Nazri has missed the point of TMJ’s criticisms

Minister Nazri Aziz has failed to identify the crux of the 1MDB matter and is doing himself and the Cabinet a disservice by fighting the Crown Prince of Johor.

COMMENT

By J D Lovrenciear

Culture and Tourism Minister Nazri Aziz has certainly landed himself in a tight spot by lashing back at the Crown Prince of Johor. His failure to identify the crux of the matter is another sad loss for the Cabinet and its leadership.

The issue surrounding 1MDB is not about whether there was ‘nothing’ to hide, or ‘everything to hide’ or even ‘something’ to hide. The issue is about the act of hiding.

When information is deliberately distorted or coloured to suit going concerns; when information is timed in instalments to support certain agendas; when information does not address specific questions – the public then says there is an attempt to ‘hide’.

That is what everyone in the country is upset about! Do you not realise, Nazri, that you are in that disadvantaged corner of the ring, doing your bit for damage control?

Whether he dislikes it or denies it, Najib Razak as prime minister must accept the fact that in the arena of public opinion he has lost the fight, and lost it real bad in this case against the Crown Prince.

Thanks to the presence of online news portals in reporting and quoting direct speech (which the government unfortunately repeatedly reminds us we must not believe so easily), netizens are able to register whether they approve of or are angered by what is taking place in the country.

In this instance, it is painfully obvious that Nazri is not willing to take the honest feedback and advice offered by netizens. He appears to be obviously inclined to accepting an alternative source of feedback going by his continued rebuttals to the Crown Prince.

And Najib’s silence on his lieutenant’s outburst is equally chipping away whatever semblance of leadership he has left.

Nazri can shout that Malay rulers should stay out of politics. However he fails to recognise the thin line that separates politics and governance.

For as long as Malaysia has its Malay rulers, the people will never fail to stand behind them. And this symbiotic relationship cannot be severed even by the sharpest blade of politics or its party machinery. This, Nazri must understand.

You can even curtail the powers of rulers through amendments of the Constitution, but when push comes to shove, Malaysians will still stand up for their rulers. This even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad failed to understand.

Malaysia is a Constitutional Monarchy. Our rulers have the moral obligation and duty to step up the heat when their subjects buckle under oppressive politicking and self-serving political agendas.

And let Nazri be advised further. Do not think that the Malaysian-style (Umno, to be more accurate) political strategy of trying to run down your critic by looking for dirt on them, will be your salvation.

Hope Nazri gets to read this letter and the netizens’ comments too.

J D Lovrenciear is an FMT reader.