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

What was so distressing was that the EC and MACC were ever so quick to affix their “No Action” tab on what clearly was corruption committed by Najib who offered financial inducements to the voters of Sibu to return the Barisan Nasional candidate. Similarly they took no action against Najib for his shenanigans in the Hulu Selangor by-election. Most surprising of all, there was not even a whimper from the self-proclaimed anti-corruption fighter, Transparency International Malaysia. Have they decided to flow with the tide of political corruption as well? Najib’s practice of bribing voters into supporting his election agenda shows a complete and utter disdain for public opinion and the law.

What is the point of spending hundreds of millions on beefing the MACC up, already bloating and bursting at the seams with gross inefficiency, when the prime minister bribes the voters of Sibu, with complete arrogance and impunity? To our complete surprise, the good citizens of Sibu, unlike some of their fellow citizens elsewhere, turned up their collective nose and gave Najib the elbow, more or less telling him to “take a running jump into the Rejang.”

I had misjudged the mood and the strength of character of the people of Sibu, thinking that the dangling by Najib of the millions of ringgit from his slush funds would be enough to overcome any moral scruples they might have had. I spent six days in Sibu shaking hundreds of Chinese, Malay and Iban hands. And never for a moment did it dawn on me that the Foochows of Sibu would stand up to Najib, who in the end was reduced to a figure of fun and ridicule, being described as Santa Claus dispensing ill-will instead of good cheer. Money may buy some of the people some of the time, but in Sibu principles won the day. They had had a surfeit of corruption, in all its manifestations, in their dealings with the Taib administration, and they did not need anymore of it.

It took a lot of courage and determination to withstand the onslaught of raw power of a prime minister, particularly one of indeterminate ethical provenance. As if that was not intimidating enough, they had a chief minister, so I was told who rules with an iron fist in a silken glove to contend with and whose voracious appetite for self-enrichment has long been whispered about by people too frightened to speak up against grand corruption at the top. His unbridled excesses would make Robert Mugabe look like Mother Teresa. And where is the much touted independent corruption commission?

To all those who voted for change for a better Sibu, a Sarawak free from the shackles of wonton, unremitting greed of one man and his family, and a Malaysia fit for all, regardless of who we are, I have this to say. You have, by your robust, ethical response to Najib’s unprincipled behaviour, earned for yourselves an honourable place in the pages our country’s history. Sibu has restored my faith in my fellow citizens who possess in large measure attributes that once inspired my old English headmaster at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar to coin the phrase “the excellency of man.”

What Sibu has done will resonate in the weeks, months and years to come in the rest of this country. Najib’s approach to the Sibu campaign was unbelievably crude as well as insulting to the dignity of the Sibuans, particularly the proud Foochows. For him to apply the principle of one size fits all when he merrily parachuted into Sibu on what he thought was a his fail-safe “vote for money’ mission was totally ill-advised and insensitive. Najib is a believer in the exercise of power through the money bag.

The voters of Sibu knew Najib’s weaknesses more than he was prepared to concede, and while they were happy enough with the goodies he threw at them, they were suspicious of the proverbial “Greek bearing gifts.” In the event, the citizens of Sibu shut the city gate in his face, having taken the money and voting for the opposition. Good try, Najib. Winning the hearts and minds with your heart and not your pocket is a better option; it is more honourable and less likely to get you into trouble with the MACC, if and when it finally decides to open its eyes.

Najib’s 1Malaysia propaganda campaign, now in full swing, has taken on the uncanny appearance of a blitzkrieg that would have the Fuehrer of the Third Reich double up in the Reichstag in uncontrollable ecstasy. It really is that funny. The single-minded mindless saturation bombardment of the media, at what financial cost we will never know, has already begun to show all the tell tale signs of mental fatigue and psychological rejection. I am told that it is not unlike the metal fatigue that put a premature end to the promising start of the world’s first commercial jetliner, the Comet operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation more than four decades ago. Perhaps there is a lesson the 1Malaysia strategists could learn from history about over indulgence. There can be too much of a good thing for their own good.

