1Malaysia Concept and Selangor State Ban

Selangor Government is not afraid of 1Malaysia concept, says Faekah Husin

by Shazwan Mustafa Kamal@www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Selangor government is not afraid of the 1Malaysiaconcept as it is nothing but a propaganda tool by UMNO-Barisan Nasional (BN), Faekah Husin said today.

Faekah, who is political secretary to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim defended the state’s recent decision in banning 1 Malaysia billboards, insisting that the slogan was just a political gimmick aimed at snaring voter support.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has, however ,defended himself over the issue, saying that 1 Malaysia was meant to foster unity, and had nothing to do with politics.

“This slogan in any form does not mean anything to us, let alone scare us. The state government’s resources will be aimed at instilling proper values, combating corruption and ensuring justice for all,” Faekah said in a statement today.

The political secretary questioned Najib’s claims, saying that if 1 Malaysia was apolitical, why was it not debated during the last Parliamentary session.

“If it is true that it (1 Malaysia ) is a unifying factor and not an UMNO-BN propaganda, why has this never been debated or brought up in Parliament? Why is it not included in Budget 2011 seeing as the costs for this ‘lovely’ slogan has gone above RM100 million?” she said.

Faekah claimed that the 1 Malaysia concept was only discussed in Parliament after Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahm alleged that APCO Worldwide that helped Najib coin the term.

“Even when it was finally brought up, what was it for? To punish the Opposition leader for speaking the truth. What’s evident is that the entire process of 1 Malaysia’s creation has been covered up, that’s why four Opposition MPs were suspended without a right to defend themselves,” said Faekah.

PKR had earlier linked 1 Malaysia to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak’s One Israel campaign, saying both shared the same public relations consultants, APCO Worldwide. Najib had also denied that charge, saying it was his own idea.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was suspended for six months from Parliament last week for claiming the link which is politically sensitive as Malaysia does not have ties with Israel due to the Palestinian issue.

Anwar has now changed tack, saying his claims was not about One Israel but concerns over accountability and the contract with APCO, whom he claimed had worked with disreputable regimes across the world.

Faekah accused Najib’s 1 Malaysia of being meaningless as long as double standards still existed between UMNO-BN cronies and ordinary citizens.

“What is the meaning of 1 Malaysia if the Syabas CEO Tan Sri Rozali Ismail can earn RM425,000 a month but the company itself is in RM2.9 billion worth of debt?

“What about leaders who get RM534 million in commission for the acquisition of submarines? Or the RM12 billion loss in the PKFZ scandal?” added Faekah.

The Selangor government said earlier today that its state-wide ban on 1 Malaysia billboards was legitimate, but said that it only applied to business advertisements/billboards and not buntings for political functions.

State executive councillor Elizabeth Wong told The Malaysian Insider that the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government fully backed Selangor housing and local government committee chief Ronnie Liu’s move in banning 1 Malaysia billboards.

According to her, the local by-laws on the ban had already been in place since 2007, stressing that it was “nothing new”. A few days ago, English daily The Star reported Liu remarking that 1 Malaysia billboards were a political message from the BN federal government and were not allowed under local by-laws.

DAP Advisor Lim Kit Siang has urged Selangor to rethink its 1 Malaysia billboards ban, to disprove BN’s claims that PR was afraid of the concept.