COMMENT When I first read news about The Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) writer, Tom Wright, having bagged several accolades at the Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) Awards 2016 last night, the first thought that came to mind is: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9)
Good men deserve to be rewarded but crooks will eventually have to pay a hefty price for the crimes that are on their heads. Whether it is robbery, burglary, corruption, murder or plundering the nation’s wealth, such crimes will surely be found out eventually. There is no escape.
One man is honoured for his reporting on the 1MDB scandal that has rocked the world, but why not people like the celebrity Malaysian tycoon Jho Low or even Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Abdul Razak?
It cannot be that the world is against Malaysia, or that this whole thing is nothing but a conspiracy against Malaysia. Most of us, right-thinking Malaysians, do not think so. We think Wright has done us a favour.
From being one of four Asian economic tigers, Malaysia is now known for being the top second country in the world for crony capitalism. We are also in the bottom half on Transparency International’s Corruption Index. This goes without saying that in just four years’ time, we are supposed to be a first world country.
In my opinion, we are nowhere there. By his own admission, Najib had said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has saved Malaysia from being another Greece.
In short, we were on the path to becoming a bankrupt nation. There is nothing to be proud of having implemented the GST. Had the country’s economy been well-managed, Malaysians would not have to pay a hefty price.
The fourth Asian tiger is sick, and we are like the proverbial frog that continues to adapt to the rising temperature in a pot of water over a stove. We are dying a slow death.
We have seen the collapse of the all-powerful Ferdinand Marcos and Suharto at the hands of their own people. Malaysia is fortunate enough that we do not have such an uprising but these two dictators had, in fact, overstayed their hospitality.
The one reason for their collapse was the high level of corruption that pervaded the entire government hierarchy. During Suharto’s time, going through customs was always a big test of one’s patience.
During the reign of these two past presidents, both countries became very corrupt, not to mention poor at the same time. While the people lived in extreme poverty, the elites were splashing away their money on expensive parties and goodies.
God of materialism
With Marcos, he had a bigger liability in his flamboyant wife, Imelda, who was said to be famous for some of her quotes:
- “I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.”
- “If you know how rich you are, you are not rich. But me, I am not aware of the extent of my wealth. That's how rich we are.”
- “Win or lose, we go shopping after the election.”
These are the values in life for Imelda. Today, Imelda is 87. Had she lived in the era of the French revolution, her head would have rolled like that of Queen Marie Antoinette. But even in her old age, Imelda is no better off compared to other women of her age. In fact, she had to spend a number of years in exile with her late husband, and was heavily ostracised by the rest of the world.
Whatever wealth that Imelda and her husband had accumulated over the years at the expense of the poor Filipinos, the ‘old lady’ cannot take with her. In those days, of course, she did not have the benefits of botox, but she was a beautiful woman; yet her wholehearted devotion to the god of materialism has dented her image among the ordinary Filipinos.
Ask any Filipino if he likes Imelda, you can be certain to evoke a strong response of ire: “Not that witch!” This is the kind of legacy that Imelda is leaving for her children and the future generation of Filipinos. Is it worth it?
Had Imelda realised her mistake in her early years, she could have been spared and her life would be much better off today.
Why the Citizens’ Declaration?
For several years, Malaysians were largely ignorant about the scandals involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), but now, even the young kids have heard about 1MDB.
Within a short span of just less than two months, over a million people have signed the Citizens’ Declaration. Wright must have struck the right chord to evoke such a strong response from over a million people.
While WSJ has won the Scoop Award in Group A category for its damning report on ‘Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal’, Najib has yet to sue WSJ and Wright. Instead, we are told that report has “started the ball rolling on global investigations into the Malaysian state investment fund as well as worldwide media coverage of the matter”.
Therefore, it is not only concerned Malaysians who are urging Najib to vacate his office for the sake of the country’s future; the world is also watching us through the magnifying glass.
As far as I know, most people are happy to sign off the form and even include their identity card numbers, because they too have read or heard about the 1MDB scandal. In a week or two, maybe in a few months’ time, we shall know whether the Finance Ministry and 1MDB would be liable to pay Aabar PJS the amount of US$6.5 billion (RM25 billion).
As pointed out by former PAS vice-president Husam Musa, a total of US$3.47 billion was paid to a British Virgins Island-registered company Aabar, which has nothing to do with Aabar PJS (subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Corporation), yet Najib has not instructed an immediate investigation into the missing billions. Why?
By now, gentleman Najib should have taken the cue from both the Citizens’ Declaration and the survey conducted in Sungai Besar constituency where 47.4 percent of the voters did not agree that BN should be retained in Sungai Besar because of Najib’s leadership. Out of a total of 522 voters surveyed, 190 are aged 21 to 40.
It would be interesting to see if people would return to both Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar during Saturday’s by-elections to cast their votes. Although the outcome would not make an impact on the change of government, the important thing is to send a message strong enough to the BN government that they cannot pretend that there is nothing wrong with 1MDB.
With this survey outcome, BN would have a tough time for many years ahead to see a significant shift in voting pattern favouring BN and if Najib is wise, he would not overstay the hospitality of the people. Instead, he would hand over the helm of leadership to someone who is more credible and amicable to the rakyat. There are no other options.
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. -Mkini
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