DISASTROUS NAJIB: Zaid moots 'PEOPLE'S CONGRESS' to pick new PM candidate

I will be speaking at a public forum at 2pm on 23 May at the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre together with my friends Prof Azmi Sharom, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, Dato’ Dr Affifuddin Omar and Dato’ Mohamad Ariff “Sakmongkol” Sabri Abdul Aziz.

The purpose of the forum is to talk about issues of national leadership. On my part I will be direct: I will tell the public that Dato’ Sri Najib Razak is no longer a credible Prime Minister, and that we therefore have to choose a viable “alternative Prime Minister” to rally support against him at the 2018 General Election—or earlier, if Najib calls for a snap election.

Najib has failed, and failed miserably, as Finance Minister and Prime Minister. Malaysia is on a downward spin. It is a Third-World country living on national assets that are fast depleting. Our national debts have reached 54 per cent of our GDP, with household debt as high as 86 per cent of our GDP—the second highest in Asia.

Government-owned or Finance Ministry corporations such as 1MDB and Syarikat Pembinaan PFI have contracted debts to the tune of more than RM65 billion, and we do not know why those debts were incurred and for what purpose. In the meanwhile, public monies in Tabung Haji, PNB, Tenaga Nasional, EPF and others are being put at risk as they will be asked to bail out these failed entities. There are no other words to describe Najib’s performance as Finance Minister except an absolute disaster.

Muhammad Taib

As PM, he is equally miserable. Malaysia under Najib has become more oppressive. The police will arrest you for the slightest protest or show of dissent. Forums at universities are banned, as are books. Under Najib, Malaysia has ceased to be a moderate and tolerant country. The unthinkable has also happened, where UMNO has teamed up with Dato’ Seri Abdul Hadi Awang of PAS to pass hudud, or Islamic criminal law. With that, Malaysia has ceased to be a democracy.

But what do we do? It’s wishful thinking that UMNO will replace him with someone else. I do not see from Muhyiddin’s face and demeanour that he is willing to take Najib on. Najib is famous for his “You help me and I’ll help you” mantra during the Sibu by-election and his “Gua tolong lu kalau lu tolong gua” stance in Hulu Selangor. He will use the same approach with UMNO bigwigs to secure their support.

Unfortunately, the Opposition Pakatan is leaderless and directionless. A few days ago, Mat Sabu spoke with confidence that the Opposition would maul the Barisan Nasional into their first defeat in the coming General Election, but he did not tell us how that would be made possible. He did not tell us who the PM candidate from Pakatan will be: Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah or the PAS President? His own party President is now Najib’s strong supporter. His own party treats Lim Kit Siang like an enemy and not as an ally. In other words, a fractured Pakatan will not be enough to unseat Najib. Even if PAS can get a new president in June, which is unlikely, it is not going to make Pakatan as strong as it was in 2013.

So it seems to me that the major political parties in the Opposition, the countless NGOs from across the country and ordinary Malaysians must harness their collective strength and nominate someone, by mature deliberation and consensus, to be their candidate for Prime Minister to challenge Najib in 2018. It’s no longer possible to go the polls and hope to form a government without a PM-designate and his team being known to the people.

This is the only way we can realise the potential of People Power in this country. We the people, together with the political parties, must decide who that PM-designate should be. A National Congress of the People must be convened before year-end for this purpose. As I said, hoping that UMNO warlords will remove Najib is wishful thinking; and even if it materialises, the best we can hope for is that another UMNO kleptomaniac will come to power and nothing much will change. No fundamental and structural reform can take place because doing so would end the gravy train. UMNO will not let that happen.

To be successful, the People’s Congress must be represented by DAP, PKR, PAS (without Hadi, preferably), PRSM, NGOs and other influential groups representing UMNO members. They must all agree on this candidate for Prime Minister to challenge Najib.

Mohamad Ariff

I, for example, will propose Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Although he is from UMNO he is different in many ways. His DNA is similar to leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Dr Ismail and Tun Razak. He thinks the people and country can only be developed with education and good values. Najib thinks money will solve everything.

Others may suggest Tun Dr Mahathir, although he has already said his time is over. If his time is indeed over, maybe it is time for his son, Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir. Wan Azizah or Azmin Ali are other possibilities. Other names such Ahmad Awang, Mat Sabu, Husam Musa, Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa, or even my friend Dato’ Ariff of the DAP can be put on the ballot—it does not matter. The only condition is that at the end of the Congress, we must agree and stand by the chosen candidate.

Let’s start a people’s movement that’s not been seen before. Let’s have this movement be instrumental in electing an honest leader who can forever change this country after so many years of misrule. Let’s work together to elect a leader who will defend our democratic system and way of life. This can only start if we can agree that the country’s fate is more important than our own party or grouping. - http://www.zaid.my/