NURUL IZZAH ANWARPUTRI REFORMASI MALAYSIA’S FUTURE PRIME MINISTER IN MAKING CAN THEY STOP HER THIS TIME
Perhaps to take the wind out of Nurul’s sails after she won wide acclaim with her crystal-clear
As the 30-year Nurul took on ultra-Malay rights group Perkasa and challenged its overt racism, Khairy issued an “acid test” dare to the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, that what was sauce for the goose was sauce for the gander.
The Barisan has been struggling to bounce back. It lacked unity. Every leader aspired to become the Prime MinisterEgo problems led to creation of groups. Aged leaders refused to encourage young and bright partymen. New entrants found themselves unwanted. Love-hate relationship with
The battle for the hearts and minds of young Malaysia has begun with Nurul Izzah Anwar staking claim on a multi-racial Malaysia that allows no room for racism or religious bigotry – two of the most serious issues ailing the nation, not only curbing economic growth but also making the people grossly unhappy. FT Minister haven’t checked with the the RO involved and he accuses Malaysiakini of spin!!! He is giving excuses that the RO might mean this or mean that when he said to Nurul Izzah! What nonsense is this?!!! Is he the “worm” in the RO’s belly? What a shallow, shallow statement from a pea brain Minister! Raja Nong Chik is looking for excuses because he knows that Lembah Pantai voters have come to their senses. They not going to vote this man who let dogs out into parliament in 3/2008 because he had had tortured his at least about 35000 constituents during the Bersih 3 rally related article http://suarakeadilanmalaysia.blogspot.com/2012/07/lets-forehead-tottoo-returning-officers.html
.What nonsense from this Rafi Awang Kechik. So distasteful. Must have been badly brought up. In Malay, kurang ajar. What do you mean by potray, they were just stating a fact not trying to potray, you idiot, scumbag. This scumbag has been trying to win over the indians in brickfields. I see his ugly picture on banners everywhere in brickfields. What rubbish is this. Don’t they have better things to do with our money than to waste it placing their ugly pictures all over the place and making Malaysia an ugly place. Imagine when tourist come and see such ugly faces all over the place, what would they think.After you got rid of Sharizat
Hot on her heels is Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin. The 34-year old Youth chief has been trying to transform himself into a ‘liberal’ of sorts but with mixed success due partly to his own past record of using race-championing to gain popularity but mostly because of his own political inconsistency – even now.
.What nonsense from this Rafi Awang Kechik. So distasteful. Must have been badly brought up. In Malay, kurang ajar. What do you mean by potray, they were just stating a fact not trying to potray, you idiot, scumbag. This scumbag has been trying to win over the indians in brickfields. I see his ugly picture on banners everywhere in brickfields. What rubbish is this. Don’t they have better things to do with our money than to waste it placing their ugly pictures all over the place and making Malaysia an ugly place. Imagine when tourist come and see such ugly faces all over the place, what would they think.After you got rid of Sharizat
Hot on her heels is Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin. The 34-year old Youth chief has been trying to transform himself into a ‘liberal’ of sorts but with mixed success due partly to his own past record of using race-championing to gain popularity but mostly because of his own political inconsistency – even now.
But the majority feedback was that the rapper was only stating an economic fact not making a seditious comment unlike the racial slurs hurled by headmistress Siti Inshah, whom Namewee had attacked in his video clip. Siti had likened Indians to dogs and Prime Minister Najib Razak’s special aide Nasir Safar had earlier this year called Indian beggars and Chinese women whores.
Khairy’s critics were upset by the way he pontificated without thinking twice that he himself may be closing an eye to all the factors and therefore guilty of the two-faced hypocrisy that former premier Mahathir Mohamd has been frequently accused of.
And in this is the real acid test – not the one he set for the non-Malays in his article but one that Malaysians have set for Khairy himself. Can a leopard change its spots? Is Khairy – cocooned by his wealth and privileged position – already too ‘old’ to feel the pulse of young Malaysia? Does young Malaysia want to cozy up to him?
