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UMNO still does not get it. They are still in denial mode. They do not know what happened on 8 March 2008. And this is why UMNO will die.
NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
“The law must be founded on principle,” said Robespierre on 7 April 1791 while addressing the Jacobin Club in Paris, France. “There must be absolutely no limits on liberty. In a free state, each and every citizen acts as a guardian of liberty. Everyone must be completely free to protest, in person or in print, at anything endangering liberty. If, as a consequence, public officials were to find themselves exposed to calumny, so be it.”
Robespierre went on to say: “Incorruptible men, who have no other passion besides the well-being and glory of their country, do not dread the public expression of the sentiments of their fellow citizens. They know only too well that it is not easy to lose their esteem, when one can counter calumny with an irreproachable life and proof of disinterested zeal; if they are sometimes victims of a passing persecution, this is, for them, a badge of their glory, the brilliant testimony of their virtue; they rest assured with gentle confidence in the suffering of a pure conscience and the force of truth which will soon reconcile theirs with their fellow citizens.”
In essence, what Robespierre was saying is, when it comes to public servants, there should be no “Criminal Defamation” law and no Sedition Act -- two charges which I am currently facing trial in court. And he said this more than 200 years ago -- around the time the British first came to Malaya to colonise this country -- in his speech on freedom of the press.
Malaysia has a penchant for hiding behind draconian laws that are created merely to justify preventing “sensitive” issues from being raised. Anything can be declared “sensitive” and all it needs is one man -- a minister, a police officer, etc. -- to declare a certain matter as “sensitive”. There need not be any grounds, much less reasonable grounds, offered to support the classification of that particular matter as “sensitive”. One man's personal opinion is good enough.
This puts too much power in the hands of one man. This man becomes the “trustee” or conscience of the nation. What he says goes and is final. His word is indisputable and unchallengeable. And the fact that it is merely his personal opinion appears lost to most.
If this is beginning to sound like the characteristics and qualities of God then this is certainly no coincidence. The person with this power to declare anything he does not like as “sensitive” is certainly playing God. And what more when he actually believes that he is second to God.
Syed Ali Alhabshee has taken MCA to task with regards to its comments on the Malays and the NEP. “The MCA assembly is not an arena to vent one's anger or to provoke the Malays,” said Syed Ali, the UMNO Cheras division chief. Why is it when anyone talks about the NEP it is interpreted as “provoking the Malays”? “Provoking” means asking for trouble. But this is how UMNO sees it when anyone talks about the NEP: you are asking for a fight.
The UMNO Bera division chief, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, wants the Gerakan Wanita Chief, Tan Lian Hoe, sacked from her party for allegedly saying that Malays are also immigrants, just like all the other races. Hello, brader, is that not so? Why get so hot and bothered about what is true? Many Malays are only second or third generation Malaysians. Their parents were born in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Middle East, etc. Tun Dr. Mahathir and Khir Toyo, amongst but just two, are cases in point.
Anyway, where is the spirit of allowing for freedom of speech? What is so wrong in expressing your opinion? Aren't we entitled to our opinions even if it may be wrong? This is what is wrong with UMNO and the government. They stifle freedom of expression. They regard it as provoking the Malays. They want you sacked and detained under the Internal Security Act if you speak your mind.
UMNO talks about the “Social Contract”. This is what Rousseau said in his “SOCIAL CONTRACT”. “All men and groups in positions of power have an interest apart from that of the people.” That was Rousseau's interpretation of the “Social Contract”. And that, too, is UMNO's version of the so-called “Social Contract” -- it means that those in power are looking after their own interests and not the interests of the rakyat.
And this is why the NEP has failed. The Malay “immigrants” abuse the NEP for their own benefit. The people do not really benefit. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has in fact widened. Do we really need a NEP that allows a minority in power to get rich at the expense of the majority?
In time, there will emerge a new struggle in Malaysia. And no, it will not be a racial affair. It is going to be a class struggle. It is going to be a clash between the oppressed and the oppressors. It is going to be a fight between the poor and the rich.
