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| Mositun spoke too soon about PBS being vindicated Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:33 PM PDT
Mositun and the other leaders in PBS must understand that many PBS members and supporters still believe the PBS shouldn't have rejoined the BN because of bigger issues, not just because of the ISA. Just because the ISA will be repealed doesn't make the members and supporters any happier. By Daniel John Jambun When the Prime Minister announced the government will repeal the Internal Security Act and other important reforms, Datuk Johnny, PBS' Information Chief celebrated, saying it was clear proof that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is responsive to the people's feelings. He claimed that, "These important reforms vindicate the decision by our President, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, to rejoin the BN 10 years ago. Today Pairin's faith in the BN to do the right things for the people and nation has been proven correct." But he has spoken too soon. Now, the proposed repeal has boiled up a storm, with Tun Mahathir expressing worry that irresponsible people may abuse the freedom, and a national security expert in Singapore saying it is a dangerous thing to do. But while we are glad that the BN is opening doors to more freedom, we have to realize that there are still many repressive laws out there that are suppressing our freedom and giving Malaysia a bad reputation among the regional and international communities. Such laws include the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), the Multimedia and Communications Act, the Public Order (Preservation) Ordinance. Instead of celebrating too soon, why doesn't Mositun make a call to urge the PM to repeal all these laws as well?
Many opposition leaders and NGOs have expressed strong suspicion that the PM's announcement was just a sandiwara, or an act to put old wine into new bottles and to make it even worse by introducing two new laws. There is no guarantee that the new laws will not be as draconian as the ISA. And the proposed repeal will only be done next year which raise the question: Will that be after the general election? If so, Najib is only performing a clever vote-fishing trick. And may I ask: If the new laws are still having ISA-like provisions as demanded by Ibrahim Ali, will Mositun demand that PBS leaves the BN, because the PBS would then be "unvindicated"? Mositun's habit of jumping the gun and apple-polishing for the BN had made him lose his political character and credibility, and may very well be a liability to his own party.
Also, Mositun and the other leaders in PBS must understand that many PBS members and supporters still believe the PBS shouldn't have rejoined the BN because of bigger issues, not just because of the ISA. Just because the ISA will be repealed doesn't make the members and supporters any happier. The whole issue about PBS re-joining the BN in 1998 centres on the question of principle and the spirit of the struggle of the Kadazandusuns. If the PBS undertakes an independent survey today I sincerely believe it will confirm the fact that most Kadazandusuns don't think too highly of the Huguan Siou anymore, and that PBS' struggle is more for personal interests than for the people's long term vision. The fact still stands that by joining the BN, PBS had become subservient to Umno, which has a strong effect on the morale of the Kadazandusuns.
The unhappiness about PBS is not limited to members and supporters only but among its leaders. There is now the possibility of revolts by leaders in the PBS due to unhappiness over choice of candidates, and Pairin's insistence on contesting in both Keningau and Tambunan again after three decades. Their impatience over the long-standing issue about the illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia is just about to boil over because they believe the party's top leaders have been kowtowing to Umno for too much and for too long. To them the so-called deadline PBS had given the BN to solve the illegals problem by 2012 is not enough, and seem just a ruse to cool down their impatience.
The other prickly issue facing the PBS is the unfair power-sharing formula in the state in which Umno takes more than half and the rest is split between the rest of the components. Because of this, an online portal reports that PBS' divisional chairman for Sook, Bernard Maraat, is a potential rebel to stand as an independent in the coming election.
In an effort to convince the people that PBS is really fighting for their interests in the BN, the PBS Secretary General, Datuk Henrynus Amin had also made a statement this week that the PM's announcement to repeal the ISA "showed BN was responding to the grouses of the people and therefore a victory for democracy, human rights and civil liberties." But by saying that he was also admitting that all these years when the ISA was used, it was a defeat for democracy, human rights and civil liberties! So why did the PBS support the BN all those years, knowing it was wrong and humanly immoral?
Henrynus also proposed how BN should adopt "winnable policies and winnable political strategies" for the next general election. He should be reminded that for the BN to win the next election, it doesn't have to hire any world-class thinktank to come up with complicated strategic plans or use billions of ringgit to corrupt the voters. All it has to do is to list all the grouses raised by the people and resolve these within the next few months!
