YOURSAY | Battle of the monikers – from Bossku to Abah

 

YOURSAY | ‘We are starting to grow tired of Muhyiddin's constant claims that he is our ‘abah’.’

COMMENT | We need a 'pemimpin', not another 'abah'

MS: Good piece, Malaysiakini columnist Mariam Mokhtar. In my view, this ‘Abah’ nonsense is directed at Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s shrinking Malay base, definitely not at the non-Malays.

This pathetic posturing shows up a man who has a desperate need to project a fatherly image of himself only because he has neither the power nor the skills to do anything like crafting effective and inclusive strategies and policies to heal the country and lift it out of the doldrums.

He is a prisoner of his own making, having gotten together a cabal of like-minded opportunists whose demands in exchange for support included lucrative cabinet and GLC (government-linked company) positions.

There was never any consensus on nation-building or socioeconomic policies because none of them has the intellectual wherewithal for that kind of stuff.

So, what does the man do? Appeal to the lowest common denominator, the least educated of his base which he knows will always fall for cheap theatrics.

But before anyone dismisses him out of hand, it is important to remember that he still has the backing of very wealthy forces - the same ones who thwarted the old man when he changed his mind. Then again in the murky world of ‘politik Melayu’, it is really difficult to determine what lies below the surface.

FairMalaysian: Mariam, you are spot on. A leader defines a country, or rather, the future of the country.

Our curse started with Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He rather pushed what he wanted but not what the people wanted. When people voiced their concerns and objections, his favourite pastime was using ISA (Internet Security Act), pitting the races against each other, stripping the courts of their independence and Malay supremacy.

Today, we are paying for that and all the PMs who came after him were his moulds. Even when there was a glimmer of hope the second time around, he proved he was even worse. He screwed the one opportunity the people had a crack at democracy and a multiracial government.

The days of exclusive Malay parties and governments are numbered. The strength of this country lies in its multiracial people working together and living in amity.

Policies for a deprived or lagging community is understandable and acceptable, but the greed-and-grab has defined the majority race as simply that and had rendered them as often dependent on government policies and handouts.

Pokokelapa: Muhyiddin is a lost man. He obviously has nothing on his mind except about how to hold his ruling coalition together. The very fact we are not hearing much from the opposition means there are many things going on behind closed doors.

His address to the nation was a telling tale. It is probably that even his speechwriter had no positive facts to say, except to cajoling the people, who are already thrashing him and his cabinet, with words like ‘Abah’.

It was a damage-control speech, but definitely not accepted by the people. Look at MO1 (Malaysian Official 1) who has also jumped into the bandwagon about charging Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali.

Let’s wait and see the fallout when opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim meets the DYMM (the Agong). Till then, let’s pray that Covid-19 is not used to play politics.

Lionking: The only people who are doing well during these turbulent times and Covid scenario are the politicians and their families. They are having a ball of a time with no accountability whatsoever.

For the so-called ‘Abah’ who said that the rule of law applies equally is just another lie. Why does it take so long to decide on Khairuddin’s case? The rakyat are the losers and on the receiving end of all pain. Strangely, we are the ones who have elected them.

Sentinel: We commenters can continue to vent here. However, this ‘Abah’ has strong backing from the Malay electorate because of how well he is aware of the common Malay folk. Unlike ‘Bossku’ who is a ‘bangsawan’, the common folk identify with him.

To break this, the opposition has to have a leader who the common folk can trust their welfare and at the same time smart and principled enough to appeal to the educated. In Malaysian politics, we have yet to be blessed with this person… so the search must go on.

Ichtus: Mariam, you have my highest respect. I too grew up with the same settings. Although a government servant, my dad gave us clean clothes, good food and a roof over our heads, that is qualification to be called ‘Abah’. These crooks are Ah Bah!

PeakyBlinder: Yes, a very well-written article. We are starting to grow tired of Muhyiddin's constant claims that he is our ‘abah’.

Sorry, but we are not comfortable with him forcing down our throats that he is in any way comparable to our own fathers who have raised us ever since we were a child. It is an insult to our own real fathers to make such a claim.

BlackTiger7716: Indeed, I have one true ‘Abah’ and that’s my dad who worked hard in the mines and estate. He taught me to work hard in life and stood by me during my difficult days. He is my dad and not a frog or a crook nor a racialist and power-crazy like Muhyiddin.

He should resign and let a true leader in Anwar lead us. He fought all these years and didn’t budge with offers of all kind to enrich himself and family. Let’s give him a chance and see if he can be a semblance of a true leader when in power.

Straight Citizen: Thank you, Mariam for writing this important opinion piece.

You have indeed expressed the views of many fair thinking Malaysians who only want what is best for our beloved country and who genuinely hold on to strong family values and principles that were built on integrity, responsibility, love and compassion.

YellowFish9545: Well, Muhyiddin has a PR (public relation) team who would have thought for days how to market someone like him, especially a person with very little marketable qualities.

So they’ve come up with ‘Abah’ - that leaves Mahathir with ‘Atuk’, Najib has taken ‘Bossku’ and Rosmah has booked ‘Mama’. I wonder what Anwar will call himself? - Mkini