The political situation in Malaysia is no longer the same, compared to the times and era of former prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As Dr Mahathir would have realised by now, it is no longer a question who has the power to put shackles on the Opposition, but he who can win over the hearts of the people.
The political landscape has turned into a battle of the mind. It is a question of who has the power to influence the people. In the last General Election, both Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan team were able to garner a popularity vote of 52 percent, compared to BN's 48 percent.
If the trend continues with Mahathir rearing his ugly head, UMNO and Barisan Nasional will likely lose a bigger majority, now that the Bumiputra community in East Malaysia is also riled up over the Allah controversy that has culminated in the seizure of both the Alkitab and the Iban Bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia.
The raid on the Bible Society has rocked the Church in both Peninsular and East Malaysia, making it another major reason for the people to vote against the BN in the coming Election.
With the recent spate of arrests, what is obvious with the growing list of Opposition leaders, activists, journalists, law professors and even ordinary citizens who post their comments on social media, is that the Government is drawing a strong ire from the voters from a broad spectrum of racial and religious backgrounds.
Bravo to Idris
Even a cabinet minister, Idris Jala has voiced out his concern over the current state of affairs. Idris, who has publicly made known his views, is to be applauded for having the courage to stand up for the truth, compared to his other senator cabinet ministers such as Wahid Omar and Paul Low.
None of the Gerakan, MCA or MIC ministers have enough courage to speak the voice of the people. This is perhaps one strong reason why these political parties are no longer relevant in the Malaysia that we know today.
MCA, for example, which did not have a representative in the cabinet, appears to be more interested in warming the pews than to speak up on behalf of the rakyat. When they no longer gain the people's support, these ministers and their parties cannot blame anyone but themselves. They are doomed to lose their votes to Pakatan candidates, if they continue to play a subservient role.
Although Idris Jala has remained largely silent over such issues, the fact that he is now prepared to put his head to the chopping board, his latest statement about the Sedition Act has at least opened the eyes of the people that it is not necessary that everyone in Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak's cabinet agrees with the current spate of arrests.
If anything, it shows that Najib's cabinet is indeed made up of people who have their own views. They are not necessarily the 'rubber stamp' for a few cabinet faces. Currently, only UMNO ministers' views are being heard over a number of matters, including the way the Government dealt with the plight of the homeless in the city of Kuala Lumpur.
More Brickbats for Zainuddin
Former group editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia, Zainuddin Maidin should realise that the game plan is no longer the same as during the times and era of Dr Mahathir.
Mahathir was a dictator who is still operating beyond his expiry date. In the case of food, it would have been discarded a long time ago, but Dr Mahathir continues to feed the people with his old can of venom.
When he was in power, no one could disagree with him. After 22 years under Dr Mahathir's rule, people have finally awakened to the way how this country's riches have been plundered by that one man. It took one journalist, Barry Wain to expose his misdeeds. Mahathir is known to be one person who could never work with any of his deputies.
After riding on the back of the Malays in this country, he is now calling them 'lazy', without realising of course that many who are his cronies have to work very hard for their three meals a day.
I have met a number of these people and personally, I look up to these 'pakciks' and 'makciks' whose livelihood depended so much on every drop of their perspiration. Calling them 'lazy' is like adding salt to the wound. If you do not believe me, go and visit Kelantan yourself.
Like Frank Sinatra's song goes, Dr Mahathir is one man who did everything his way. As a result, countries like Singapore moved ahead of us in terms of becoming a high income nation, but most of us are still in the middle income trap.
Zainuddin's attack on Idris Jala is like one Bumiputra attacking another. One is from the Great UMNO Baru, the other is a true native of Sarawak, from the Kelabit clan. In my opinion, the one who deserves to be reprimanded and censured is Zainuddin. It is because of people like him that UMNO/BN have lost their support over the past two General Elections.
Najib's cabinet needs more people like Idris and Culture and Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, who are willing to stake their cabinet positions to represent the voice of moderation. I remember even Nazri was prepared to up his ante against Mahathir, who despite being a Mamak, yet denying it, continued to pit one race against another.
In the current political atmosphere, where the voices of provocateurs such as Ibrahim Ali, Zaik Abdullah and Zulkifli Noordin continue to be heard, it is important that even cabinet ministers should speak up if they disagree with a certain policy.
It is like welcoming fresh news from afar. The people want to know that, within the cabinet, there is still a voice of conscience amongst the people who are helming Putrajaya. Currently, the expectation is that no one in the cabinet would dare be seen as going against UMNO Baru and Najib.
Sedition Act
The Sedition Act has earned Najib and his cabinet, in particular, the Home Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a lot of brickbats. The pressure is rising against the current administration.
The prime minister promised to repeal the Act, but instead, he is using it against the voice of dissent. The brickbats have also come from offshore.
Even Rupert Collvile in a statement from the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights office has expressed concern that the Sedition Act is "overly broad and does not outline well-defined criteria for sedition.” The entire interpretation of sedition lies with the UMNO minister and his Inspector-General of Police.
Recently, former minister, Zaid Ibrahim has challenged Ahmad Zahidi about how anyone could be considered having committed a seditious act against the four sacred agenda that he mentioned. Supposing someone said that both Mathematics and Science should be taught in English, is this considered seditious? Likewise, if the Tok Bendahara Tun Perak lied to the sultan that Hang Tuah has been executed, but later, revealed the truth, is it considered seditious?
If someone said that Acheh was once ruled by women, namely Queen Sofiatuddin (1641-1675), Queen Naqiatuddin (1675-1678), Queen Zakiatuddin (1678-1688) and Queen Kamalat Syah (1688-1689), is that considered as seditious? Surely, one can also twist it to the extent that it appears to be seditious.
Some crackpots can lodge a police report to say that such statement was made to provoke the Sultan of Selangor, who has a difficult decision to make since PKR President, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has the confidence of the majority in the Selangor State Assembly.
I am told that the definition of the word, 'Sedition' does not even appear in the Act. On its own, the Act is incomplete without a proper definition of what one can or cannot do or say.
Till today, one cannot expect someone in the calibre of Ahmad Zahid to answer the questions posed by Zaid. It clearly shows that the arrest of political opponents as nothing but an effort to silence the voice of the majority.
Therefore, when Zainuddin urged the Cabinet to censure Idris, my question is: Was Zainuddin not seditious in the first place with the number of things he has said so far? Perhaps, he should taste the medicine himself and be charged for sedition. - MAILBAG
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