change

Adam is our catalyst for change and Najib’s nightmare is about to begin.

COMMENT

Adam Adli Abdul Halim is a Malaysian martyr; an articulate, courageous and intelligent young man whose continued persecution and arrest has made him a symbol of Malaysia’s pro-democracy movement.

In his rousing speeches, 23-year-old Adam has convinced the rakyat that an effective government should adhere to good governance and honest work ethics. The government led by Najib Tun Razak is scared. Adam dared to confront cowards, bullies, traitors and crooks in Umno-Baru. They arrested Adam to silence him because he posed a threat to both Najib and Umno-Baru.

This government is vindictive. In December 2011, Adam, a Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student lowered a flag depicting Najib’s image and replaced it with a flag bearing the words “Academic Freedom”. He wanted to highlight the repressive nature of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA). Adam was suspended for 18 months.

The government has curtailed Adam’s education and they have attempted to wreck his future with a charge of sedition. This has sparked an outcry. Adam is the public voice of our struggle. He represents our future. Adam had already warned us that when votes are stolen, the country is no longer a democracy. Adam warned us about a dictatorship. Najib’s actions against Adam have confirmed this.

Adam’s story has two points of interest.

Firstly, he is a young man who has publicly denounced this illegitimate government and criticised the Election Commission (EC) for condoning cheating at the polls.

Adam has urged the rakyat, from farmers to fishermen, students and teachers, young and old, to stand united, to defend our nation and to seize back the democracy which Najib stole from us.

Why would Umno-Baru, which has been in power for decades, and a corrupt EC transform itself, and give the rakyat a free and fair election in GE-14?

Najib is scared because Adam refuses to be intimidated. Adam is neither a politician nor an aristocrat. He is just an ordinary Malaysian who is representative of Malaysia’s youth.

The second point presents an insidious twist to the Adam Adli case. Malaysia is increasingly populated by the pendatang wannabe Malays, who have worked themselves into positions of power – people like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Rais Yatim. Adam is being persecuted by these pendatang pseudo-Malay leaders. They commit acts of treason, and yet Adam is the one being persecuted.

If the original Malays of Malaysia do not wake up, their precious Tanah Melayu will be swamped by pendatang wannabe Malays – Muslims from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines who were imported so that they could become ‘instant Malays’.

This writer is aware that some Malays are opposed to Adam because they believe it is not the ‘Malay’ way to be confrontational or to be ‘biadap’ (disrespectful). Some would prefer Adam to address his grievances about GE-13 in court.

Non-existent honour

Are they aware that the Malaysian justice system dances to the tune of its political masters and is open to the highest bidder? Only a fool would imagine that Adam will get a fair hearing.

Look at the Perak crisis of 2009 or the laboriously slow legal wrangle with the PKFZ corruption case involving high profile politicians. Shahnaz Majid, the former wife of Taib’s son Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, claims that “hidden hands” are manipulating the syariah judges who are presiding over the appeal of the judgement of her divorce.

The families of the people who have died at the hands of the police or the MACC know how it feels to be victims of miscarriages of justice. Adam is right to demand that we release ourselves from Umno-Baru’s vice-like grip.

Despite cheating, by pumping billions of ringgits and flying in phantom voters for GE-13, Najib only scraped through with 47% of the votes.

This means that the true figure for people who voted for the Opposition is much higher. Najib will be shocked to learn that probably 70% or more of the voting electorate are pro-Pakatan. Perhaps he is aware of this, and this is why he has ordered the police to clampdown on dissenters.

Malaysians who criticise Adam need to re-examine their values. Is it right that Najib has stolen from them? Do they feel comfortable with a person who is allegedly intertwined in the murder of a Mongolian model and who orders violence against those who oppose him?

Are they happy that in Najib’s government, sons of ministers can beat-up ordinary people? Taib Mahmud’s son allegedly beat-up a television presenter. Nedim Nazri Aziz allegedly posed as a member of royalty before beating up a security guard.

Are the Malays happy that in Najib’s government, people who rape children avoid punishment by forcibly marrying their victim? Are the Malays not ashamed that each time Umno-Baru takes a swipe at the opposition leader, sex videos and charges of sexual impropriety appear? Do Malays not realise the aberration of justice when extremists like Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Nordin escape any form of censure?

The majority of young adults of Adam’s age would prefer to be out partying or socialising rather than worry about the abyss into which Malaysia is doomed to fall.

Adam has tried to highlight the worsening situation in Malaysia, in which discrimination and mismanagement are spiralling out of control. He has displayed a maturity which is lacking in the offspring of Umno-Baru politicians, many of whom received an expensive education, paid for by the rakyat.

Have the sons and daughters of Umno-Baruputras said anything about our dictatorship? Have they condemned the corruption, the deaths in custody, the poisoning of our environment by polluting industries, the robbing of the treasury by officials of Umno-Baru, and many other abuses of power?

The Umno-Baruputra children, like their parents, are desperately hanging onto their privileged existence because they cannot envisage a life where hard work matters. They benefit from a corrupt government.

Catalyst for change

Adam has more integrity than Najib or Mahathir, who build towering skyscrapers to replace their non-existent honour.

Adam once said, “Why should university students be afraid of those whom we have elected. They should work for us. Do not be afraid to criticise our leaders, no matter who they are.”

Adam’s persecution will be the beginning of the end for Najib and Umno-Baru. This young man has united the nation in his quest for fair governance and democracy.

He will be joined by people from all walks of life and also by the thousands of student activists from decades ago, whose protests were once quelled by Mahathir and his repressive laws.

Some of these former student activists may still be in exile but will contribute aid in many ways; those who remained in Malaysia will have a reinforced desire and determination to continue Adam’s struggle and they will lend physical presence and support.

The rakyat will not tolerate Najib’s version of Operation Lalang. Adam is our catalyst for change and Najib’s nightmare is about to begin.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.