Is Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak becoming a radical reformer ???

I almost could not believe my eyes when I read that PM Najib had announced that ISA and three other emergency laws will be repealed. These laws have been opposed to by civil society for years and many citizens find these laws repressive and unnecessary.

I was shocked, pleasantly though, for several reasons. The act of repealing these acts is a courageous act for any president of UMNO, the largest and the ruling dominant party. It is simple political logic that any ruling party will want to retain any laws that would give it greater power to control the people, especially those that oppose the party. Hence, for Najib to announce that these laws will be repealed makes it a radical move.

I can expect that there will be resistance from UMNO rightwingers itself and some right wing NGOs. I am sure that quite a few of former UMNO leaders may be in opposition to the move, though not directly. These are to be expected and I am sure, if Najib is serious, he expects this as well. Therefore, in this sense, he is taking a big political risk for his position and support within the party.

I have often argued for fundamental reforms (as opposed to cosmetic changes) in the democratic space and the political arena on this blog and in my talks. Removing these laws is another fundamental step forward towards restoring our country as a constitutional democracy. We should applaud and support Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Tun Razak in this reformist step.

If Najib is serious about the repeal of these oppressive and archaic laws, he stands as a reformist who has gone beyond partisan thinking and has the people's mental and democratic development at heart. I find it extremely tiring that politicians simply refuse to think beyond partisan lines. Najib's act here is an example for politicians to think about national interests instead of purely party interests.

Surely, the removal of these laws will liberalize further civil society and hence greater criticism of any government wrongdoing or policies will surely ensue. This is not necessary a bad thing as this is how society can mature in a democracy - healthy factual debates rather than squashing rational dissent with the law. This is  a risk that Najib is willing to take politically in the interest of democratic reforms. The ability and willingness to take this political risk also shows Najib's confidence in his efforts and policies in winning over the hearts of the people. He is prepared to be judged on his merits rather than rhetoric.

For me this is not the first time that Najib has acted radically in announcing reform orientated policies. It is no secret that I am among the earliest supporter of his 1Malaysia policy. I thought that was radical and absolutely necessary for the country. 1Malaysia policy has the potential to be a long-term all-encompassing policy for the Nation which all citizens can identify with and participate. However, I also foresaw opposition and confusion within UMNO and opposition from certain NGOs and I was right. Many may not understand but his announcement of 1Malaysia was indeed a major political risk for him within UMNO and among some Malay NGOs.

However, the majority of UMNO members have accepted this policy now. Many UMNO members are reminded that though UMNO is a Malay based party, it had since since independence worked for Malaysia irrespective of religion or race. Sure, there had been deviations somewhere along the line with UMNOputras and some UMNO warlords becoming arrogant and 'lupakan diri dan Tuhan' but things are changing back to the original position. 1Malaysia in this sense is a good tool to realign and remind members that UMNO's struggle is not just for the Malays but for all Malaysians as the UMNO song itself testifies.

1Malaysia also serves to remind UMNO members that they are largely Muslims and hence racist tendencies are unIslamic. This, hopefully will weed out some UMNO leaders who are bent on pretending to be champions of the 'Malay race' simply for self glory and enrichment. I have been sick and tired for years with the approach of these primitive UMNO leaders trying to scare the Malays that they are not hard-working, not clever and that they are a social grouping that is going extinct and hence have to be protected in all spheres of their lives ! What a cruel thing to do !!!

So, 1Malaysia policy did shake UMNO out of its comfort zone and true reforms should do just that. The president of UMNO, Najib Tun Razak was brave enough to do that. Of course 1Malaysia policy can still be 'tweaked' to make it work better but all reforms come with one brave step. Najib took that step.

Due to that one step, it was well received by most Malaysians, if not all. Of course everyone, including me, wants greater translation of 1Malaysia into reality and practice. It will take time. I have always written on this blog that though 1Malaysia is Najib's 'baby', to me, it is bigger than him. It represents the hope for the future for Malaysians and people do not easily allow their hopes to be dashed. Nor do they easily forgive those who dash their hopes.

Najib is also going to do the sane thing by reviewing the annual publishing permits under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). Too much discretionary powers in hands of enforcers without check and balance by the courts is a bad thing.


I do hope that these are but steps taken to further reform Malaysia so that we can become a great Nation someday.


Peace!

The People’s Leader – discussions with young Raperas.

We had an interesting discussion with some university students last weekend.  It was about governance and leadership of the country.

