between Najib,Anwar Ibrahim is South-East Asia’s most extraordinary politician, says The Economist
July 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment
edited by the TAXIDRIVER THE STREETWISEKID
PKR Adviser Anwar Ibrahim
:MR AN WAR IBRAHIM“BRINGS THE NARRATIVE THAT EVERYONE WANTS TO RETURN TO — THAT MALAYSIA IS THE LAND OF EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY AND POSSIBILITY,
“To those MALAYSIAN whose’s support I have yet to earn,” he said, “I may not have won your CONFIDENDENCE but I hear your voice but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your prime minister too.”(in waiting)“moment, change has come to Malaysia
even though enemies has spurred false rumors and insinuations about his background and CAN WE THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE RISE TO THE OCCASSION WHEN THE NATION NEEDS US?
we try to change them ,we try to chase them finally we kick them out
FEW could have anticipated the return of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in such striking fashion prior to the March 8 elections. Released from incarceration in 2004, he continued to be a voice of conscience, rebel-reformer and thorn in the side of Barisan Nasional. Yet, he remained on the margins of mainstream politics.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.That changed after the even
DSAI could well be called the motto his literary gifts, he transformed from childhood into a stirri
What the Pakatan Rakyat need is a collection of unified charismatic leaders to go to the grounds, inspire the young, and persuade the rural Malays to another point of view- one that is in harmony with the rest of right thinking Malaysians. Once that’s done, UMNO will forever lose its support and will finally undertake that long and painful journey at self reform, failing which they will never see the lights of the corridors of power ever again.
into assets — a skill DSAI learned in his 20s student days could well be called the motto of his rise. With his literary gifts, he transformed from childhood into a stirring coming-of-age tale of his political career. mobilized young people — never an ideal base, because of thin wallets — into an energetic army who in turn enlisted parents and grandparents. And even though his enemy spurred false rumors and insinuations about his background and beliefs, he has made it a symbol of his singularity and possibility the Malaysian dream , he has created a history in the malaysin politics
ONE evening in mid-July Anwar Ibrahim was deep in the rubber-tapping state of Kelantan in northern Malaysia, urging a crowd of rural folk to vote for a devout fishmonger. The candidate was from the conservative Islamic Party (PAS). A tiny by-election for the state assembly PAS already dominates is ordinarily small beer (or would be, if PAS allowed such a beverage, which it does not). But Mr Anwar needs PAS. For the paradox is that without the Islamists, the alliance he leads of Malay modernisers, Indians and secular Chinese has little chance of driving the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from power. The coalition that UMNO dominates has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. Mr Anwar longs for UMNO’s destruction. The feeling is mutual.
That morning, Mr Anwar had been in Perth where he had met Australia’s foreign minister. What had he been doing with Stephen Smith? “Plotting,” replies Mr Anwar, with a conspiratorial wink. Mr Anwar spends a lot of time abroad with national and religious leaders whose names he drops slightly too easily into an engaging conversational style. He moves like quicksilver from one intriguing subject to the next, but you get the uncanny sense that he is speaking to what interests you.
Mr Anwar thinks he will soon need international support. Two days after stumping in Kelantan, pre-trial hearings began in a case in which Mr Anwar stands accused of sodomising a political aide “against the order of nature”. Mr Anwar vigorously denies the charges. He says he is the victim of a political stitch-up. International outrage might help him. Much is fishy about the case. Photographs of the former aide who brought the accusations show him with UMNO members, including people close to the current prime minister, Najib Razak. The charge has been changed from sexual assault to “consensual sex”, yet his accuser has not been charged. (All homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia.)
Mr Anwar has been here before. In 1998 he was charged with corruption and homosexual acts. In custody, he was beaten up by the chief of police. He spent six years in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, until his conviction was overturned. Upon release, his political career seemed over.
It is easy to forget now but for many years Mr Anwar led a charmed life.He made his name as an Islamist student leader in the 1970s and was even jailed under the draconian Internal Security Act. Then he shocked his former colleagues by joining UMNO, where his rise was spectacular. By 1993 he was deputy prime minister and heir to Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s long-serving leader. Malaysia seemed about to fall into his lap. “Ah,” says Mr Anwar, “the good old days.”
