The audacity of change vs the Bungling Idiot Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz to Loot with her Partners World’s Most Amazing Cacophony of rogues, rascals and robbers
Al Jazeera
Former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz deceiving of reality. On the political frontthe Government would have collapsed a long time back. No, not because of its inherent coalition contradictions but because it’s simply not possible for so many crooks with conflicting agendas to loot the country together, almost as if in perfect unison. The UMNOO Political Philharmonic Orchestra must be the world’s most amazing cacophony of rogues, rascals and robbers.But now, enough is enough. It’s neck deep in its own sticky sleaze. What’s worse, you haven’t seen anything yet. All these scams are but the tip of the iceberg. Talk to anyone and you will get an instant dhobi list of scams in queue to break. The problem is: We have voted into power the stupidest bunch of thieves. They are such losers that they can’t steal a hamburger without leaving ketchup stains all over. Yet they are constantly trying to pull off the biggest scams in history Our leaders are making deals on the sly with greedy builders, land sharks, illegal mining companies, corporate fixers, shady arms dealers and, O yes, US diplomats who want to manipulate our political choices. And, what’s more amazing, they do it like bungling idiots. Even Inspector Clouseau can outwit them.
But that doesn’t mean they are not malevolent. These are people who are destroying Malaysia from within. They are not just robbing you, me, and the exchequer. They are destroying institutions, subverting laws, vandalising our heritage and history, and trying to build a dazzling, amoral edifice of crime and corruption unprecedented in the nation’s history. It’s a scary scenario that could turn Malysia into one gigantic Gotham City with a flyover to hell.The longer this Government stays, the more compromised the UMNO will be, and the less capable of coming back to power. You can’t allow the sovereignty of a nation to be compromised just to win a confidence vote. You can’t bribe MPs to get your way in parliament. for it. You can’t appoint a tainted bureaucrat as the nation’s CVC. You can’t file a repoRT against a corrupt CM and then allow him to melt away. You can’t let the prime witness to the nation’s biggest scam, who offered to turn approver, be murdered in broad daylight and pretend it’s a suicide.
If this is the best this Government can do, it’s time to step down
Former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz said some seats that the Barisan Nasional lost in the 2008 general elections were due to its own members spoiling the votes.
“In some constituencies, the number of spoilt votes was bigger than the winning majority obtained by Barisan’s opponents.
“It was clear that the spoilt votes were cast by Barisan members as a sign of protest (against the chosen candidate),” Rafidah, who is Kuala Kangsar MP, said in her speech at the Perak Barisan convention at the Dewan Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib at Marina Island here Saturday.
The former international trade and industry minister, known as the Iron Lady in her 20 years as a minister before she was dropped in 2008, said Barisan members must remain disciplined to win comfortably in the next general election.
“Based on my experience, some members will boycott and shut down their operation room if their preferred candidate is not chosen by the leadership,” she said.
Past Gerakan president and former energy, water and communications minister Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik advised those aspiring to be election candidates to be patient and wait for their turn.
“I was the Gerakan deputy president in 1978 and I was not chosen as a candidate for the general election that year. Yet, I did not complain. Be patient,” he said in his speech.
Dr Lim said Barisan members must study the reasons why the people rejected the ruling coalition at the last general election and make an effort to change in order to regain the people’s support.
Responding to the points raised by the two party stalwarts, Perak Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said Barisan’s dire results in the last election had been a valuable lesson for members to give undivided support to candidates chosen by the leadership.
Expressing confidence that there would not be any sabotage by party members in the next election, Dr Zambry, who is Perak Mentri Besar said: “The last general election taught us a lesson. I am sure members will not again gamble Barisan’s future by supporting the opposition, just because they do not like the candidates.”
Dr Zambry, who had opened the convention earlier, said the state Barisan would select only those who were likeable and winnable for the next general election, as instructed by Barisan chief and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
A total of 2,175 delegates attended the one-day convention.
Has the future arrived in the Arab world? "Yes", in fact it has been "delayed", according to Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Turkish foreign minister and pioneer of the "zero problems with neighbours" policy.
He said a transformation in the region was a social necessity and that no one should attempt to resist the changes sweeping north Africa and the Middle East.
"No leader should think that they could rule forever," Davutoğlu said in his address at Al Jazeera's Sixth Annual Forum "Winds of Change in the Arab World" session on Sunday.
His words received nods of agreement from the activists and bloggers from the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as much of the audience.
Turkey is increasingly taking on the role of regional model, mediator and leader, with a solid economy and an evolving democracy. It has sought to balance many of the forces that shape, and shake, the region: The East and the West, Israel and Iran, religion and secularism.
Addressing a room full of journalists, analysts, academics, traditional and new media experts, Davutoğlu urged leaders of the region to respect people's demand for democratic change.
"Everybody deserves democracy. People's demand should be respected. We are witnessing a natural flow of history because there was a need for change," he said.
'No foreign intervention'
Davutoğlu opposed any foreign intervention into the countries going through political unrest in the region.
"Now, more than ever, the time has come to take a definitive and unified stance. We are already divided enough. We need more unification and more unity now. There should be regional ownership. No foreign intervention. This is our region.
"We have to put all our efforts toward a peaceful transformation in the region," he said.
Davutoğlu added it was military interventions, in particular, which could further complicate an already fragile political situation.
A move that has further polarised the tiny island nation and marks the first time Arab nations have intervened in another country's affairs amid sweeping unrest in the region.
However, as more people feel empowered to challenge the status quo, eventually leading to grassroots uprisings aimed at ousting dictatorships in the region, the ultimate objective of young Arabs is deliberative democracy, freedom, and the change they have yearned for.
"What we are facing is a political tsunami and we should react to it as such. The sense of common destiny is everywhere, and no one can ignore it," Davutoğlu said.
He also paid homage to Ali Hassan Al Jaber, an Al Jazeera cameraman who was killed in an ambush near the rebel-held city of Benghazi in eastern Libya on Saturday.
"I would like to extend my sincere and deepest condolences to Ali Hassan Al Jaber’s family and to all the family at Al Jazeera over the loss of a great journalist.
"He will be one of the symbolic names in the future of those who we will remember in the historic turning point of our region."
As the session came to a close, excitement filled the air as the participants possess a new sense of purpose and direction, eager to ride the winds of change.
"Those who are now leading the process of change in their countries, these young leaders will be saying and contributing more to the emergence of a new global order and they have the power to do so," Davutoğlu said to rapturous applause.
And if the revolutions inTunisia and Egypt are any guide, then it is these debates, stemming from unprecedented generational change unfolding concurrently with a modern media revolution, that will surely continue and be the indicator that defines history in this region.
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