Category: Politics & government

Categories
Liberty Politics & government

[1941] Of Dear No. 6…

Dear Sir,

I pray that this letter finds you in good health. With that good health, I do hope you will find in your good self some appetite and some time to read these words of mine.

On the last day of UMNO General Assembly held recently, I was in the Merdeka Hall listening to your speech as the new President of your party. Though perhaps I was the least enthusiastic and probably the most skeptical among the members of the floor, I did pay attention to what you said from behind a rostrum on a podium.

Save a black cat crossing your path, there are enough indications that you will be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia. Nothing is certain in this world, of course, but I would like to take the risk of congratulating your early. Congratulations, sir, on assuming the greatest office of this land.

It is the greatest office for no small reason. With that office, it is not too much to say that you will probably have more power than any other Malaysian has to affect the fate of our home, for better or for worse. I pray that it is for the better and I pray that you will have the strength to do so.

I am sure in the past months and even more so in the previous weeks, you have read and listened to aspirations of many Malaysians from all over. I am also sure many of these aspirations do not coincide with each other and some even contradict with each other. I appreciate this fact and I can imagine your exasperation of the word better amid a sea of competing ideals. Everybody has his or her own context when using that superlative that if it is to stand on its own, it will be ultimately vague.

Perhaps you do understand why there are contradictory dreams. But if you do not, this is the reason of why I am writing this humble letter to you. I would like to assure you that those contradictions are not signs of confusion or a sign of danger. Rather, very positively, it is only a sign of how diverse our society is.

Those are voices of the common people, be they are supportive of you, unsupportive of you, have yet to decide where to stand or simply could not care less of what is happening in the country as long as they are happy. Those voices are your sounding board.

Their opinions are your barometer. When they are uncomfortable with the direction you are leading them, many of them will find the courage to rise up to speak up. Many will even have the audacity to say it to your face. It can be harsh and sometimes, it can be unfair.

Though some might seem rude, trust me, for many of them, for many of us, this is not done out of spite. In many cases, those are honest opinions that we hold. Those opinions are about our joys, our fears, our hope and our disappointment.

There is no need to fear the diversity of opinions even when those opinions challenge norms so openly. In these days when international borders are coming down slowly but surely, challenges will be aplenty. It is only through that diversity will we be able to overcome those challenges.

It is worth noting that this diversity can only be sustained if there is openness to discuss legacy issues bedeviling us all. As we move forward and I believe you can agree with me, a rethinking of Malaysia is inevitable.

If there are those who came up to you expressing their fear that that openness will erode what they consider as pillars of this country, then be mindful that nothing last forever. To survive, we must evolve even if that comes at the price of making those pillars irrelevant. Those that refuse to evolve will be pushed to the margin and suffer the fate of so many species that roam this fair Earth today no more.

Sir,

It will be a mistake to silent others who disagree with you or those that challenge norms. Do that, and you will soon find yourself with court jesters with dangerous grupthink affliction. They are incapable of adapting to new environments that always seemingly conspire to bring down tall towers for which we have built.

Many in UMNO, as I have discovered, frighteningly, wanted you to return to old ways. They want change but in their minds, they want a return to the past, thinking that they could roll back the clock as if time would roll back with the small and big hands of the clock.

Unfortunately for many in UMNO, as evident during your party’s recently concluded general assembly, they have yet to grasp the lesson. Indeed, they are in danger of learning the wrong lesson.

The answer is not in the past as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, your former President, has made clear earlier. I kindly urge you to agree with the Prime Minister. He has made major mistakes along the way but at the end of the day, although it is too late for him, he finally recognizes the zeitgeist.

More importantly, it is not too late for you, sir. You have the opportunity to learn from his mistakes and make good out of it.

I am writing this not because I care for UMNO. The fate of UMNO or for any party for that matter is of little concern to me. If your party chooses extinction over survival, then it is extinction that your party will meet. What I am concerned with is the future of our country and ultimately, my future.

Selfish as I may seem to be, I believe deep in the heart of each and every one of us, the worry is the same. What will happen to me tomorrow?

I cannot get that question and many more out of my mind.

Be well aware, sir, that we can only find the answers if we continue to search for it. We can only find the answers if we do not shy away from asking tough questions even if these questions bring upon uncomfortable answers.

