JUNE 26 — There is a lot of rhetoric out there, with some claiming that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is the reason for the electoral seismic change that took the nation by surprise.
Others say the stage has been set by PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Still others say it is because of people’s hatred towards disgraced former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
These are only factors which created the birthpangs that saw the birth of a new nation on May 9. Therefore, allow me to remind all Malaysians to stay focused and not be taken in by arguments which contributed more significantly to the political earthquake.
Having heard all these different views, I can only say that Malaysians voted for Change. Saddled with all kinds of loans and buffeted by escalating costs of living from all corners, Malaysians had given up hope on Barisan Nasional after 61 years in power.
Malaysians want Change. Change at every level.
The Royal Malaysian Police
The police, for example, have felt their profession is no longer respected by the Malaysian public. Corruption, abuse of power, political interference, death in custody, and of late, the arrest of lawyer and activist, Siti Kasim, have marred the good image of the police force.
The morale of the police is low, and they want to see a total revamp in the police force, which they only hope that the Pakatan Government would be able to deliver.
In revamping the police force, the senior ones would have to give way to the up-and-coming younger batch of police officers. Because of their hierarchy, you cannot expect to see a total revamp of the police force if the top brass is not removed and a new batch of middle-ranking officers are promoted.
The nation had had enough of former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. Why is there still no investigation based on the allegations against him and those who corroborated with Najib?
Politician mindsets
Malaysians are also generally fed up with the arrogant mindsets of BN politicians. Therefore, we expect to see change in the mindset of the people who are now in the corridors of power.
Ministers are appointed to “serve” the people. In fact, the word ‘minister’ means ‘one who serves.’ The minister is therefore a public servant paid with taxpayers’ money. And the prime minister, is the servant of all.
It is only with this kind of servanthood mentality that we can uphold each other and move forward as a nation. The culture of crabs trying to crawl out of the basket has to be a thing of the past.
Therefore, we should not be surprised that even Anwar received a lot of brickbats when he ticked Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng for exposing the financial scandals in the country. As the rakyat, we expect the government of the day to tell us where we are as a nation, before we can move forward.
If Anwar is receiving brickbats even from Pakatan supporters, who is Rais Yatim then who reprimanded Lim for using a different language to communicate with the Chinese media? In the new Malaysia, Rais’ atttitude no longer has a place. Frankly, he would not make the mark as a good Parliamentary Speaker if he continues with the old mindset.
We need and we should be promoting a multi-lingual society that adds beauty to our social fabrics. I, for one, have a good command of the Malay language, and I can also read Jawi from young, but there is no stopping any Malay winning first prize in a speech competition in Mandarin. This is after all our strength as a nation.
No one is disputing that official press statements should be issued in the national language, but for clarity sake, as pointed out by Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, one has to communicate in the language that the recipient is familiar with.
I am a Chinese, but I am illiterate where Mandarin is concerned, but I strongly support Lim for issuing his press statements in Mandarin and English, apart from Bahasa Malaysia. If he can, I am sure Lim would also issue his press statements in Tamil.
If Rais had remained in Umno when he made those comments, he would have been given a tongue lashing from many of us. It is only Khairy Jamaluddin, who has no better issues to harp on, trying to play up a non-issue.
Stay focused
I have only highlighted two areas of Change that we expect to see the Pakatan Government to deliver. The task is so humongous that we do not expect Dr Mahathir and his cabinet to perform miracles within just 100 days.
However, we expect a lot of the issues to be solved, which require nothing but some political will and the minister to send out a directive to his ministry. Within the first 100 days, the minister can issue several directives to his men to make sure that they deliver the results concurrently.
As pointed out by the prime minister, any underperforming minister would have to be replaced eventually. Let this expectation of the people be the guiding principle in the new Malaysia.
*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
