Tunku Abdul Aziz

Malaysian Insider

JUNE 5 — I am told on good authority that you cannot make good china with poor clay, and it is so obvious that we should know it instinctively. By the same token, I expect you cannot form an effective Cabinet with general election rejects.

Appointing them to Cabinet posts in such large numbers through the Senate is not illegal, but is it ethical? Jesse Jackson in a speech to the 1992 National Democratic Convention reminded his audience that what was morally wrong would never be politically right.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as our prime minister, would do well to ponder and reflect on the wisdom of this self-evident truth so that he would feel encouraged and inspired to bring moral and ethical principles to bear on the governance of this nation. I naturally hope that in the process, and with God’s help, he will find some time to dwell upon his many grave lapses that have brought his fitness for the highest political office in the land into serious question.

Some months ago I had occasion to allude to the fact that no prime minister in our country’s history had come into office, bent over not with the burden of leadership which would have been understandable, but in Najib’s case, it was his oversize baggage comprising a mix of potent allegations of impropriety ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.

While some may be nothing more than coffee morning tittle-tattle among the leisure classes, and, therefore, to be treated with the contempt they deserve, one worrying aspect of Najib the man that refuses to evaporate into thin air is corruption.

People still point to the arms purchases made during his long stints as minister of defence, and what he got out of them through his redoubtable defence/political analyst, Razak Baginda.

Would the MACC care to take a look at the wealth behind the man so as to give our 1 Malaysia prime minister a chance to clear his name? And while they are looking at Najib, I think it only fair that they take a look at the wealth of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his family. To show that they are not being selective, they might like to check out Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his family. I am sure these great leaders of ours are dying to clear their names for the sake of their reputation, however defined.

To return to the blatant abuse of the function and role of the Senate in the constitutional life of our country, it is clear that Najib does not put great store by basic rules of the game. He obviously plays by his own rules that postulate the inevitability of immoral behaviour in politics and that scruples are not for the prime minister of Malaysia.

This is a sad commentary on 50 years of Barisan Nasional rule that has seen this once proud country now on its unstoppable decline in social, political and economic terms. Is this the promised just reward for the people of this country for putting their blind faith in the Umno leadership?

It is also a sad reflection of the bankruptcy of ethical values that those whom the people of this country, exercising their rights to choose, cast aside in a democratic process, have now been brought back into the Cabinet.

Who are these recycled seconds supposed to represent? Even if they were a galaxy of Nobel laureates, it would still be totally indefensible for Najib to show such utter contempt and disregard for public opinion by appointing them to the Cabinet. And these are by no means the crème de la crème of Malaysian brains-those that have not disappeared overseas.

Najib plays by his own rules. For him, offering inducements to voters as played out in the Hulu Selangor by-election with a repeat performance in Sibu was par for the course. He obviously could see no contradiction in urging the people to fight corruption while he himself breaks the law with complete impunity, as always aided and abetted by the ever independent Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, so it proclaims, and the equally fearless Elections Commission.

When will Najib learn that there is no substitute for integrity in national life? It is within his power to clean up his act so as to lessen the burden of the negative views and innuendos that he carries on his back to the detriment of his effectiveness as PM.

He must learn quickly that the ultimate decision whether he remains in office, and his party in power, will be made by the very people for whom he has shown such blatant contempt. He may, at this rate, be the last Umno prime minister. — mysinchew.com

I congratulate Barisan Nasional on winning the Hulu Selangor by-election last week. They mounted the greatest by-election campaign that money could possibly buy, and it appears that money for them did grow on trees. It was no object.

There is no disputing the fact that my favourite candidate, Zaid Ibrahim, lost the contest by 1725 votes. The people exercised their right to choose the man to represent them in the Dewan Rakyat. That was what they wanted, and good luck to them. They deserve each other. But a question that simply refused to go away, as I watched the campaign unfolding before my eyes, was how much of the Barisan Nasional victory reflected a genuine return of confidence in the BN government, and how much of it had to do with the financial inducements and promises of more goodies where they came from. Money was scattered with manic abandon like so much confetti at a society wedding? I must confess in all seriousness and fairness that BN had superb organisation where it mattered – on the ground. Their election machinery also enjoyed the great advantage of being lubricated with the best engine oil that money could buy, – money itself.

Zaid gave an extremely good account of himself and there was certainly no shame in losing in an unequal contest. The whole apparatus of the Federal Government was ranged against him in Hulu Selangor. Zaid lost the by-election in circumstances that were a damning indictment of Malaysian society’s declining ethical standards. BN leaders were obviously in no mood to allow the little niggling ethical or moral niceties to stand in the way of their larger design for Selangor.