Sadly for KJ, the son-in-law of former premier Abdullah Badawi, he is unable to reach out to the older Malaysians either. The above 40s think he is a fake and see him more as a potential talent that cannot be realized because of his temperament and the duality in his nature.
Despite his war chest that some say exceed US$200 million, they rate his chances of reaching the political pinnacle as low and believe it is more likely he will end up a frustrated leader rather than a successful one. Pundits also predict he will make another “major transformation” soon. They see in him a young Mahathir – whom many have scathingly labeled the Father of Opportunism - but without the power of office.
Worse than Ibrahim Ali or Mahathir Mohamd
| Mahathir ruled Malaysia 1981-2003 |
Whether KJ swings to the left, center or right will depend on what is the flavor of the day, but mostly, pundits expect him to swing back to the right. They expect him to become even more ultra-Malay than Ibrahim Ali and moreBolehland than Mahathir because this may be the only way for him to fight his Pakatan peers.
NURUL IZZAH ANWARPUTRI REFORMASI MALAYSIA’S FUTURE PRIME MINISTER IN MAKING CAN THEY STOP HER THIS TIME
By Nurul Izzah AnwarCOMMENT A Malay daily recently declared that a civil war would break out in the country. And this war would dwarf the May 13 1969 racial riot – the worst in Malaysia’s history. The war, said the newspaper, is a response to a non-existing amended constitution that abolishes the special position of
Paradox and problem intersect in any country; MALAYSAJA and potential make the challenge more complex. We will see whether UMNO has the agility to use power to transfer power to yet another generation. The ultimate success for a ruling party is that delicious bipolar ability to occupy both government and opposition space. The British in
All factions should focus on struggling for the bigger picture of the country which involves the interest of the nation and its various races, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.
He said the government will not compromise with any party including politicians who take up their party struggles or that of their respective organizations to the point of raising discord among the different communities.“This is important to ensure the well-being of the country which has various races, religion and culture.”
affirmative action who is also Pagoh Member Parliament, said the interest of all communities must be made a priority instead of looking out solely for the benefit of one community alone.
“While we need to work for our community, we also need to respect the interest of other communities so that resentment and the feeling of lack of respect will not arise,” he said.He also called on the people to value the positive attributes in the Open House concept which is in line with the 1 Malaysia vision and something that foreigners are also impressed with. –
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has described the MCA as a true friend who sticks with the Barisan Nasional (BN) through thick and thin.
The deputy prime minister said despite the difficulties encountered, the MCA had never abandoned the BN, instead it helped to strengthen relations among component parties to make the coalition stronger.
“We thrive on family spirit and what is important we are staying together through tough times. MCA had never wanted to leave BN, they are part of BN and will forever remain a key component in BN.
“Hence, the Chinese community should continue to give their support to BN as it has brought enormous social and economic progress to the country,” he said when opening the delegates meeting of the MCA Youth and Wanita wings in the Pagoh division in Lenga near here today.
He said on the other hand, the opposition, particularly the DAP made empty promises, but failed to solve the problems faced by the people.
Muhyiddin also urged Chinese newspapers to play a positive role and avoid publishing misleading reports as it could cause the people to get angry with the government.
Transcript of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s interview on CNBC Asia on Saturday is below
KUALA LUMPUR: The implementation of affirmative action under the New Economic Policy (NEP) is to be reviewed to make it fairer, more transparent and market-friendly.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said what worked in the past, might not work today, and Malaysia would slide backwards and lose its competitiveness without reform or changes.
“We are doing this because we are committed to Vision 2020, which was initiated by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad in 1990,” Najib said in an interview with Martin Soong in The CNBC Conversation Saturday.
He stressed that to maintain the status quo was not an option.
However, the commitment in terms of balancing society to make it more equitable, leading to long term stability, still remained.