Salaries over the last 40 years have doubled. Starting pay, which 40 years ago was about RM350 per month, is now about RM750. But the cost of living has gone up 10-15 times. What used to cost RM3,000 40 years ago now costs RM50,000. What used to cost RM8,000 40 years ago now costs RM100,000. People can no longer afford basic necessities.
During my stint in the Kamunting detention center I asked my prison warders what their starting salaries are. They told me it is only RM800 per month. By the time they retire at the age of 58, after working more than 35 years, their salary will be only RM2,200 per month. What can they buy with RM800 per month? Before the middle of the month they are already broke. Most sit at their desk the entire duration of their 8-hour shift because they can't afford to go to the canteen for tea.
Those with families live in 900 square feet single-storey terrace houses which cost them RM60,000 plus. They shall still be paying the installments on these houses long into retirement. 900 square feet is smaller than the master bedroom in the houses of the elite. The common people -- the salaried workers -- have to settle for that as the size of their entire family home.
These things must be said. UMNO and the government can't stifle this and go on pretending that all is fine. The NEP has failed. The “Social Contract” is a farce. It has to be said and it must be clearly understood. The 8 March 2008 general election was not about the opposition being strong or about it having a better election strategy than the ruling party. It was about the people rising up in revolt and saying: enough is enough.
UMNO still does not get it. They are still in denial mode. They do not know what happened on 8 March 2008. And this is why UMNO will die. But it will not be Anwar Ibrahim or the opposition that will kill UMNO. UMNO will kill itself. It will commit hara kiri. And the present UMNO party election is accelerating the destruction of UMNO.
For about two months I was locked up 24 hours in a day and could not go anywhere or meet anyone. The only “entertainment” I had was to listen to the prison warders chatting amongst themselves. And what they talked about was very telling. They lamented about the cost of living. They grumbled about the cost of basic necessities. They don't care who the next prime minister is going to be. Never mind if Anwar Ibrahim takes over by Christmas or Najib Tun Razak takes over by March next year. The cost of rice, meat, fish and vegetables is still unaffordable on their meager salaries.
UMNO and the government has to wise up to the reality that basic salaries should be not less than RM1,500 per month. The poverty level should be pegged at RM1,200. The incoming government, whichever it may be that is going to take over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has to seriously consider this crucial point. People can no longer afford basic things. It is not about politics. It is about money in your pocket, or the lack of it. And this is going to be the struggle of the future. It will be a class struggle. And no Sedition Act or criminal defamation law is going to change this. Sending people to jail is not going to put more money in their pockets. It will instead just make the people more determined to realise phase two of the “revolution” that started on 8 March 2008.
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We may have a little bit of good news last week about Anwar's case and RPK's release, but just like the start of any other administration, Najib is probably trying to start by giving us sweets. It WILL no doubt be followed by painful jabs. Think not that the medicine will cure. It might actually kill. And there's a lot of wrong medicine potentially out there:
1) half baked judicial appointments commission that adds no real value to the commission, and continues to give the PM unfettered power and discretion to make appointments - such as that which allowed the current CJ to get past the filter despite what he said about him bribing court officers
2) half baked Malaysian anti corruption commission that continues to be subject to the political influence of UMNO ministers
3) non-starter Special Complaints Commission when what Malaysians want is IPCMC with teeth, and public safety from all sorts of crime
4) continued repression with ISA, and perhaps adding to the arsenal - the draconian DNA Identification Act that is devoid of all forms of safeguards - allowing the police to extract samples violently, giving the minister unfettered powers, and cutting off judicial review
5) continued abysmal administration of public education system
6) continued wastage through open tender, and even with open tender - a weak system that allows some insider to communicate with the bidders to put in the right amounts to get approval - and weak after tender enforcement of the agreement - allowing cost overuns
7) continued harping on ketuanan Melayu that makes Malays weaker, makes Malaysia weaker, when we should be competing in a global market,not against each other
There is not much hope for change. There is not much hope to turn Malaysia into a dynamic, competitive, open, transparent nation - because the leaders hide under multiple insurance of supressive laws to justify their continued existence - if they can't even compete openly and democratically, how are they fit to lead a competitive Malaysia?