Despite Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s simple 2011 New Year message stressing how his ‘government was sensitive to the people’, he has nevertheless done his utmost to let the people down by undermining the Pakatan-led state government in Selangor.
He did this by challenging the Selangor Menteri Besar’s choice of State Secretary.
He did this by the back-door route.
But perhaps the most damning bit is that he dragged royalty into this fracas.
Najib reminded us not to gamble away the future of the coming generations with wrong decisions: “Let’s mould a better future for the coming generations.”
He then stressed that the success of the Government’s plans and programmes was dependent on the support and cooperation of the people.
“The power to build lies in the hands of the people. Fulfil this responsibility as best as you can.”
He said that the Government always adopted full responsibility in the management of the country, in particular the economy.
“As a government sensitive to the pulse of the people, we will not at all neglect the people’s interests by making a promise or a decision which seems to be popular but is actually to the detriment of the interests of everyone.”
If so, why has he engineered the current state of confusion in Selangor? Why has he gone against the people’s wishes?
The Federal government appointed outgoing Selangor Islamic Religious Department director Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the new state secretary.
Selangor Menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim was not consulted and the state government under his leadership, rejected the appointment. Khusrin is known as a 'thorn' because he likes to undermine state decisions.
Moreover, Khusrin was the least capable candidate in the selection round conducted by the state-appointed panel.
Nevertheless, Khalid is furious with the Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan, who appointed Khusrin, because a wrong message is being sent to civil servants.
Khalid fears that civil servants will wrongly believe that merits and ability are not priorities in the promotion of government servants, whom he said was already facing criticisms for being ineffective and incompetent.
He is right.
Last September, Rembau MP and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar admitted that the ‘over-inflated’ civil service had to be culled and streamlined.
He suggested ways of reward and promotion improvement: “At the moment, it is not based on productivity, but seniority and length of service. We need to change that so that we can cull the inefficient.” Khairy’s father was a civil servant in Wisma Putra.
Everyone is aware that Umno’s most potent political weapon is the civil servant. With 1.2 million bureaucrats (over 4% of the population), Umno is assured of political commitment. These civil servants represent the fifth column.
But now Umno have introduced another lethal weapon: Royalty.
Perhaps, it is to be expected of a charlatan; A Prime minister who was not elected; who has no sense of how to govern.
Najib’s strategy is to drag the Sultan of Selangor into Umno’s muddy brand of politics. He fears that Umno/BN may lose at the next General Election. He fears the humiliation of not wresting control of Selangor, the ‘jewel in the crown’, from Pakatan.
Failure to regain control of Selangor will mean the end of his career.
Devoid of proper governance, Najib’s only recourse is gutter politics.
The chorus of people who have come to the defense of this controversial appointment include ex-Menteri Besar, Khir Toyo, who faces a corruption charge and who is probably best remembered for his multi-million ringgit mansion and his all-expenses family holiday to Disneyland – his ‘study trip’.
The second voice is that of Noh Omar, a weak and unpopular leader.
Perhaps Najib believes his personal record is relatively clean.
Najib orchestrated a political coup in Perak in 2009. He is attempting a repeat performance in Selangor.
He has already sullied the name of democracy. What is the point of a democracy if the Opposition has to constantly seek redress in the courts?
Najib is a man with no moral scruples. Did he have to compromise the neutrality of our Sultan just so he can perform his dirty deed because he does not want to lose control?
Liu Xiaobo is locked up in a dark cell in a notorious Chinese prison whose walls are so thick that even the news of him winning the Nobel Peace Prize hasn’t reached his ears. Liu has been to jail four times. His crime: speaking up against China’s current system. Liu was picked up by the police in June 2009 on "suspicion of inciting subversion of state power," a crime under Article 105 of China's Criminal Law. According to Xinhua, Liu was arrested because he had incited the subversion of “state power and the overturn of the socialist system through methods such as spreading rumours and slander”.