I have been asking our prime minister, as indeed many others, to venture beyond sloganeering and spell out in terms that are concise and clear what he has in mind when pontificating on what appears to thinking Malaysians to be nothing more than a party dogma being shoved down their throats as part of a ploy to regain the non-Bumi electoral support. If Najib really believes that voters are going to buy his half-baked1Malaysia cake as an article of faith- that is more form than substance, he should put it to the test by going back to the country for a fresh authority or mandate to govern. His legitimacy is in serious doubt. The UMNO process of succession is open to question.

The unfortunate impression I get is that 1Malaysia is all about the pathetic charade of bonhomie and back-slapping of the ‘open house’ variety. Please do not get me wrong: I am not an unsociable sloth. I do like some people, believe it or not. My point is that if it is national unity that the admirable prime minister really wants for Malaysia’s sustainable future, then the trick is to work towards achieving smooth and seamless integration that will stand the test of time.

National unity is not a product that can be created by legislation or administrative edict or order; it is a process that requires a complete change of behaviour and attitude, a mental overhaul that can only be achieved through a dynamic social, economic and political regime that puts equality of opportunity at the very top of our national agenda. We need to put great store by equal opportunity in education in particular because to me it is immoral and ethically unacceptable to discriminate against the innocent and vulnerable young by depriving them of their rights to higher education. How, in heaven’s name can we expect them to identify themselves with the country of their birth if, in spite of their achieving more than the standards set, still fail to gain a place? A policy of exclusiveness can produce only one outcome–disaster! There is plenty of evidence to be seen in our society of the futility of pursuing this evil policy. Equal opportunity must be the cornerstone of national unity.

While I can readily understand the underlying imperatives of the New Economic Policy, I do not accept that you can justify positive discrimination except by implementing it in strict observance of its aim which is to alleviate poverty of Malaysians irrespective of ethnicity or religious leanings. But as we all know, the spirit of what was intended to be a great social leveller has from its inception been blatantly violated for the benefit of the few politically connected self-proclaimed Melayu Baru, a breed happily mired in corruption in all its manifestations.

For true national unity to emerge, we must go back to basics, revisiting the freedoms and rights guaranteed for all Malaysians. The NEP must be applied to all who need support. The draconian Internal Security Act as applied to date has no place in our society. Enact a new Anti-Terrorism Act for that specific application, and not to use it to terrorise and inflict pain and suffering on our own people. I wonder if Najib’s ideas which underpin his 1Malaysia will ever converge with the modest and legitimate expectations of our multi-cultural society.

I am inclined to believe that people should be left to their own devices, and just as water eventually finds its own level, so do people. The duty of the government is to govern in ways that put the welfare and the interests of the people above all other considerations. In effect this means a system of governance based on best universal practice that, by implication, is free from corruption which according to Transparency International is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Could the founding fathers of TI in 1993 have been thinking about our political leadership when they developed this formulation? I wonder.

OCT 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak does not disappoint. He is true to his values whatever they might be. He upholds his principles with messianic zeal. His principles are of indeterminate provenance, but Najib is not known to worry himself to distraction over such small matters. He has made many of us happy. It has nothing to do with his 1 Malaysia vision that he seems incapable of articulating to save his life, let alone convincing Malaysians who have decided that half a century of untruths and specious, convoluted political and social arguments should be more than enough for even the most sanguine of them.

Najib has made us happy not because in a fit of mental aberration or misplaced exuberance he has added to his fantasy world the even a more preposterous 1 World vision that flashed across his mind. I bet it was a very brief moment in time. Najib has made us deliriously happy because he has just done something blatantly cynical to confirm what we have known all along about his attitude to corruption. Najib does not disappoint.

