NOVEMBER 24 — In 2001, the then prime minister delivered the poem Melayu Mudah Lupa, cautioning his followers not to easily forget. Recently, the same current prime minister wants Malaysians to forgive and forget, and to allow a certain minister to continue being a minister, despite his chequered past and unremarkable present.

This particular minister, in his zeal to achieve his goals (whatever that may be), had at one point in his life decided to spread lies about Malaysia on an international scale. He told the international media that there was gross violation of human rights, forcible conversions of Hindus, denial of freedom of religion etc. in Malaysia.

He conveniently neglected to inform the media that no such forced conversions had ever happened, the second tallest Hindu statue in the world is located in Malaysia, and one of the richest men in Malaysia (at that time and currently) is from his own community.

Among his stated goals in misrepresenting Malaysia is so that “they (the Dutch) would obviously not be willing to be a trading partner with Malaysia.” Basically, he wanted to get a foreign government to put pressure on our nation in order to achieve his goals.

Having goals and strong beliefs is human. Even Chin Peng had strong beliefs and goals. And some do respect him for it. Yet there are boundaries that must never be crossed. Telling lies in the hope of luring a foreign power to influence the domestic affairs of one’s nation is one of those boundaries that borders treason.

The current prime minister wants us to forgive this minister’s past, and to allow him to prove himself. That that was his past, and perhaps he had changed. Perhaps.

However, just looking at the officers he chose to surround himself with at the Department of National Unity and Integration, it is clear that he had not abandoned his old ways.

Does he even understand the raison d’être of his position? Is it so impossible for him to staff this department with officers from all communities? How can unity ever be achieved when the department tasked to promote it is made up of only one community?

And honestly, do we really need a minister to promote national unity? Malaysians on the ground have always been decent to each other. It is always politicians and their lackeys that stir up racial sentiments. Perhaps it would be more effective to have a special committee to address the transgressions of MPs and their fans. That is the root of the problem.

It must be emphasised that this particular minister is not an elected representative of the people. He did not win any election, nor does he represent any constituency. Even the community that he claims to represent does not fully accept him as their representative.

Malaysians were not consulted when he was appointed minister. His position is a political appointment. However, more than 100,000 Malaysians have signed a petition demanding him to resign. That is a figure larger than most of the MPs’ majority in the election, including the current prime minister’s. Malaysians have sent a clear message, we cannot accept traitors as ministers.

One of the faults of the previous government was its refusal to discard individuals who had betrayed the country. Malaysians have rejected them because of that. Learn from their mistakes. Respect the principles of democracy. Malaysians have spoken. Why are we being ignored?

We deserve ministers who are loyal to this country. We reject individuals who invite foreign intervention just to get their way. We have tolerated nonsense from politicians long enough.

Remember, we had tasted victory. That victory taught us that politicians are elected to execute our collective will, and the rakyat have no obligation to retain politicians that failed us.

And as always, YBs, we observe, and we remember. Je me souviens.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.