OCT 24 — And we certainly can avoid it.
Published in the ‘funnies’ section of the discontinued Far Eastern Economic Review, many years ago... starts — During a luncheon talk, the guest speaker Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew in rounding up said: “Give me 25 years and I will turn Burma into a Singapore”. Among the audience was a medal-decked General from the State Law and Order Restoration Council of Burma. He was heard muttering: “Huh, 25 years. Just give me five years and I will turn Singapore into a Burma!” — ends.
Turns out the ‘funnies’ was akin to an indictment. The Generals do have a knack of turning the clock back!
Theirs have become a basket case.
Hadi Awang’s PAS
PAS was founded in 1951 as a breakaway from the Religious Bureau of Umno. Since then there have been forays between Malay nationalism and dedicated Islamisation.
Their core support remains in the east coast of the peninsula and Kedah. It wrested Kelantan from Umno control in GE8 (1990) and has stayed under its administration since. Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz who was the mentri besar from 1990 to 2013 did a splendid job in allaying any anxiety from the larger Malaysian populace through projecting the faith as focused on justice, peace and goodwill. During his tenure non-Malays saw the situation in Kelantan (and Terengganu) as no real difference whether it was Umno or PAS, as it was just Malay-Malaysian-led.
PAS became a co-founder of Pakatan Rakyat in 2008.
Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang was at the forefront with PKR and DAP leadership with their framework polices as Transparent and genuine democracy, Driving a high performance, sustainable, and equitable economy, Social justice and human development, and Federal-State relationship and foreign policy.
The Universal Values of Islam was bandied. Many of us were pleased to no end. Then PR was dissolved in 2015.
The reformist group headed by the affable Mat Sabu in PAS lost their leadership positions during the party elections, then left to establish Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah). They co-founded Pakatan Harapan. It became very clear in a short while that Amanah and PAS were on rather opposite poles of the Political Islam ideology. In simpler terms, one is inclusive and the other exclusive.
Recent statements and remarks by Hadi Awang targeting non-Malays and DAP breached all tenets of decorum, and to my mind, the law too. We do not know as yet the progress of police investigations.
I am still stunned that the top-most leader of an established political party, religiosity driven at that, can espouse those views! If one can’t win over opposing views, then the next course is to spew hate against them?
Prejudice and bigotry were in full display.
Zahid Hamidi’s Umno
Umno’s pivotal roles in achieving Merdeka to the formation of Malaysia are forever etched. But along the way sadly, it lost its way.
And Umno can certainly find its way back. The immense talent (not impossible to lift the ‘road blocks’ set by aging warlords) and party machinery from all nooks and corners, save for Sarawak, when judiciously managed can enthrone Umno to its rightful position. We may succeed in a two-party scenario yet, with BN versus PH.
I thought Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi should have voluntarily taken ‘garden leave’ as party president the moment he was handed the dozens of graft charges. The party supreme council could have easily ‘frozen his post’ pending the disposal of his court cases, or until his tenure ends. He would have demonstrated an immense regard and respect for the illustrious history of his party, her membership and the nation’s well-being. Holding on to the party post, with the party VP being the sitting PM, only brought negativity of varied designs.
Be that as it may, Zahid could still refuse to be a candidate in GE15 as there are still pending cases and the Court of Appeal (VLN case) stage to go through. Why does Umno have to be dragged into his personal predicament?
When he unashamedly implied at the recent MIC convention that plausible (graft) charges could be levied on the BN leadership if they lost GE15, did he also mean that winning is the solution to his prosecutorial woes?
I do wonder what are the actual sentiments of their 191 divisions?
So let’s say if Zahid wins his seat and BN win, and he becomes PM, and whoosh, he is a ‘free man’, what does that say to us? Or even better, what does that say of us?
Postscript
What’s going to happen to Khairy Jamaluddin? It would be quite sad if he is assigned a clearly difficult seat. I think he would be an excellent candidate to reform Umno top-down. Perhaps that’s why he is seen as a threat to the status quo?
Lim Kit Siang has joined the call for Tawfik Ismail to be adopted as PH’s candidate for Bagan Datuk. Tawfik’s offer is altruism defined.
*Datuk Lee Yew Meng spent over 40 years in the communications and marketing industry. He was also the CEO of the Genovasi Design Thinking School.
**This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