After many by-election reverses, they finally found a rich harvest, no pun intended, in the Felda oil palm schemes. Years ago, the settlers were persuaded by the BN administration of Selangor to part with their land in a multi-million ringgit development scheme that went sour. The land owners lost their land and the shirts on their backs. It was a typical greed-driven BN so called ‘fail safe’ get rich quick venture that incompetence, avarice and corruption all conspired to wreck even before the first brick was laid. These settlers who had waited for their money for the last fifteen years, thirteen of which under successive BN state governments, quivered with excitement when they were told openly that there would be an initial small down payment with the rest on the way if BN won the Hulu Selangor seat.

I wonder what the Election Commission and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chiefs thought about all this business of cash for votes, but I expect they have already decided, in a show of ‘independence’ that they say they are, that it is probably not worth making an issue over such an entrenched UMNO cultural norm. Please do not take my word for it, but UMNO does not deny that it has problems with money politics. Hulu Selangor is but an extension of that culture. In spite of claims to the contrary by the government, Malaysia is not an open, democratic nation. That is precisely why the election authorities did not see fit to step in smartly and disqualify the bribe giver and declare Zaid Ibrahim the winner. Evidence of serious breaches of both the elections as well as anti-corruption acts is clear for all to see. I reminded of a saying which goes something like this. “There is none so blind as will not see.” The person who coined this could well have been thinking of our EC and the MACC.

An electoral victory it might have been for BN, but to me it is a victory as hollow as it is immoral. If this is an example of BN’s cavalier approach to ethical issues, then we are being short changed on 1Malaysia. It will remain a mere slogan without strong moral and ethical underpinnings. The financial seduction of voters is a criminal offence, and for Najib to claim that he was not bribing the voters but merely solving their problems is disingenuous, but as I have pointed out on another occasion, Najib does not disappoint us in his ability to perfect the art of the possible. To him, the means justify the end.

The government has admitted to spending millions on a makeover of its image overseas, but it is money down the drain if it persists in behaviour which is patently at odds with international best practice. In this case Mr. Prime Minister, you really have to lead by example or give up 1Malaysia as a lost cause.

Malaysian Digest

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 APRIL, 2010: DAP Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz has called on the government to stop any political interference on local news providers to ensure that there is a freedom of press in the country

Speaking to reporters at Dewan Negara lobby, Abdul Aziz said he would raise a motion during in the afternoon session parliament sitting on the matter to ensure that the right for media to report any event in the country be respected.

“I will raise the matter in the parliament because I believe Parliament should not take this incident lightly, which demonstrates political interference by the government including wife of the Prime Minister, who is a non-executive member of the government.

“Such interference will surely curtail freedom of press and discourage healthy political debates,” he said.

Abdul Aziz said his reaction was in response to the recent incidence, where NTV7 producer for its Editor’s Time programme, Joshua Wong resigned as a result of an alleged pressure from the government. Wong had alleged that the government had pressured him to practice “self-sensorship” on his future programme. Wong was also asked by his management to provide an explanation over the content of the TV programme he directed last week.

Abdul Aziz said it was unfortunate that the government was taking this step to censor a private TV station which had a duty to its viewers to report.

He said the government should not restrict what the TV station wanted to report on or limit the guest speakers they wanted to invite to discuss any political situation.

Editor’s Time is a forum where politicians are given a chance to express their political views openly and encourages rational and critical discussions.

Malaysiakini

Timbalan presiden DAP dan senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim (bawah, kiri), hari ini mengemukakan notis kepada Yang Di-Pertua Dewan Negara bagi membahaskan campurtangan politik dalam urusan ntv7 yang didakwa menyekat kebebasan media dan membantutkan budaya perbahasan politik yang sihat.

Pada 20 April, lalu, penerbit kanan ntv7, Joshua Wong, yang bertanggungjawab terhadap rancangan ‘Editor’s Time’ meletakkan jawatan kerana mendakwa wujudnya tekanan politik dari pihak kerajaan dan isteri Perdana Menteri ke atas stesen televisyen swasta berkenaan.

“Campur tangan politik dari pihak kerajaan – termasuk isteri Perdana Menteri yang bukan seorang ahli Eksekutif, pasti menyekat kebebasan media dan membantutkan budaya perbahasan politik yang sihat.

“Ia tidak membantu kita mencapai tahap negara maju, sebaliknya merupakan taktik yang digunakan oleh diktator negara mundur untuk terus membelenggu rakyatnya.,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Justeru, atas alasan itu, Tunku Aziz berkata Parlimen perlu mengkaji dakwaannya secara serius.