His choice of Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad as the BN candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election has left absolutely no doubt in our minds about Najib’s real attitude to corruption. He, ever the pragmatic, suave man about town leader of a country already systematically mired in corruption, sees it as nothing more that a necessary evil. If you cannot fight it, join it.

His matter of fact response that “Even those convicted by the courts get another chance” must surely single him out, like a sore thumb even among the corrupt leaders of 1 Malaysia, as someone totally devoid of ethical values. It also points to a complete lack of the political will to curb corrupt practices in our country. The gap between his rhetoric and constructive action against corruption is growing ever wider under Najib. Just in case he forgets, the Kuala Lumpur-based diplomatic corps and the wider international community are watching this development with some concern. Najib does not disappoint.

Bagan Pinang is a little backwater of a community on the Negri Sembilan coast. However, the choice of a candidate that even Umno, the party that sits well with corruption and takes it in its stride, was constrained to discipline marks a low point indeed. The much detested and reviled corruption-tainted and Isa has now been declared perfectly “kosher” to represent the country’s ruling coalition. Politics is indeed the art of the possible.

Can we trust a government that is prepared to trade integrity? And for a rural state assembly seat which, the winning or losing of which, is not going to have a material effect on the political fate of BN in overall terms? I, unlike Najib, do not subscribe to the second chance dispensation because political corruption will ravage national values and systems. Are we blind to the fact that it was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s special brand of corrupt political stewardship, now still in place unfortunately, that has stifled our potential for dynamic growth, and kept us, in spite of the resources at our disposal, at the wrong end of the global competitiveness league table?

Political corruption if not dealt with decisively will destroy our nation because the national decision-making processes will be distorted and manipulated. “State capture” by corrupt elements will be the end result. We cannot allow the country’s future to be hijacked by unprincipled politicians, by default. Fighting corruption is our individual and collective responsibility as citizens. It cannot be left to the tender mercies of the corrupt in the corridors of power.

Now that Najib has dropped all pretence of queasiness about bedding down with corruption, he could do us all a big favour and save taxpayers a lot of money by closing down the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Institute of Integrity and all the other related agencies because he has made his position on corruption so clear. They are of no use to man or beast.

And while we are about it, Najib may want to propose a general amnesty for all who have been convicted of corruption as well as those who have committed corrupt acts, but lucky enough not to be caught. This is totally consistent with his belief that the corrupt deserve a second chance, an official passport to Najib’s 1 Malaysia where anything goes and the devil looks after his own. Najib does not disappoint.

Malaysians are now being treated to a display of arrogance unprecedented in the history of BN administration, and the choice of Isa, in all the circumstances, flies in the face of what little is left that is decent and honourable in our national life, worth preserving. Even by Umno’s and, by extension, Najib’s own standards, this is a very low point, and that is putting it charitably. Najib does not disappoint.

Little Bagan Pinang will without a doubt deliver the seat that Najib so devoutly yearns to have. He needs it to prop his shaky leadership. Bagan Pinang will in the end be remembered in history as the place where Umno lost its moral bearing, credibility and legitimacy to lead the Malays. Umno’s ugly nakedness in surrendering ethical values and principles to political expediency is here for all to see: it will be its undoing. Najib does not disappoint. He never does!

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — Known for his straight talk, the former chairman of Transparency International, Tunku Abdul Aziz, said the government could be effective if it had the right leadership.

The national vice-chairman of DAP added that in order for a society to be rid of corruption, fundamental principles such as transparency and integrity must be applied in every context.

When asked what he thought about the government’s performance thus far, he said: “It is still early at this moment. They are doing their best. In the course of carrying out investigations, they might have made some mistakes along the way.

“However, that is the nature of things. People are bound to make mistakes.”

He was speaking at the launch of his book — aptly titled “Straight Talk” — at the Royal Selangor Golf Club yesterday.

The MACC was also brought into the discussion, with Tunku Aziz commending the organisation for making an effort to become more transparent.

“There has been some improvement with the MACC. They are becoming aware of what has to be done in strict accordance with the law.”

