Tee tells 25 Eminent Malays to repent before it’s too late

Ridhuan Tee says he fully supports Perkasa’s call that they declare their assets.

PETALING JAYA: Despite not having a shred of evidence that the 25 Eminent Malays dabbled in corrupt practices while serving the government, UniSZA lecturer Ridhuan Tee wondered out loud in his latest column in Sinar Harian, how on earth they got to be so wealthy.

Fully supporting the call by NGO Perkasa that the 25 declare their assets, Tee said, “If you are in the civil service, no matter how high a position you hold, even if you were a minister, you would not be filthy rich.”

He did however consider that some of the 25 eminent Malays might have come from wealthy families but pushed on with his argument of suspicion saying, “But sometime, not only are the civil service retirees rich, their siblings are too as well as their kids. Where did they get this money from?”

Tee also had another bone to pick with the group, saying they were doing a disservice to those who were working hard to right the many wrongs in our society today.

He said, “Repent already. Why is it that after retiring, we are bold and loud without giving a thought to those who are working hard to defend the dignity of our religion, race and nation, whether government officials or NGOs?”

Tee said what the 25 Eminent Malays should be doing instead was taking stock of their lives and repenting for their past sins before they died.

“Don’t they realise that as they grow old, that there are many preparations they have to make before they meet their maker?”

He then offered seven tips of his own on how senior citizens should spend their old age after indulging in all forms of bad (and sometimes good) behaviour when they were young.

Among these were one tip for women in particular to continue wearing headscarfs even into old age, saying, “Go to shops selling headscarfs. Find something suitable that will cover your aged skin and hair.”

Besides also worrying that some young Malays were acting “more Western than Westerners”, Tee had some harsh words for retirees who continued to work, telling them to refrain from thinking they were too good to the point that they showed off and started condemning others.

He added, “For those who had stolen the rakyat’s money while holding important posts, give plenty of alms before Allah takes your life away.

“Stop pointing fingers at others, labelling this or that person as extremists.”