“So, the essence of the New Economic Model (NEM) is not about changing the macro targets but to ensure that how we do it results in greater success.
“By doing that, I think it would be more acceptable across the board and be seen to be fairer as well,” he added.
Najib also said some people were concerned and might fear changel, but he added, this was nothing new.
Malay rights group Perkasa and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad have voiced their defence of the special rights of Malays under the NEP and are against any changes being made to the existing Bumiputera policy.
“They are not against us. They are talking more about Bumiputera rights. But actually, we are not taking anything away from the Bumiputeras, but saying, let us do it differently,” he explained.
Najib emphasised that what is important is to achieve better results and a more equitable society.
“At the same time, we want to be fair to the non-Bumiputeras as well. We want to build a 1Malaysia,” he highlighted.
Transcript of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s interview on CNBC Asia on Saturday
CNBC: Let’s start first by talking about Malaysia’s economy, update us if you could. It started out the year 2010 very strongly, 10% in excess of that growth first half. Second half though, fairly obviously things are going to have to slow down because the external environment in the west is still looking fragile and Malaysia is still quite dependent on exports. Six percent GDP growth this year, can Malaysia achieve it?
NAJIB: Yes, I believe we can achieve quite a robust growth this year. As you know, first quarter we achieved 10.1%, second quarter 8.9%. Going forward, second half, yes you are right, we expect growth to taper down. But there is enough momentum domestically, I think domestic demand, domestic consumption is high and I think it will continue to be relatively high this year. And external demand, although there will be some sort of dampening effect, but we do expect it to be fairly strong so we should end up with at least 6% per cent growth.
CNBC: At least 6% growth?
NAJIB: Yes
CNBC: This is what I find interesting, export growth is also decelerating as you would expect, as external demand slows down. The ringgit though, is trading at about the highest it has been in 13 years. Are you comfortable with the ringgit at these levels?
NAJIB: Yes we are, but we are monitoring it in terms of both our fiscal and monetary policy to make sure that the ringgit reflects the fundamentals of the economy and at the moment, we believe it does and the stronger ringgit doesn’t seem to have a negative impact on our exports.
CNBC: The ringgit is still not fully tradable offshore though and for several years already, one of the two key things foreign investors wanted to see happen, to see change in Malaysia, in order to make it more attractive for them to invest in the country was one; let’s see the ringgit tradable offshore again. Recently, Malaysia has made changes so the ringgit is a little bit more moveable on the capital account. In this kind of environment, economic environment, are any further changes on the ringgit? Do you foresee them?
NAJIB: We are monitoring the situation all the time, very closely. Most investors feel that this is not the key determinant in terms of their investment decisions. Most importantly, there is no restriction in terms of repatriation of dividends and profits, for example, and bringing in currency through the banking system. So it’s not really a major factor, but we are open to it. As you know, we are quite adaptive, and if we think that it’s going to help the economy, certainly we will review the situation.
CNBC: I’m gonna ask you another unfair question. But because you are the Prime Minister, I’m almost obliged to. We talked about the ringgit. Let’s talk about interest rates. In this kind of environment, will it slow down, what economist call “normalisation of rates”, that is, raising them.
NAJIB: This is basically the purview of the central bank, and I would like it to be in that context, but we do make adjustments, in terms of interest rates to make sure that the economy is not overheated, for example. Particularly, we don’t want a bubble, for example, but we want a steady robust growth.
CNBC: Let me ask you about Malaysia’s balance sheet. Debt is running at about 50% of GDP, high but not worrisome and certainly manageable. Several of your own economists based here though have been warning that the situation cannot be allowed to continue lest down the road, 10, 15 years, Malaysia becomes another Greece. What is your priority in terms of reining in that deficit?
NAJIB: We have some options, in the short term and further down the road. For example, we have given this commitment to the market that will bring down our deficit to around 5.6% of GDP this year. And I believe we are still on track. And we have also made an indication that by the end of the 10th (Malaysia) Plan, we hope to bring it down even further to say, around 3%.