The book is a collection/compilation of articles written by Tunku Aziz in the New Straits Times over the years.

The articles provide an in-depth commentary and analysis on the socio-political landscape of Malaysia at a point in time where corruption, power and crony feudalism were at their highest level.

SEPT 26 — I was in Seoul last Monday to participate in the World Forum for Democratisation in Asia (Third Biennial Conference) on “Sustaining Democratisation in Asia: Challenges of Economic and Social Justice” with some 200 delegates from Asia and the United States.

The conference brought together people from diverse backgrounds and of all ages, to seek ways of strengthening, and arresting the rapidly declining state of democracy in their countries. These men and women, all with impeccable credentials as human rights advocates, shared many of the same democratic values that have inspired human beings through the ages, all over the world, to make great personal sacrifices against humanly impossible odds in the name of justice and freedom from the tyranny of state-sanctioned human rights abuses, such as we are subjected to in Malaysia regularly.

I spoke on the panel on “Citizen Participation and Political Accountability.” In the audience were participants from Indonesia, the US, India, Cambodia, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Mongolia, among others.

I thought I was doing well, having made some rather important points on the need for citizens to take charge of their own destiny as freedom was far too important to be left to the tender mercies of politicians, many of whom were charlatans at best and untrustworthy to boot. I mentioned as an example how citizens’ active participation in the March 2008 general election in my country had succeeded in changing, albeit ever so slightly, the 50-year corrupt political landscape, a feat that was nothing short of miraculous given the corrupt and repressive environment against which they were fighting to change.

I must confess that I was somewhat surprised that interest in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “baggage” had extended beyond the shores of Malaysia. Blame the borderless cyber technology for this unwelcome attention. Before I could finish my final remark, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the personable Yale- and Princeton-educated Ms. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, advisor to the President of Mongolia. She wanted to know, in the nicest possible way, why Malaysian citizens had voted for a person of Najib’s known reputation to assume the highest political office, and, she continued, was it true that in the Altantuya Shaariibuu trial, the Malaysian judiciary was acting improperly to protect Najib?

We do not, of course, have direct prime ministerial elections in Malaysia. I explained that the prime minister was elected by his party; Umno. It says more about the integrity of the party than perhaps the person it elected to high office. Now, I am not unused to being asked all kinds of questions in my years of public speaking, both at home and abroad, but this, about the murder trial of Altantuya threw me off balance. Ms Tsedevdamba was putting the proverbial cat among the pigeons. It caused a real flutter in my dovecot, no pun intended. My character and integrity would be put under close scrutiny, effectively on trial, and as in any trial, telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth would, I thought, be the best policy.

I am fiercely patriotic, proud of our many achievements in a number of important areas, but like many of you I often hang my head in utter shame and humiliation when I see the cynical manipulation of democratic principles by a government that seems to have lost its moral capital by developing an unethical and immoral political behaviour into a fine art form. To them who govern this country, the end would seem to justify the means.

In this respect, it is useful to remind ourselves what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when he was Prime Minister, used to proclaim, without a tinge of embarrassment, that we were a democracy because we held regular elections. It was not important to the emasculator (or perhaps constrictor is a more appropriate word in his case) of human rights that they might not always have been free and fair. What Dr Mahathir and his Umno friends have never appreciated, or deliberately failed to acknowledge, is the fact that democracy is not just about elections. It is what happens between elections that really is the point at issue. I hope Najib will not allow this grotesquely vintage Mahathir blind spot to rub off on him. It could lead to further electoral nightmares he can do without.

The “Umno-led by the nose Barisan Nasional” government has always been preoccupied more with the form rather than the substance. To them democracy is a product you could pick and choose as and when you like, much like buying a kilo of sugar over a supermarket counter, in the same way they buy votes by the thousands at party election time.

