Zaid likens Najib to Chinese emperor

Compared to his successor, former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is real and true to his nature, according to Zaid Ibrahim.

The ex-law minister said that Abdullah was not a pretender but a kind and decent human being, which were important factors to be prime minister in this fragile new country.

"He is not a fighter, but during his time at the helm he was never afraid to say what he felt and he did not shy away from criticising those he thought had done wrong.

"His concern for the welfare of Malays and Muslims was real. His moral compass made him sensitive to the things that were important to the people's feelings," he wrote in his blog.

On the other hand, Zaid described Najib Abdul Razak as being the complete opposite.

He added that like the Chinese emperor of the Middle Kingdom, Najib's thoughts remain veiled from the people, who were only expected to obey him.

"According to a recent issue of the Singapore Straits Times, our present prime minister is risk-averse.

"The justification for his silence and non-committal stance on so many important questions has always been that there are extremists in Umno ready to strangle him.

"I too believed he needed some breathing space before the 13th general election. But now I realise the truth: he simply does not care," he said.

Deplorable conduct

The former law minister also questioned Najib's view on the ban Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species.

"Why is this classic science book, one of the greatest written works on biology and natural science, taboo for Malays to read? Obviously he (Najib) does not care if Malays are interested in science or technology.

"Obviously he does not care if, as a result of the ban, Malays totally reject reason and scientific inquiry as a way of finding the truth.

"He is not ashamed that his own people have just become the only ethnic group in the world to be barred from reading a book of great scientific value. He is willfully oblivious to all these things as long as they vote for him," he added.

Describing the prime minister's conduct as deplorable, Zaid said his Malay ministers were in the same boat as well.

"I would have thought that this bunch of sycophants would have broken rank since they are all members of a political party that has sworn to fight for the Malay race.

"Why are they keeping mum when it will be the Malays who will bear the brunt of hudud laws should they ever be implemented? Do they not think that their own people will be the ones who will suffer the most, and may even lose their limbs?

"Do they not know that justice, regardless of its source, is susceptible to error, bribery and bigotry when it is overseen and implemented by humans? If there is a miscarriage of justice the loss of limbs would be irreversible, but do these Malay leaders care?" he added.

Elaborating on the banning of scientific books, Zaid said soon the home minister would come out with an even longer list of books and movies which must be prohibited for Muslims.

"Surely the fear is that if Malays can think logically and scientifically, they will throw out the leaders they have now," he added.

In his previous posting, Zaid called on Malaysians to push for a change in leadership.