There are various options available, one of which is of course to rein in expenditure, which we have done. We have cut back on development and on operating expenditure. So we have a few options, but going forward, I’m talking about maybe several years down the road, we have to look in terms of our tax base because Malaysia’s tax base is rather narrow with one per cent growth in GDP, our tax revenue only increases by about 0.8%, or 0.85%. So there is that limited elasticity in terms of tax returns. So some of the structural problems have to be addressed.
CNBC: We’ll return to some of these issues in just a bit. But in terms of fund raising, because of still lingering worries about the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, it has made it very difficult for a lot of other countries, which are in nowhere near as bad shape fiscally as many in Europe, to raise funds. It has made it more expensive for one thing. In Malaysia’s case?
NAJIB: In Malaysia’s case, not the case. We had a global issue recently and it was oversubscribed and we got good rates for it. I think the market has a positive view of Malaysia, provided we deliver with respect to our promises.
CNBC: Prime Minister, earlier on, you made reference to Malaysia’s latest five-year plan, this would be the 10th. One of the cornerstones of that is what a lot of economists are calling a rebalancing of our economy, to be less dependent on exports, more on domestic consumption and the local economy. How are things proceeding?
NAJIB: We have done our strategy, basically that is predicated on the new economic model and what is exciting about the new economic model is that we have identified where the new sources of growth are going to come from, including how do we resuscitate the domestic private economy, the private sector.
The private sector has been taking a backstage vis-a-vis the public sector ever since the financial crisis of 1997. So we want the private sector to play a more dominant role. In fact, we have stated very clearly that to achieve our lofty targets, we have to raise RM150bil per year in terms of total investment. So that’s a huge undertaking. We have to address some of our concerns with respect to skills, for example.
We must make sure we move up the value chain in terms of skills level, so we have to prime up the human capital development.
We have to look at new sources of growth, and the growth can come from consumption, growth can come from demand, but growth can also come from innovation. If you want to get to 6%, 7%, then innovation will be the key enabler to achieve that.
CNBC: If the private sector is going to play a leading role in this, if services are going to play a leading role on this, one of the thoughts that struck me when I was doing a little bit of research on the controversy over when, how, how much to reduce subsidies, and therefore, help your fiscal position, the government’s fiscal position, is the company, corporate Malaysia has benefited predominantly from subsidies, not so much individuals, so if you remove the subsidies from them, will they become potentially less competitive? Would that hobble their ability to be a driver of growth for Malaysia to 2020?
NAJIB: I don’t think so. The message, the key message we are delivering to the private sector is that relying on subsidy gives you a false sense of being competitive. You must be competitive because you are more productive. You must be competitive because you are more innovative. You must be competitive because you made the right kind of investment. You have developed the right kind of talent. And those are the key factors, which will enable us to compete globally, not relying on subsidies because relying on subsidies gives you a false sense of security because the day of reckoning will come when subsidies will be removed eventually.
CNBC: So you are saying, force companies to become competitive.
NAJIB: Exactly, that’s what they have to do.
CNBC: At the same time though, a very fine balancing act and you referred to this earlier on, politically sensitive, because you want to encourage the private sector to become more competitive but you do not want to disadvantage the poor who probably need the subsidies a lot more.
NAJIB: Yes, that’s why part of our New Economic Model, we are focusing on not just eradicating not just absolute poverty, but we are looking at 40% of the population, the more vulnerable group, the groups that are financially stressed at the end of each month and we have to do something for them, for these people. So when we remove subsidies gradually, we have to look in terms of increasing the income level.
We have to look in terms of ensuring a wider social safety net, and so forth. So there are measures, which must be put into place. But where there has been a misallocation of resources, for example, people who own luxury cars should not enjoy subsidies. So those are in a way, reducing subsidies must also be a targeted way of doing it.