To ignore or suppress these questions is most unhelpful in prodding our country forward. To do so is to create a culture of fear in times when what we need is a kind of boldness to right our wrongs while rebuilding our foundation for new towers.

At risk here is more than the future of your political party. At risk here is the future of our country. A true statesman has the faculty to comprehend that implication and I trust that you are the statesman that you can be.

While you have possibly more power than any Malaysian to affect this country, you alone cannot move this country forward. This country can only move forward if all of us are engaged with each other. And in order for that engagement to happen, there has to be freedom.

So, I beg you to not take that liberty away. I plead to you not to take it away, even as others urge you to do so, so forcefully.

Thank you and congratulations, once again.

Sincerely,

A concerned citizen.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

First published in The Malaysian Insider on April 1 2009.

Categories
Education Politics & government

[1940] Of Najib Razak attended the Malay College?

Growing up, Mr Najib attended the renowned Malay College Kuala Kangsar before studying for a bachelor’s degree in industrial economics in the UK. [Profile: Najib Abdul Razak. BBC. April 2 2009]

I do not think that is right. Did he attend the Malay College?

I thought he went to St. John in Kuala Lumpur instead?

Categories
Politics & government

[1936] Of a superficial retelling of the last day of 2008 UMNO General Assembly

Just got back from the UMNO General Assembly and among top leadership of UMNO, Khairy Jamaluddin will probably have the hardest time to lead, simply because the division within the wing he is leading.

Each time his name was mentioned, a big boo followed. On the contrary, when Mukhriz Mahathir joined the hall to take his seat in the wing, he received a raving applause. Odd indeed because the sentiment in the hall did not reflect the election result.

When Khairy Jamaluddin spoke behind the rostrum, he took a humble tone, probably realizing his unpopularity in the hall.

Ali Rustam was popular. Add the adverb very if I am guilty of underemphasizing the support he enjoyed today. The hall definitely considered the judgment against the politician from Malacca by UMNO diciplinary board as injustice. From my outsider perspective, clearly, there is perverse incentive in UMNO at the moment; a convicted corrupt politician can be a star, the darling of the hall. If there is a lesson from there, it is that do not act unjustly because the victim of unjust act, even if he is less than innocent, can become the prince of heart.

Zahid Hamidi was the first to realize that and to utilize the popularity of Ali Rustam at the Putra World Trade Center, mostly because his turn to speak was right after Ali Rustam’s. He mentioned Ali Rustam a couple of times and each time he did so, the crowd went wild without fail.

Mahathir Mohamad was welcomed whole-heartedly by UMNO members. Muhyiddin Yassin was speaking when he entered the hall and the new Deputy President of UMNO had to take a pause as the crowd gave the former Prime Minister a standing ovation. Muhyiddin Yassin, rather than finishing his interrupted sentence, decided to give Mahathir Mohamad the spotlight by citing his name, almost to the point of too much.

Not as much as Shahrizat Abdul Jalil though. With a divided UMNO, she went on to mention everybody’s name, from Rafidah, to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Najib Razak to more names than I care to remember. She appeared as a person earnestly trying to hedge her bet across the board.

And this time unlike two days earlier, I stayed to the end because while some points are very disagreeable (being a secularist, a passive republican and a liberal in an UMNO pow-wow, what a surprise, eh? The too many mentions of religion and ethnonationalism were dizzying), the quality of the speeches were noticeably better than the previous ones.

Finally, Najib Razak. I do have other reservation, especially about the divergence between his rhetoric and the the rhetoric of so-called UMNO grassroot present in the hall, and between his rhetoric and events I am witnessing in as a citizen of Malaysia. Nevertheless, he appeared as a person that have the ability to lead. I was in the hall and I have to admit he managed to bring out the fighting spirit in UMNO members there. It was as if, an unconfident UMNO finally found the rock they require. He called for unity and showed courage to implicitly inform Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that he is a man of his own.

In my humble opinion, Pakatan Rakyat will have to on their toes because they — if the momentum I saw in the hall continues — have just found their match. In the last general election, UMNO entered the ring wounded. This time, some recuparation had taken place.

Categories
Politics & government

[1935] Mengenai ucapan terakhir

Beberapa perkara yang disebut tidak boleh dipersetujui oleh saya. Beberapa perkara lain, walaupun patut disokong, susah untuk dipercayainya kerana tindak-tanduk yang bertentangan dengan retorik.

