Dewan Speaker has disgraced the nation

Malaysians must demand the return of honesty to our halls of power.

FMT LETTERS

FMT letter from JD Lovrenciear via email

In the wake of the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s admission that he did tender his resignation, Malaysians must demand the return of honesty to our halls of power for the sake of national dignity.

“Disgustingly shameful” – that’s about the only way one can describe the Speaker’s behaviour. First he denied that he had wanted to resign and made former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad look like a liar. The very next day, he admits that he did send in his resignation.

As if that is not shameful enough, he goes on to justify retracting his resignation, saying Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promised him “transformation”.

What can we make out of all this if not, to put it plainly, sheer disgrace? It’s a disgrace to our parliamentary democracy, a disgrace to all the members of Parliament, a disgrace to our sovereign rulers, a disgrace to 30 million citizens.

Things have just gone too far. We cannot anymore put up with all the rubbish that is becoming the hallmark of the Najib administration. When do we say enough is enough?

Things cannot be left in the hearts of the rural voters. The learned, the professionals, the principled civil servants, heads of religions, civil society leaders – all of us who uphold the moral and ethical principle of good governance – must remove this yoke and return dignity and honour to our nation because our leaders are failing us miserably almost on a daily basis.

We cannot accept this ridiculous state of affairs, now compounded with even the Speaker lying openly. We must move beyond mere condemnation if we truly care for Malaysia.

J. D. Lovrenciear is an FMT reader