Henrynus and Mositun need to ask BN if the federal government and UMNO will ever agree to reinstate the original promised rights and autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak, to establish the RCI to look into Project IC, to raise oil royalty to 20 percent or more, to reform many government institutions (such as the police, the judiciary, the MACC, the election commission, the Malay-dominated education system), to wipe out corruption, cronyism and political patronage, to stop the many abuses of power, to stop the suppression of the Christians (by allowing the Bible to be printed in any language in Malaysia), to shut up the mouths of mad Malay nationalists like Ibrahim Ali and to end the seditious speeches about Malay supremacy, to implement true meritocracy, transparency, accountability and openness which are the epitomes of good governance.
And there is also the problem of the depressed and down-sliding economy, the high inflation rate and the worrying depletion of our purchasing powers, the brain drain, the cabotage policy, the Malay-centric public service, the border security problem, the high rate of violent crimes, the yo-yo experiments with the education system, the highly contaminated electoral rolls, the non-transparent and very suspicious election process, the lack of independence of the judiciary, and so on and so on. If the BN will listen to the PBS and do all these, ONLY then will PBS be truly vindicated. When this happens, I am certain not just the PBS leaders and members, but the opposition leaders and supporters as well, will join in the celebration with dancing and fireworks! And the opposition will have no more issues to talk about!
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| Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:09 PM PDT
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak indeed has the country buzzing with his promises of sweeping reforms, but any change to these laws will take at least a year – and that's practically an infinity in politics. By Azmi Sharom, The Star THERE'S been so much excited quivering during the past week over the Prime Minister's Malaysia Day speech that I sometimes feel like I'm living in a bowl of jelly. This is not the first time a PM has made the Malaysian public as giddy as schoolgirls at a Justin Bieber concert. I am old enough to remember former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy" promise upon taking power and how people thought that this was the beginning of a new type of government. One that was not "dirty, incompetent and dishonest". Of course, after the numerous financial scandals involving billions, that hope went out the window. Tun Abdullah Badawi's "work with me not for me" statement also captured the public's imagination and his promise for greater civil liberties had hardcore opposition supporters voting BN for the first time. It didn't take too long before tear gas and chemical water cannons washed away the euphoria which greeted the new PM. Now it is Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's turn, and indeed he has got the country buzzing with his promises of sweeping reforms. The Internal Security Act (ISA) is to be abolished, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) amended along with a slew of other changes. I do not believe that I am being overly cynical when I say "this is all well and good but I'll believe it when I see it". My concern is two-fold. First, unless and until we actually see the shape that the amended PPPA takes, and until we can closely scrutinise the two new laws which are supposed to be the replacement for the ISA, I think it is premature to think that we are finally rid of these draconian laws. From my understanding, under the proposed amended PPPA, a newspaper can still have its licence taken away by the Government. Is this process going to be easy for the Government and without any recourse to the courts for the paper? If so, then there's not much change, is there? The same goes with the two new security laws that are supposed to replace the ISA. If there is still broad discretion to detain without trial then all we have is old wine in a new bottle. I am unconvinced, for example, that the new laws will only be used for terrorism cases. If the new law is only for terrorists, who is going to define who is a terrorist and who is not? And without a trial, a detention order can still be easily abused – all one needs to do is accuse a person of being a terror threat. My second concern has to do with the sustainability of the idea within Umno. Let's not forget, the system of government we have in Malaysia follows the Westminster model, that is to say we don't vote for our PM directly. The PM is fundamentally the choice of the party with the majority in Parliament, as opposed to the presidential system where the leader of the nation is chosen directly by the people. If this idea to abolish the ISA and to make these sweeping systemic changes is primarily from the Prime Minister, how can we be sure that his party will follow through with it if he is no longer PM? Any change to these laws will take at least a year. A week is a long time in politics, a year is practically an infinity – and anything can happen in such a period. Putting my concerns aside, I hope that something positive will come from these promises and that these laws will be changed, and the changes will be substantial and meaningful. If it does happen, let us not forget that they happened because the people wanted it to happen. No matter what the ruling party claims, if it wasn't for the shock that they had in March 2008, if it wasn't for the constant call for the repeal of these laws from the public and civil society, we wouldn't all be quivering as we are now.
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