Wong pada sidang medianya, 22 April lalu berkata selain campur tangan melampau daripada pihak kerajaan dan juga penapisan yang keterlaluan, beliau juga dikenakan ’sekatan yang tidak munasabah’ ke atas rancangannya yang sering-kali membincangkan isu sosio politik di negara ini.

Sekatan tersebut termasuk:

• Tiada perbincangan mengenai isu-isu politik
• Tidak dibenarkan menjemput pemimpin pembangkang sebagai tetamu, termasuk ahli parlimen PJ Utara, Tony Pua yang sepatutnya membincangkan topic berhubung Model Ekonomi Baru.
• Tidak membincangkan topik berkaitan pilihan raya kecil Hulu Selangor.

“Sekatan-sekatan tersebut ialah satu bentuk ugutan kepada kebebasan penerbit dalam siaran televisyen. Ia juga bercanggah dengan prinsip laporan media yang bebas dan independen. Ia juga satu bentuk hukuman kepada profesionalisme kumpulan penerbit.

“Usul ini juga dibawa dalam memastikan profesionalisme dan budaya kreatif media dan serta hak rakyat bersuara tidak terus terjejas,” kata Tunku Aziz lagi.

By Yow Hong Chieh (Malaysian Insider)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim from the DAP has submitted a motion to the Senate to raise the matter of television producer Joshua Wong’s resignation from NTV7 over alleged political interference by the prime minister’s wife.

Tunku Abdul Aziz raised the emergency motion at 1.48pm on Friday but has yet to receive a response from the Speaker.

“I was hoping to raise this as a motion in the Senate but I’ve had no response so far,” he said in a press conference in Parliament.

“I think these allegations are very serious and the resignation of Joshua Wong as a result of what he claimed to be political interference is very serious indeed, especially also when the Prime Minister’s wife was involved.”

Wong resigned on April 20 claiming “overzealous self-censorship and government interference” from the Prime Minister’s Department and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the prime minister’s wife.

The senior producer alleged that he was told not to discuss political issues or invite opposition leaders on the show, “Editor’s Time”, a one-hour live discussion show that focuses on current affairs.

He also claimed a special Hulu Selangor by-election show, originally scheduled for April 22, was cancelled.

Tunku Abdul Aziz, who is DAP National Vice Chairman, called such interference in a democratic country “totally unacceptable”.

“It negates completely the concept of freedom of the press, and I believe that this is something the people of this country will not accept.”

He added that he found Rosmah’s role a “curious one”.

“She has no official standing and yet it is quite obvious, not only in this particular instance, but also in other cases where her heavy presence is felt.

“It looks as if the prime minister has his own kitchen cabinet. If she is going to play this sort of role she should be appointed through the Senate to the Cabinet so that she will have proper standing.

The founder of Transparency International Malaysia also stressed that those who are not elected public officials should not have a hand in running the country.

“I think we must clearly defined roles for members of the government… others who are not elected representatives, who are not members of the Cabinet, I think should stay out of national affairs.”

Tunku Abdul Aziz said he hoped the Speaker will allow him to raise the motion as it “[reflects upon] the reputation of Malaysia as a democracy”.

He cautioned, “You may go telling the world that we practice democracy, that we subscribe to human rights, but this is [a] basic denial of one of the great freedoms of a democratic country — the freedom of the press.

“I hope I’ll be given a chance to raise this motion.”

The only reasonable conclusion I can draw as a reasonable man from the PDRM raid on the DAP headquarters last Saturday evening is that the police leadership need their heads examined for signs of mental degeneration.

It was Euripides (480–406 BC) the Greek playwright who said, “Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad.” Police behaviour in recent times has convinced me more than ever that there is something rotten in the state of our country, with apologies to William Shakespeare.

The beleaguered police, as far as we are concerned, are in moral retreat. It beggars the imagination that with all the relentless assault on their reputation, they do not seem to care one iota about public opinion.

This is frightening self-indulgence. To be deaf to public strictures is really a symptom of a deep malaise associated with a diseased culture of impunity that has brutalised the police psyche.

For the guardians of the law to show nothing but utter contempt, disregard and disdain for the legitimate concerns about their actions, often bordering on the criminal, is indeed a serious breach of stewardship and public trust, the antithesis of ethical policing in a democratic society.

I plead guilty to being one of the harshest critics of the police. I am hard on them because I so desperately want them to succeed. At the same time, I can claim to be their admirer when they not only operate within the law, but, more to the point, when they are seen to be both law-abiding and respectful of the rights of every individual under the law.

I want a police service that is among the best that I can be proud of, and not “the best police force in the world that money can buy.”
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