But during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, Mr Anwar moved too soon against his mentor, who after 16 years in power was not ready to bow out. Mr Anwar railed against the UMNO cronyism from which he had benefited. Livid, Dr Mahathir threw him out of the cabinet and launched Mr Anwar’s persecution. Mr Anwar’s reformasi movement sputtered out with his jailing.
Yet the hopes which that movement represented surged again after the general election of March 2008, and especially after August 2008 when Mr Anwar won a seat in Penang. In the election the ruling coalition lost its precious two-thirds majority which gave it power to change the constitution. It has since lost five out of six by-elections to Mr Anwar’s forces, which also control four of 13 states. In getting out its message, the opposition has been helped by an explosion of internet opinion that has undermined the influence of the UMNO-controlled mainstream media.
UMNO’s back is against the wall. Even its own officials admit to its arrogance, with corruption bound into the fabric of its power. The New Economic Policy (NEP, introduced in 1971) instituted racial preferences for majority Malays, when ethnic Chinese and Indians owned much of business. But instead of helping the poor, the NEP has enriched rent-seekers around the ruling party, while dragging down economic growth. Resentment has spread from Chinese and Indians to poor or pious Malays.
This has made possible Mr Anwar’s strange alliance. In calling for the end to the NEP, he says poor Chinese and Indians need help as much as Malays—but because there are more poor Malays than other races, they will still get the lion’s share of government help. It is a possible way out from the baneful influence of race on Malaysian politics. But the real strength of this alliance (Pakatan Rakyat) is that Mr Anwar’s charisma and political nous holds it together. Alas, that it is potential weakness, too.
Trials and tribulations
The challenges for Mr Anwar and his alliance will now multiply. For a start, Mr Najib, prime minister since April, has said the NEP must adapt, stealing some of his opponent’s thunder.
Then there is the time-consuming trial. Mr Anwar says he will win whatever the verdict. If he is acquitted, the government which brought the case will be discredited. If found guilty, tens of thousands of supporters will take to the streets. Mr Anwar hints tantalisingly at new information in a murder case that has gripped the country partly because of its links to Mr Najib. This, he suggests, gives him ammunition to fight back.
Intriguing, but it is unlikely to be enough. If Mr Anwar does go to jail, the alliance may not survive the loss of its leader. If he calls out his supporters—for something of the martyr lurks in him—he may be blamed for the ensuing chaos. And if he appeals to international opinion, his local supporters may question that.
This points to a trap waiting to catch the silver-tongued Mr Anwar, who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear. The same blogosphere that helped his meteoric rise may one day pay more attention to his chameleon qualities. Malaysians would then come to ask more closely: who and what exactly does Anwar stand for?
The Culture of Corruption: Can we trust this man and his secound wife?
PRIME MINISTER IN NAJIB Is this the man? The custodian of the dying ember? The man who generations to come will remember as the last man standing, before the new dawn set in? OR Is this the man who is going to set in an even more harsh regime? To ensure he and his team will have a long run on the nation? Driven by chauvinism, and detested by the international as well as the domestic society? Is this the start of a dynasty in the Malaysian Public Life? Does this mean that we Malaysians are so incapable that we need a select few families to tell us how to live our lives? Are we so dependent that all aspects of our lives need to be controlled? Are we so handicapped that we need these political dynasties to teach how to interact with each other? CAN WE THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE RISE TO THE OCCASSION WHEN THE NATION NEEDS US? CAN MALAYSIA DEPEND ON US? Dr Mahathir’s autocratic, said those who engaged in money politics in UMNO should be arrested under the ISA. Oh Please do that. No better way to make UMNO more popular among the warlords. AND the first one they would have to arrest who be him being the Father of Money Politics or more popularly known Mr. Ten Percent..we must first put najib in.Umno divisional election nominations to win the party presidency uncontested,(MONEY POLITICS ) Najib is now forced to endure screaming volleys of epithets, the latest that he will foster a dictatorial regime once he takes office.HOW HONEST IS, HE ADMITTED HE SENT THOSE SMS THE HIS LAWYER.
