Sabah's original sin

 

Adam and Eve must surely be ecstatic today, for they have company now in the Garden of Eden.

At least, they know they were not the only ones who had disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. There must also be relief and vindication for them as they are not alone in succumbing to temptation.

Why the ‘original sin’ subject today?

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang was the first to use the biblical term in recent days.

On Oct 3, Lim penned: While the Covid-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-century global catastrophe, the original sin of Malaysia’s Covid-19 catastrophe was the Sheraton Move toppling the Pakatan Harapan government in February this year, sparking the second and third waves which have caused 136 unnecessary deaths.

DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok followed up by insisting that the recent Sabah state election was first triggered by Musa Aman because he tried to topple the Warisan Plus government by forming a “backdoor government”.

Kok further accused the former Sabah chief minister’s action as the “original sin” that led to the surge in cases.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok

As usual, the blame game is on. Without question, the spike in Covid-19 cases was the result of the Sabah election.

Those responsible in one way or another just refused, as usual again, to admit guilt. Don’t we know that politicians are most adept at blaming their opponents, except themselves, for everything that had gone wrong?

To me, Sabah politicians (all of them) and the schemers from Malaya also committed the original sin, like our “first parents”.

Understandably, Musa has written an open letter to Malaysians to respond to the allegation that he is responsible for the spike in Covid-19 cases in the state and nationwide due to his attempted political coup, which resulted in a snap election.

He dismissed the allegation as slander and pinned the blame on his successor, Warisan president Shafie Apdal and his Pakatan Harapan Plus allies.

Reading through Musa’s lengthy piece tells me nothing new. It’s the same gear on D - shifting the blame onto others.

Has it not been said that “the mark of maturity is when you stop blaming others for your problems”. It’s always easy to blame others but it’s much more productive to know your own weaknesses and learn from them. But do politicians bother to learn?

Here, I see a desperate attempt by Musa to pass the buck to others for the Sabah catastrophe.

A kindergarten kid would be able to conclude that had the July 28 attempted coup spearheaded by Musa (above) not taken place, there would be no state election.

No election means no campaigning and no crowds. No campaigns and no crowds mean no spike in Covid-19 cases.

I don’t think I’m prepared to forgive the power-crazy politicians for causing the death of more than 40 Sabahans (to date) as a result of the election cluster.

A one-year-old girl also lost her life. This past week, several children, including a baby, were also tested positive. Do these nitwit politicians care at all? Murderers, they are, are they not?

More fatalities are expected. I hope those in power would listen attentively to Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent snide remarks targeted at Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin – “just call the elections, let more people die”.

I also hope Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg would take serious note of these words of caution as well.

I have to repeat that calling for elections at this time would be totally irresponsible. Again, bear in mind that lives, not elections, matter.

Perhaps, the most sensible statement I’ve read coming from a politician this week is the one from Salleh Said Keruak (above).

The former Sabah chief minister has this rather poignant message: "It has not gone unnoticed by the rakyat that Malaysian politicians play politics 24-7 and 365 days a year. And the rakyat, those on the ground, are tired of the focus of the politicians on politicking and not on serving the rakyat.”

Salleh warned his fellow politicians that they have become increasingly unpopular among a public that sees them as selfish, self-serving and constantly embroiled in schemes.

Such a statement coming from a staunch establishment figure was a surprise. Nonetheless, Salleh’s words were necessary and timely.

Losing his Kota Belud seat in GE14 in 2018 has probably forced Salleh to adjust to the new political “norm”.

I hope more politicians from the same end of the spectrum as Salleh would have awakened to the harsh realities facing the people and nation today.

Politicians are in the least respected profession today. The rakyat are fed-up, sick and tired of this parliament of monkeys and baboons.

Try to commit another original sin. Just try.

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FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is the author of ‘Hijack in Malaysia: The Fall of Pakatan Harapan’ which was recently launched. The book retails at RM42. Obtain autographed copies from sirsiah@gmail.com. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.