Your time has come, Rais

Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim has just told Malaysians that we should ignore Opposition propaganda to hold protests like those in Arab countries.

Rais, the Minister of Information is misinformed.

As far as I am aware, neither Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim or Pakatan Rakyat has ever asked the people to hold protests and take to the streets. The Opposition has always wanted to hold dialogues. Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has refused to have a public debate.

The Opposition has however warned Rias and his ruling party, BN, that it should take heed of what is happening in the middle-eastern countries and to start to embrace reforms.

Perhaps Rais is alarmed by the events in the middle-east so he issues statements which imply the Opposition is fomenting dissent.

Does not he read the papers? Is he not the Minister for Information and Communication? All of the events in the middle-east were not started by Opposition parties. Egypt, for instance, does not have a credible Opposition – most of their members are in jail.

The rebellion in Egypt was a spontaneous movement started by the young who were mainly students. They galvanised the people using the power of the internet – Google, Facebook and Twitter.

The trouble in Tunisia started because of one young unemployed graduate who immolated himself because the police prevented him from earning a living the only way he thought was possible – by selling vegetables.

Rais said '...the political systems in those countries differed from Malaysia's, and as such, there was no reason for any party to ask Malaysians to follow in their footsteps...'

Poor Rais. He cannot see the wood for the trees. But what do you expect from a man who is afraid and who lacks integrity.

He knows that if there was a similar “people power” movement in Malaysia, the Cabinet members will be hauled up, for the various crimes they have allegedly committed against the state and against various individuals. In addition to that, many ministers will find it hard to explain how they amassed a fortune with a minister’s meager salary.

Can the obtuse Rais not comprehend that the people in north Africa and the middle-east rebelled because its government refused to listen to them? Does Rais not read the newspaper reports and also the circulars from our High Commissions in these countries?

The people were fighting injustice, oppression, corruption, economic stagnation, poor living conditions, unemployment, political repression, police brutality, rigging in elections. These are things that Malaysians also experience.

Rais said that Malaysia had a solid constitution which protected the rights of the people, unlike the Arab countries.

Egypt and the other countries also have a constitution which they are now updating to suit the times and the new order.

Rais is more dense than he makes out. He said that ‘…Malaysia also had a democratic system which allowed citizens to pick the party they wanted to govern the country every five years in free and fair elections……’ Big deal!

Ex-President Hosni Mubarak held elections and he always ‘won’ them – Soviet style, 110% all the time.

Rais said, “In those countries (which are facing popular uprisings), they do not have a solid constitution like us and do not have free elections to chose their leaders”.

Rais is living in a world far removed from reality. Malaysia does not have free and fair elections. If we did, why can’t we have international observers? What have we got to hide. The last time the international observers tried to come into the country, they were refused entry.

In our supposed fair elections, BN always arrives bearing material goods, cash and blank cheques. Perhaps he cannot remember the time the Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak came with a RM5 million carrot for the citizens of Sibu. And Chief Minister Taib Mahmud came with lots of brown envelopes. Is that fair? At the last by-election in Tenang, they used the floods to their advantage. They provided transport to the BN stronghold areas but left others to fend for themselves.

King Abdullah of Jordan has sacked his top leaders and is looking hard at reforms. King Hamad of Bahrain has been told by the people to sack his uncle, Prince Khalifa the unpopular Prime minister. Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi wants to die a martyr and is prepared to sacrifice his people.

Rais needs to brush up on his information and communication and either step down or embrace reforms. - Malaysian Insider