CNBC: Let’s pull back and look at your 18, coming to 19 months in office. Three months in, you already started making major changes, making Malaysia more open to foreign investment, foreign ownership, etc., fund management companies, 100% foreign owned, that’s fine.
There are still a number of people who look at the changes that you’ve made, or are trying to make, and are saying that is not enough. And they are voting with their feet. Your balance of payments in the 4th quarter, and the 3rd quarter, is negative, and it seems to be growing. How do you intend to stop this outflow of your talent as well as your money? Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, I think, was quoted as saying not too long ago that there needs to be fundamental changes otherwise Malaysia will continue to hemorrhage wealth as well as talent.
NAJIB: Well, there are some early positive indications. The 1st quarter this year, we are seeing more or less even in terms of the wealth flow. So that’s a good sign. Probably there is a greater sense of confidence, greater clarity in terms of the direction that the country is heading towards.
There is also an attempt now to attract the Malaysia diaspora. I have announced the creation of a talent cooperation. In fact, we will make some important announcements shortly, with respect to the establishment of the talent cooperation and they would be going around and engaging Malaysians abroad, persuading them to return home.
Secondly, we would have to look at the wage structure in Malaysia. I think we have undervalued human talent in Malaysia. I think human talent has been somewhat undervalued, so we do need to find a mechanism so that we can raise wage levels in Malaysia. Commensurate wage with their true value. And of course stressing on productivity. So these are some of the measures we will do.
CNBC: Prime Minister, since you’ve taken office one of the biggest initiatives has been to roll back more than 20 years of affirmative action under what used to be known as the New Economic Policy, NEP. The stock market in 18 months since you’ve been in power has been up about 60%. That’s positive, it says something. At home though, I want to ask you, get your reaction to this, there are a number of your citizens, not just the Chinese and Indians, also the Malays who are very nervous about these changes.
They are used to this status quo. The Opposition is also skeptical, as you would probably expect. But even within the party that seems to be not total agreement. Then again, we have got this right-wing splinter group from (former) Prime Minister Mahathir that has come up with Perkasa and they are attacking you from their front as well. How are you dealing with all of this?
NAJIB: Well, first of all, let me explain to you that we are still committed in terms of balancing the society, to get a more equitable society, which will lead to our long-term stability. What I am saying now is that what has worked in the past may not work today. So we are going to review the way we implement affirmative action, not the overall objective but the way we implement it, so that it would be seen to be fairer, should be more transparent, should be market-friendly.
So the whole essence of the New Economic Model is not about changing the macro targets but to make sure that how we do it, ensures greater success. And by doing that, I think it would be more acceptable across the board. And it would be seen to be fairer as well.
Obviously some people are concerned and maybe fear of change as well, but that’s nothing new. The other option is to remain status quo, to do business as usual. And we’ve looked at the numbers, we’ve looked at the statistics, that is not an option. If we don’t make changes, we don’t reform, Malaysia would slide backwards, lose its competitive edge. We are convinced about that.
We are doing all this because we are committed to Vision 2020, which was started by Tun Mahathir Mohammad back in 1990. And we want to see that happen. We want to realise Vision 2020.
CNBC: Why is former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and now Perkasa, why are they so upset though?
NAJIB: They are not against us. They are talking more about bumiputra rights. But actually we are not taking anything away from the bumiputra, but we are saying that let us do it differently. Let us get better results. Let us achieve a more equitable society. But at the same time, being fair to the non-bumiputras as well. Because we want to build a One Malaysia.
CNBC: Equity, fairness, redistribution of wealth. We’ve talked about some of the dissent within the party, the right-wing splinter group, Tun and Perkasa, the opposition. NGOs as well, civil society are saying one of the key elements that may be missing in your reform is Malaysian institution themselves, in terms of making them more efficient, less graft-prone, where there are, let’s say, perhaps, unintended misallocation of resources. Former Prime Minister (Abdullah Ahmad) Badawi, his big plan was fighting corruption. How’s that going? There doesn’t seem to be that much emphasis on it anymore or am I wrong?