But Liu's real crime was his participation in drafting ‘Charter 08’, a letter written by more than 300 Chinese intellectuals who demanded “more freedom of expression, human rights, more democratic elections, for privatizing state enterprises and land and for economic liberalism”. In a country where a Communist party runs the world’s second-biggest capitalist economy, it’s a heinous crime to challenge the state.
But, let’s look at what’s happening in our own backyard. Dr Binayak Sen, a doctor and human rights activist, has been sent to jail for sedition under Section 124A. According to this notorious law, invented by British imperialists, “Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”
The charge against Liu was that he had written ‘Charter 08’. He has not denied the accusation. The charge against Dr Sen is that he was a courier of letters “for imprisoned Naxal leaders and was sympathetic to their cause”. Dr Sen has been given life sentence.
Though Liu and Sen are very similar – both are intellectuals fighting for human rights, there is a huge difference in their positions. The day Liu was supposed to receive the Nobel, US President Obama called on China to release him. "Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was," Obama said. "All of us have a responsibility to build a just peace that recognizes the inherent rights and dignity of human beings…”
In recent months, Obama has spoken for protecting the freedom of democracy activists. The list is long: Liu Xiaobo, Aung San Suu Kyi, Dalai Lama and Shireen Abadi of Iran. Himself a Nobel winner, Obama has been using his poetic words to show that he cares for human rights. Surprisingly, on the Binayak Sen issue, he has been totally silent. Forget the US president, even American human rights organization, magazines and bloggers have not raised this issue. Dr Sen may not be a Nobel laureate but he is a well-known figure.
Why is that the Americans’ heart begins to bleed when a Chinese dissident is held, but they keep quiet when after a kangaroo court-style trial India sends a human rights activist to jail. Not that it matters, nor should we worry about the Americans' view interest on our internal affairs, but Obama’s deafening silence on the Binayak Sen’s case says a lot about the world’s oldest democracy and the biggest democracy and the conspiracy of silence between them. Why America loves Liu Xiaobo but ignores Binayak Sen? Why even a slight violation of human rights in Tibet rattles the US but it looks away when systematic torture in Kashmir is brought to light? Why Washington begins to scream if the Iranian police use tear gas on the streets in Tehran but keeps quiet when the Indian security forces kill young boys, rape women and raze entire tribal villages?
Why the Americans don’t treat Sen at par with Liu?
The answer lies in their politics. From his writings, Liu comes across as a pro-West intellectual. "Modernization means whole-sale westernization, choosing a human life is choosing Western way of life. Westernization is not a choice of a nation, but a choice for the human race," he once said in an interview. In his articles, Liu has argued that the “free world led by the US fought almost all regimes that trampled on human rights …." Liu has defended US policies in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and supported George W Bush's war on Iraq. No wonder when Liu got the Nobel, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "We raise human rights in every meeting that we have between the US and China, and we will continue to do so."
Clinton comes to India at least 10 times a year, but she never raises the human rights issue. Of course, she cares two hoots if a doctor who has been working among the poor tribals of Chhattisgarh for 30 years lives or die. For the Americans and their MNCs, Chhattisgarh is a goldmine of business opportunities. In recent years, almost all American ambassadors have made trips to Raipur. American MNCs have signed hundreds of MOUs with Chhattisgarh government. The content of these MOUs and the agenda of US ambassadors’ visit remain secret. Why?
Dr Sen’s crime was that he spoke against Salwa Judum, a private militia created by Chhattisgarh government with the objective of forcing the tribals to give their land to mining barons and MNCs. Till a few years ago, Salwa Judum was on a rampage, killing people, raping women and burning down villages. As Salwa Judum’s atrocities became unbearable, Dr Sen exposed their crimes. Dr Sen in his jail on sedition charges because he spoke against the state that kills its own people.
But, the Americans love Chhattisgarh government as it is making the state safe for profiteering (a coincidence if its sounds like ‘Making the world safe for democracy’ – Hollywood’s favourite punch line). That's why this client state privilege to India. That’s why they are quiet about Dr Sen, who will never get the Nobel because that will force the Americans to speak for him. That will be embarrassing for another Nobel laureate: Barack Husain Obama
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