Umno's Slim River win is a victory for 'Malu Apa' campaign

MP SPEAKS | Umno's thumping victory in the Slim River by-election yesterday is the victory of the "Malu Apa" campaign against the Rukun Negara principles of "Belief in God, Loyalty to King and Country, Supremacy of the Constitution", the rule of law and good morality.

It reminds me of BN's thumping victories in the last two by-elections of the 13th Parliament – the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections in June 2016.

In the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections, for the first time, the Umno president beat the PAS president in claiming divine intervention for the electoral victories.

The then Umno president and former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak said at the time that he had turned to God for answers if he was on the right path or whether he had really strayed, and that BN's "thumping victories in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections was God's answer to his prayers".

Najib said: "I don't reply with harsh words. I only want to work. I prayed to Allah, if I am right, then show it.

"(Then) God gave us victory beyond our expectations."

Najib will now claim that Umno's Slim River by-election victory is proof of his innocence and how wrong was his conviction by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28 and being sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million in the SRC case for breach of trust and money-laundering offences.

Malaysians must take heart from the political events after the two thumping BN victories in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections – the toppling of the seemingly invincible Najib government in the 14th general election (GE14) on May 9, 2018.

However formidable and insuperable it may seem for the defenders of the Rukun Negara principles to turn the table on the "Malu Apa" campaign, I call on Malaysians who want to have a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, spared from the politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies, not to lose heart but to continue to be strong and committed despite the Slim River by-election setback.

Just as many Malaysians have asked about the future of Malaysia after the two thumping by-election victories of Najib and Barisan Nasional in June 2016, we must not lose hope for a better Malaysia.

Let us have a reality check as we have travelled quite a political distance in Malaysia.

Only 12 years ago, before the 2008 general election, if any Malaysian was asked if it was possible to foresee a change of federal government, the answer would be a unanimous and unambiguous "no".

But the "political tsunami" of the 2008 general election had completely changed the political landscape, and what had been "unthinkable" and "impossible" had been transformed into a "thinkable", "possible" and "achievable" event, and the question of a change of federal government has taken the quantum leap from "whether" to "when" and "how".

The 2013 general election was fought on the platform of a change of the federal government, and although 53 percent of the voters voted for change, victory was denied them because of the undemocratic electoral system which allowed Najib to become the nation's first minority PM by winning 60 percent of the parliamentary seats though only securing a minority 47 percent of the popular vote.

GE14 saw a peaceful and democratic toppling of the seemingly invincible BN government and the formation of the Pakatan Harapan government.

In February 2020, the democratic mandate of the people in GE14 was robbed by a "back-door" government conceived in the infamous "Sheraton Move".

Despite all the setbacks, these events prove that change for a better Malaysia is not an impossible dream, but Malaysians must be prepared to unite and work for the victory of the Rukun Negara principles over the "Malu Apa" mentality and campaign.

This should be the challenge of the triple celebrations – National Day, Malaysia Day and the Golden Jubilee of Rukun Negara - to ensure that in every aspect of Malaysian life, the Rukun Negara principles can triumph over the "Malu Apa" mentality and campaign.

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LIM KIT SIANG is DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.