Democracy is a process that requires active citizen participation and direct involvement because it belongs to the people irrespective of race. They should, therefore, be free from the shackles of corrupt political and bureaucratic practices that have become embedded in many of our once proud national institutions but, which today, have become nothing more than the sordid tools of an unprincipled government. The people should be liberated from the clutches of unjust and undemocratic laws such as the ISA.

Don’t these Umno leaders see any contradiction between sending their own fellow citizens to indefinite detention without trial and celebrating Merdeka religiously at great public expense each year to mark the nation’s freedom from the injustice and degradation of alien rule? You cannot have 1 Malaysia without first dismantling those policies and systems that have done untold damage to the development of democracy in our society. These must be replaced by those that are consistent with the dictates and aspirations of a Malaysian Malaysia with all that this implies.

The end of the year is the season for overseas conferences. I will be speaking at three in the next six weeks and I wonder if the likes of the delectable Ms Tsedevdamba will be in the audience to plague and ply me with questions as I was in Seoul about the Najib-Altantuya nexus, the submarine and other arms contracts. Najib should have realised by now that his every word, gesture and action will be scrutinised and analysed by the people of this country. It is their right to know what their prime minister is up to in the public domain. It is the price he must pay willingly under our democratic system.

I suppose if my listeners ask me awkward questions about Najib, I will have to tell them that I am not, thank heavens, Najib’s keeper. I suppose, also, that is the price I pay for living in the shadow of Najib’s 1 Malaysia.

The new prime minister, who in another life, deftly diverted the course of “natural justice” by having the democratically elected menteri besar removed, and subsequently treated him so shabbily, was not forgotten by the public for this disgraceful action. He was punished by the voters in these constituencies who denied him the one trophy that would have legitimised his elevation to the nation’s highest political office.

As Najib was left to ponder on the implications for him of the electoral reverses that he so devoutly wished to avoid, he must have realised that he had not completely shed the many negative vibes emanating from his person. He surely must know that he will not be allowed to have a moment’s peace until he clears the allegations of impropriety against him. That unfortunately is in the nature of political life. Whatever clever spin his public relations professionals might put on the BN failure, the fact is that Malaysians have changed and UMNO in particular has not. “Father” in this day and age no longer knows best, and it is hard for leaders to come to terms with this.

I made the observation before the by-election were held that Tun Dr. Mahathir should have been left undisturbed to enjoy his rest and recreation in pastures green where he could do UMNO and the nation little damage. Parading him around the election paddock as part of the UMNO secret weapon, in the event, backfired seriously. The so-called Mahathir factor had nothing more than curiosity value at best. People in the rural areas know more than we care to admit. They are not unaware what 22 years of Mahathirism had done to the soul and spirit of Malaysia. Twin Towers, a great highway network criss-crossing the country and all the other manifestations of modernity are fine, but these assets have been acquired at what cost under Mahathir in ethical and moral terms?

Whoever suggested that the old war horse be deployed in the campaign for the hearts and minds of the people should be sacked. Najib had been badly advised, and is now paying a heavy price. What a way to start his first week in office. As a member of an opposition political party, I should be encouraging Najib to commit more strategic errors that will work to our advantage. We cannot change anything in our country unless and until we change the government. The BN government has forfeited its moral capital.

I hope the outcome of the Peninsular Malaysia by-elections will make a deep impression on Najib; it should be a salutary lesson in the importance of delivering the benefits of clean, open and accountable governance to the people who are no longer prepared to overlook excesses that border on the criminal. Imperfect as the democratic institutions are in our country, we must never forget that the voter is king when he exercises his rights to choose whom he wishes.

Najib must always remember and live by the dictum: Honesty is the Best Policy. He should understand that the power he exercises is but entrusted power to hold in trust, to be used solely for the purpose of benefiting those for whose legitimate welfare he, as head of government, is responsible. The days of Mahathirism are, we hope, well and truly over. Mahathirism with all that it represented should not be allowed to revisit this nation, and Najib must not allow obligations of a dubious nature to people who have done great harm to the reputation of the party he now leads to make a comeback in whatever capacity. As things stand today, with corruption remaining a serious national concern, there is no substitute for transparency and accountability in the affairs of state if the government is to last a full term.