NAJIB: No, this is very much a part of our national agenda because as you know, as part of our government transformation programme, reducing corruption is part of the 6 NKRAs, so it is a key result area, one of the key result areas, which we intend to do. So we are committed, we have strengthened MACC, but we need to produce, you know, more results, and more conviction, but it is a process, it is a journey, we are committed to it, we certainly will be focused about how we should go about it.
We have also done other things like reducing government expenditure, most of our procurement now is based on open tender or restricted tender.
There is less direct, very much reduced direct negotiation, so these are a broad range of measures we have instituted.
CNBC: Very quickly, before we let you go. I want to talk to you about politics and elections. You have a window before elections need to be called again. There has been increasing attention on Sabah. Not a lot of people think about it or talk about it, in the foreign investment community. But in terms of votes, in terms of seats that Sabah represents, it’s immensely important for the party. There has been increasing negativity and bad press to do with the way that Sabah has been left to run. What are you doing to address these issues ahead of polls? I mean here there are environmental concerns woven in as well.
NAJIB: Actually, if you see the resources we are going to allocate under 10th plan, especially with respect to the government transformation programme, quite a large chunk of our resources will be channelled into Sarawak and Sabah. You know, take for example infrastructure development, rural roads, electricity, water supply, the bulk of the resources will be spent in Sarawak and Sabah. And we are seeing results because I monitor this on a regular basis, so things are actually happening on the ground and we will see the achievements to be much higher as we move forward because we are gaining momentum.
So our commitment is to actually bring a more equitable development, which includes Sabah and Sarawak because one of the cornerstones of our New Economic Model is to be inclusive.
CNBC: And very quickly before we let you go. After we’ve finished talking to you, one of the items on your agenda is you’ll been meeting with US President Barack Obama. What message will you have for him from Malaysia?
NAJIB: The message is that this is an important region and that the United States cannot afford not to have a serious policy toward Asia, a very serious engagement toward Asia, and that should manifest itself in many ways.
First of all, taking Asean seriously, and also for us to be part of the wider regional architecture. For example, the trans-Pacific partnership, Malaysia is keen to be part of that because we think we can add value to it because we are a major trading nation, and America is very positive about Malaysia’s involvement in the trans-Pacific partnership and also not to mention the other areas of security, anti-terrorism and so forth.
This is a key area and above all this is the area of growth, so on many fronts the relationship between United States and Asean is a very important relationship.
Even in his first test against Nurul, pundits pointed out KJ failed to rise to the high standards demanded by urban Malaysians. It could be he was hampered by the Umno-BN code while Nurul was free to answer only to her beliefs. But the fact that KJ chooses to toe the Umno line is already reflective of his true inclination, they added.
“KJ has said he wants to change Umno-BN from within but this is exactly what Koh Tsu Koon told Gerakan. Are either of them radical, can either men inspire Malaysian youths?” an Umno watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.
In her Malaysia or Malaysaja article, Nurul had chosen to debunk the Ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy rhetoric favored by ultra-Malay rights group Perkasa. She point-blank asked Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali in which part of the Federal Constitution was such a term stated. Her daring has earned her the anger of Umno leaders and Defense minister Zahid Hamidi has already accused her of being a traitor.
Yet, Ibrahim Ali who became a Member of Parliament when Nurul was just six years old declined to accept the invitation to a publicly televised debate even though it would actually provide him with the chance to spout his Malay first-and-only rhetoric to the entire nation.
| Pakatan’s Nurul |
Who will be the next PM
The jockeying that has begun amongst the second generation for the post of Prime Minister is a sad reflection of Najib’s failure and underscores the belief that his reign will be brief.
Few Malaysians have faith he can change the country and disrespect him for playing good guy with the non-Malays while getting his cousin Hishammuddin Hussein to do the ‘dirty work’ with the Malays. The latest incident that upset the Chinese community was when Hisham called 29-year old Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching “dirty” and deemed her unfit to enter a Muslim prayer hall.