WHY Razak Baginda, the fall guy, with no further obstacles or hindrances in sight for Najis in his ascending to the Top Power, has now been released??? The real murderers whose identities are obvious but are still at large, with RPK detained under ISA but just released and PI Balasundram exiled overseas there are no other major obstacles and hindrances to Najis’ ascendancy to the pinnacle of his power come March 2009. This is only obvious that UMNO has now the final say in justice with their man Zaki as the Chief Justice. This is the obvious Justice of Malaysia, the laughing stock of the whole world, Malaysia should be boycotted by the world communities for their greatest injustices towards human rights and common normal justices. THIS IS MALAYSIA’S MALAY SUPREMACY AT ALL COSTS BUT GOING DOWN THE SEWERS WITH NARJIS, THE NEW PRIME MINISTER IN WAITING AFTER THE 51ST YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE.
THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION
by G. Krishnan (http://imagineequality.blogspot.com)
One Malaysia Prime Minister
“No stone will be left unturned in finding out the real cause of death and, if there is any foul play, action will definitely be taken.” So says the Prime Minister to Teoh Beng Hock’s family.
Of course the above statement should come as a reassurance not just to Beng Hock’s family members but to all Malaysians. And the operative term here is “should”. That is the part that troubles me and is something that I find rather difficult to get over. Ideally, we should have confidence in Najib’s reassurance; we should take solace in the fact that the truth will be revealed; we should have faith that if there has been any criminal wrong-doing which led to or contributed to Beng Hock’s death, that justice would be served; we should have no hesitation about such an eventuality.
Just as we should be able to trust the fact that our government agencies designed to serve and protect the public are in fact themselves not infested with corruption. We should be confident that those who head these agencies are not themselves compromised and simply obedient political instruments of their political masters. We should be able to have faith that our corrupted political culture has not just tainted – but in fact is sharply reflected and entrenched in the working of government agencies such as the MACC and the police force.
Let me suggest the following: Any arm of the government – you name it – is only as good as the political culture practiced in that society. A society whose political culture is riddled with corruption, nepotism and cronyism will find that is various government institutions are but a mirror image of that reality.
And only when there is a genuine, serious political commitment in the leadership to weed out such a culture – rather than to even just tolerate it, let alone contribute to it – will there be a realistic chance for cleansing such agencies.Decades ago, Singapore was in a similar boat as us with respect to having rampant corruption. But something definitive happened – the leadership there made a serious commitment to stamp-out the culture of corruption. A systematic and sustained effort was made to pull this off. Today, when one thinks of countries in Asia where corruption is rampant, Singapore is not one that typically comes to mind.
Ask yourself this: Can we say the same about Malaysia? I think we all know the answer to that question. Indeed, Transparency International ranks Singapore – along with Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden as the top five countries in the world with the lowest level of corruption. Singapore did not get there by just plain talk about good governance, producing slogans year after year plastered all around the media and our billboards. Its leadership did something about it – and not just talked about good governance and all that other nice stuff that amounted to empty promises.
There is nothing magical about implementing changes and reform. Even incompetent leadership, with even a minimal desire and determination to do so, can produce some, albeit limited, results. And we’ve had decades of UMNO dominance that has essentially given us more of the same.
As long as there is no political will to change the culture of corruption, it will shape how our government works. And so long as those who govern benefit from – and at the very least are not harmed by this culture of corruption – there is no incentive for them to change it. Well, unless of course if they are committed to a higher calling to create a better society.
Yes, we should expect that “no stone be left unturned” in uncovering the truth about Teoh’s death, and about Gunasegaran’s and Kugan’s deaths, and about the deaths of numerous others under mysterious circumstances while under the custody of the authorities.
This is what we should expect from our elected representatives. Maybe then we stand a chance to get leaders with a political will to change our culture of corruption.
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