It was agreed that political leadership is relevant because the people in general require direction for the Nation. There must be a captain who is steering the ship and a capable crew to help the ship move safely and efficiently. The safety of the passengers is paramount.  There also must not be pilferage on the ship either by the captain or the crew.  More importantly, economic considerations should not override the safety and welfare of the passengers like what happened to the Titanic. 

  Image thanks to here

Having agreed that political leadership is necessary, next on the discussion was various matters such as – the function and quality of the leadership. It must be borne in mind that while politicians provide general leadership, the actual work of governance of the Nation is being carried out daily by the civil servants. The civil servants carry out their duties in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations that are passed by politicians in Parliament. Hence, it is the politicians that set the legal framework within which the government functions.  Without the slightest of doubt, these laws, rules and regulations affect the daily lives of the ordinary citizen. For example, due to several “unfriendly” regulations concerning setting up businesses, many ordinary citizens are unable to readily feed their family by doing legitimate businesses.

Since the laws that are passed by Parliament (Politicians) affect our everyday lives, it becomes critical that we have not only clever and intelligent politicians but those that can emphatise with the needs of the ordinary Rakyat.  It is really pointless having a politician from Oxford or Standford or Harvard if he is unable to emphatise with the needs of the Rakyat, particularly so when his entire family background and growing up environment is detached from the lives of the ordinary Rakyat. Can a person who studied at exclusive schools, mixing around with children of elites, and living a life with an extra ordinary budget ever understand the social and economic challenges of the average citizen? Such a politician will only be manipulative of the Rakyat for his own political ends while serving elitist economic interests.

 

We agreed that in Malaysia, politics has become a family “property” to be passed on from generation to generation. This need not necessarily be a bad thing but it does behove us to ask several questions.  If the Rapera does not ask the relevant question, then we will be guilty of creating an aristocracy and some sort of political feudalism with its attendant problems.  If this happens, then there will be a master-slave relationship between the political leader and the ordinary citizen which is an antithesis of true democracy. In a democracy, the government is of the people by the people for the people. In other words, the People are the masters of the destiny of the Nation. 

Our discussion identified the important link between the quality of leadership, the laws passed and the welfare of the people. If there are “bad laws” in the sense that it impinges on natural rights of human beings, it reflects badly on the quality of political leadership in the country. If the wealth of the Nation is largely concentrated in the hands of the very few elites and families, then, it also reflects upon the quality (or possibly greed) of the political leadership. 

image thanks to here.

 

This is particularly so when the opportunities for such a wealth was gained largely by political interference. Responsible politicians should not create policies or do acts that deliberately create income inequalities. In our country, an examination of the control of wealth and essential businesses may reveal that it belongs to a very select few. This is an exercise that should be undertaken by a Rapera for the benefit of the general public. This exercise may even reveal the “political and money trail” that binds together the economic and political power in the country in the hands of some who can perpetuate power forever, ceteris paribus. If this is the case, then the ordinary Rakyat is doomed forever – it is just a matter of time.

We also agreed that the search for a “People leader” should continue and it need  not be confined to the leaders that have been offered by the respective political parties.  In fact, as I have argued before, political parties in our country are unable to allow the best “talents” to rise as leaders. The current political system and culture is so embedded in itself that it cannot evolve into something better without fundamental reforms within the political system, thought and culture. It is also equally challenging for Raperas to evolve because the political environment has engulfed the national environment where only politicians are given prominence in public space, and that too, the mainstream politicians.  Alternative views and thoughts that contest the mainstream are either systematically suppressed or ridiculed through control of the mainstream media.

We have yet to develop a culture that each citizen cares for the Nation and has a responsibility and duty towards ensuring its general well being. Over the years, our politics has descended to the level of championing rights to the exclusion of collective responsibility and general empathy to the needs of the other fellow citizens.  Our politics have yet to detach itself from the tribal, primitive or jahiliah basis of exclusivity based on ethnicity or religion (yes, religious discrimination included if it is intended to discriminate against fellow human beings).  When we are unable to identify humane leaders, how can we have quality political leadership? When we have feeble mortals behaving like God on earth, can we truly believe they serve God? It is all politics at its worse.

We admitted that bringing about a responsible thinking political culture among the citizens is a momentous task and requires long term awakening among the citizens of this Nation. Like Egypt and in all human history, the general citizens only act when they brought to the level of utmost humiliation. 

We also recognized that the elitists with their vested interests will try very hard to arrest the Rakyat’s awakening and political maturing.  Raperas must take this lead as the ordinary citizens are too busy with their daily lives. 