But who will shine and land the coveted PM’s chair. If the pundits are right, it won’t be Khairy but that doesn’t mean that Nurul will have a clear run either.
| Umno’s Khairy |
Remember Bukit Lanjan MP Elizabeth Wong and her photos scandal? The same sort of trumped-up gutter politicking may sabotage Nurul’s career. Her father has already been hit with two sodomy trials. What won’t Umno, and this will include Khairy, do to her?
For Pakatan supporters, they take comfort in that come what may, within their coalition are many young leaders as capable as Nurul. And in the face of such relentless competition, Khairy may be forced to return to the Umno tradition of using racism and religious bigotry to gain political popularity.
At the end of the day, how the chips fall will still depend on Malaysians especially young Malaysians. And this is why the battleground is already being prepared.
.Returning officers trained to bail out BN? the EC stinks worst than skunks. This is how low Umno-BN can stoop to stay in power.Some cheek the returning officer (RO) has. It’s an absolute disgrace. Does that not convey the clear message about the Election Commission (EC)?Has Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar reported him to the EC and the police? Not that it will make any difference, just for the record., this was the same RO who attempted to help bring in 13 boxes of ‘new ballot papers’ that suddenly appeared after the counting and several vote recounts had finished, in an apparent desperate attempt to tamper with the vote and help National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) queen Shahrizat Abdul Jalil win the election illegally.SHARE THIS STORY The rude response by this RO is just an example to show how ROs are being “trained” to be prepared to do anything to save BN in GE13. the RO has influenced the rakyat more to vote for YB Nurul. We want you to be the PM. First Malaysian woman PM.This is the problem when civil servants forget about their primary role in the administration of the country.The first and the final rule for an RO should be to remain like a rock and stay completely neutral, whatever the circumstances or the outcome. It looks like that paramount rule has been demolished by the EC
Our political leaders evidently have a not-so-smart-ass response for everything under the hazy Malaysian sun.Some – the few who can read – probably would have read that story about the French queen, Marie Antoinette, apparently saying `Let them eat cake’ upon learning that the French peasants had no bread.
Yes, perhaps that is why our Home Minister, upon hearing that the ISA detainees were on a hunger strike, twittered that it was the choice of the ISA detainees to hold the hunger strike, just as it was his choice to have lamb chops.Not very sensitive of him, it could be argued. But then, neither was the French Queen who, history tells us, was later executed by guillotine. Yes, she had her head chopped off.Many of our politicians, I think, share this misconception that they are so darn smart and can deliver flippant comments, inane lines and get away with it.In the pre-Internet days, this probably would have been true. Then newspapers, radio and television were virtually the only sources of news. Hence, they could lie through their teeth, say nasty things about every being under, yes, the Malaysian sun, and get away with it all.Media self-censorship now an art formWhy? Because the print and broadcast media then – as now – were owned and controlled by them or their parties and would not dream of publishing or broadcasting their stupid, insensitive comments. It would have been bad PR – and certainly bad karma for any suicidal editor who dared publish the comments.
Then – but more so now – media self-censorship has been raised to an art form.However, the introduction of the Internet into this country, and its rapid expansion over the past five years or so, have changed that a teeny-weeny bit.So, much as the mainstream media may ignore important issues such as the NFC scandal, the PFKZ disaster, the orchestrated violence on BERSIH 3.0 and, of course, the financially-huge Scorpene debacle, these events and issues will no longer just go away.Instead, they continue to be investigated, headlined and exposed by theInternet media that, over the relatively short period of 10 to 15 years, have consolidated – nay, firmly entrenched – themselves as serious players in this game of providing images, meanings and explanations.So, although quite a number of these jaguh kampung politicians – and their bit part supporting actors in the civil (dis)service – still are clueless about how the Internet at times can strip them naked, there are a few who, I believe, feel they need to spend tonnes (perhaps of our money) on giving their image a positive makeover.
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