Does Najib and his cabinet colleagues have the strength of character to live up to their oath of office? Or, God forbid, will it be a case of more of the same as far as UMNO leadership is concerned. This is a challenge that Najib cannot evade.

Published on APRIL 9, 2009 | MySinchew

There was really nothing to celebrate, certainly not the succession of Datuk Seri Najib Razak with all that huge and unsavoury media attention he is attracting internationally. Even here in Malaysia, where standards of public morality and ethics are much less vigorously applied to those in high office, there is a real feeling of queasiness and unease that Najib appears to be so cavalier about the critical need to clear his name against what he protests are unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety.

The salvation of his personal honour and integrity depends on his clearing the air, using all legal means at his disposal. Swearing on the Quran is not really the answer: it is not just a matter between him and his Maker. More to the point, he needs to respond to the concerns of society as a whole. The sooner he gets to grips with this inconvenient blight on his otherwise unblemished character, the better it will be for him and the country. Put this episode to rest. It will be good for the soul.

Wrecked and bedevilled by one scandal after another, sordid and nearly all verging on the criminal, the once arrogant standard bearer of “ketuanan Melayu” is still licking last year’s electoral battle wounds. It was a Waterloo of sorts for a party that until then had largely assumed their right to rule as one of God’s immutable laws.

The fallout was nothing if not surreal, a shambles of the first order if there ever was one. If it was a total shock for the party, then for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the man who led the troops into battle equipped with unreliable intelligence and an obsolete schoolboy atlas, it was a personal tragedy. Ever the gentleman, he took the blame for the debacle without a murmur.

There were no tears shed for him even as a keris was plunged, and twisted for good measure, into him. Naturally, there was no “requiem” for the untimely political demise of its president, but then you would not have expected such a heart-warming gesture of decency and appreciation from a monolithic political structure bereft of common values of human decency.

Did they not do the same to the greatest ever Malaysian statesman, the man who came to be known as Bapa Malaysia? They demonised Tunku Abdul Rahman, and rewrote the history of our country’s independence in a way that blotted out his role in the fight for freedom. The Malays are rather good with their keris.

Abdullah will be remembered as the Prime Minister who had no stomach for the sort of vicious political infighting that is Umno’s hallmark. His handling of the 12th general election dealt the coup de grace to his political career. By his departure, he will also be remembered as the Prime Minister who did nothing to stop a scandal-strapped deputy from assuming the highest political position in the land. His decision to promote Najib may well have met with the approval of the Umno membership, but what about the millions of other Malaysians who, unlike their Umno friends, are fussier about the choice of the person to lead the country.

It is an act of irresponsibility to say the least, on the part of Abdullah, to foist on the nation a successor who has yet to satisfy the people of his innocence through the legal process. Pak Lah must realise that Umno is not Malaysia, and by the same token Malaysia is not Umno. It is this inability to distinguish between the party and the government that has cost Umno its attractiveness as a party of the people, and that could work against Umno come the next general election.

The speeches have all been well crafted; the sentiments expressed resonated beautifully, but the test of the pudding will always be in the eating. We have heard thousands of speeches from Umno politicians over the years, and if only a tiny fraction of those had been translated into action, Malaysia would not have remained a divided country, a country that is in danger of being torn apart not only along racial lines but also, God forbid, class lines.

There is a lot of practical wisdom in Abdullah’s farewell speech for Umno, but I am not sanguine that anything useful will come out of it as long as the same people remain in control of the party. The shake-up has been nothing more than a recycling process. I hope to goodness that I am wrong on every count, and there is hope for all of us yet.

Most of all, I pray that the Najib years, as many fear, will not bring a return of the Dark Age of Mahathirism.

Published on MARCH 27, 2009 | The Malaysian Insider