SO, the search for the People’s Leader continues. And we continued to enjoy our teh tarik and roti canai.

Peace !

(Note:  To the Raperas who made time to have teh tarik with me – thanks for educating me further. You all were wonderful and I have hope for the future with the presence of young people like you all)

 

Former Minister Returns RM200 million to Treasury: An Act Of Conscience.

Putrajaya: In a totally unprecedented move, a former Minister took the step of returning a total of RM200 million that he had allegedly amassed during the time he was serving in the cabinet holding various ministerial positions.

Dressed in a clown suit to avoid recognition, he told the press conference the reasons that prompted him to do so, citing disturbance of his conscience as the main reason.

[image thanks to here ]

“It is pointless for me to go on hoarding the ill-gotten wealth when I am not able to sleep well at night anymore. My family also had undergone various challenges including two of my children who have actually grown up not to be exemplary at all. Maybe that is nature’s way of punishing me for taking away other children’s’ rightful resources”.  

“Furthermore, I cannot take anymore the superficial and insincere respect that I seem to get whenever I attend any functions. It is as if they think I am the scum of the earth in their hearts”. 

A reporter asked if he could just explain it away as having made the money through investments and business.

He responded, “The people are not stupid anymore. They can calculate the number of years I was a minister with the official salary I get and the lifestyle my family leads. They also have access nowadays to the property I own. It is not possible anymore to explain that I got the wealth from business because I should have been busy as a Minister serving the People”.

“I can see the people’s trend now very clearly. The Rakyat are suffering and it will not be long before they all start lobbing for an Act to compel ex-Ministers and government servants to return ill-gotten wealth. I thought I’ll do it first before the law compels me”.

"I have also asked my children to give back all the government contracts because I am finding it embarrassing to explain how they could have got it while many other qualified ordinary Rakyats could not".

He ended the press conference by saying, “I hope my act will motivate others to do the same before they face the wrath of the Rakyat”.

I went back home and started drafting the Recovery of People’s Property Enactment (ROPPE) to be tabled at Parliament.

[I woke up and I realized all the above was just a dream. Damn!]

Peace!

Reforms or ad-hoc solutions? Leaders or Opportunists?

Some people want to be controversial even though the subject matter of their controversy is puerile, insulting to the mind or simply idiotic. They do it because they have a ready made audience which is equally puerile, weak minded or simply ignorant. Through the controversy that they create they become heroes of some sort to the weak minded crowd, especially if such a crowd is actually big.

The sane, intelligent ones will either have to count their blessings that they are not weak minded or pray and hope that hero will soon be exposed for the charlatan that he or she is.

True reformers are difficult (not impossible) to have a significant impact on a society that is blind to many things, especially the rotten aspects of their society. It is a major challenge to invite a society  that has a blinkered view of life to see beyond the horizon. It is challenging to make a slave realise his slavery until he himself is prepared to think out the circumstances he is in and understand the alternatives available.

However, the sad fact is: people often get the leaders in society that they deserve. Generally, if the society is made up of members who do not have high self esteem, they will end up having rogue leaders who will manipulate their weaknesses. If the members have deliberately kept their minds in cold storage, then charlatans will be held up being clever. As the saying goes, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed person is king! 

Nature works in such a way that a good tree will not come forth from a bad seed. It is pointless trimming the tree, putting manure, watering it if the seed is rotten. Trimming, watering, putting manure, etc makes us all very busy and gives us the illusion of doing something to improve the tree. It will not work. The tree will forever be a source of problem. Obviously, many heroes often rise from this mindless, futile effort of endless ad hoc problem solving activity. Through time, many become blind to the real, fundamental problem - the bad seed.

It is mind-boggling when you think of the problems that can branch out from a bad tree and the ad hoc solutions it will entail.

The tree from the bad seed has to be uprooted for a good tree to grow. This is problem solving at the fundamental level. 

However, many will prefer the bad tree to stay. They are more concerned with the trimming, putting water, manure, etc opportunities that a bad tree provides. If the tree is uprooted, their role and hence their importance (and economic opportunities) becomes equally extinct.

Much boasted reforms unfortunately are confined to maintaining the bad tree rather than reforming the tree itself.  Planting a new seed appears to have escaped many people's minds.

However, to reform the tree itself, the people must be prepared to recognize the bad tree for what it is and have the knowledge of what a good or a bad seed can produce. For this, they need to - think !  

Having thought, they would then need the courage, the persistence and the sincerity to have the bad tree uprooted and to plant the good seed.

Peace !