Walau bagaimanapun, dua perenggan daripada ucapan mantan Presiden UMNO Abdullah Ahmad Badawi harus dipetik:

Sedarilah! di luar Dewan Merdeka ini, ramai yang berpandangan bahawa jika UMNO, dan jika Barisan Nasional tidak berubah, maka pilihan raya kedua belas pada 8 Mac 2008 merupakan kemenangan terakhir kepada Barisan Nasional menubuhkan kerajaan. Selepas ini, rakyat di luar Dewan ini, tidak akan mengundi kita lagi. Di peringkat negeri, Barisan Nasional turut menghadapi cabaran yang sama. Di kalangan kita juga, malah di kalangan yang duduk di atas pentas ini, turut menyuarakan bahawa ‘UMNO wajib melakukan perubahan’. Apa yang saya ingin dengar, adalah suara yang menyatakan ‘Aku akan berubah’ lalu disusuli dengan langkah berani melakukan perubahan itu dalam diri sendiri. Betapa malangnya UMNO jika ramai yang gagal memahami bahawa UMNO itu adalah kita, selagi kita tidak berubah, UMNO tidak mungkin dapat berubah.

UMNO kini berada di persimpangan jalan. Laluan yang kita pilih akan menentukan sama ada kita kekal relevan sepanjang masa atau akan hanya menjadi satu sejarah masa lalu. Ada juga yang masih berpendirian bahawa kita tidak perlu melakukan perubahan. Mereka mempercayai bahawa UMNO akan kembali mencapai kemenangan jika kita kembali kepada cara lama – kepada order lama, dengan menyekat kebebasan warga – dengan menghalang warga dari menyuarakan kritikan. Mereka berpandangan bahawa UMNO itu boleh terus berkuasa dan kekal kuat dengan kaedah menjaga kepentingan beberapa individu tertentu, dan memenuhi tuntutan-tuntutan kumpulan tertentu. Masih terdapat di kalangan kita yang lebih tertarik dengan cerita-cerita yang menyeronokkan hingga kita menjadi leka, lena dalam ulitan mimpi bahagia.

Jika laluan lama itu yang dipilih, saya berpandangan bahawa kita telah memilih laluan yang salah; laluan yang membawa kita ke belakang. Saya bimbang laluan tersebut akan lebih mempercepatkan berakhirnya talian hayat UMNO. Jika kita tidak melakukan perubahan berani, selaras dengan transformasi masyarakat yang begitu dinamik dan perkembangan global yang begitu radikal, kita akan menyaksikan hari-hari berakhirnya parti UMNO yang kita kasihi ini. Jika kita terus bertanding begitu hebat, bermati-matian untuk merebut jawatan, tetapi apakah ertinya jawatan tersebut kepada UMNO yang telah tinggal rangka yang terbujur di kuburan. Barang dijauhkan Allah dari UMNO menimpa nasib hiba yang sedemikian. Atas kesedaran tersebut, atas rasa cinta kepada UMNO, atas rasa tanggung jawab terhadap UMNO dan bangsa Melayu, saya memilih untuk menunjukkan teladan, dengan tidak mempertahankan jawatan Presiden parti, bertujuan memberi laluan kepada pemimpin yang lebih muda walaupun masih terdapat ramai dari ahli-ahli parti dan rakan-rakan baik di dalam ataupun di luar Kerajaan meminta saya untuk terus mempertahankan jawatan. Saya menghargai keputusan rakan-rakan yang turut memilih langkah yang sama, baik di peringkat bahagian mahupun cawangan, baik di peringkat pemuda, wanita dan puteri. Bahawa jawatan dan kedudukan bukannya milik peribadi; sedangkan harta milik peribadi juga tidak akan dapat dibawa sampai ke mati. [Ucapan Dasar Presiden UMNO. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Mac 26 2009]

Mungkin ini adalah satu kesedaran, walaupun ia tidak bermakna lagi.

Categories
Politics & government

[1932] Of UMNO blew my fuse

I have a knack of finding myself in places I would least expect doing things that I would not imagine. That happened to me as an undergraduate a couple of times with the instance of me hiking in the Sierra Nevada on a whim notice as the best example of all. Though less life-changing than that hike and instead reaffirming, I found myself with an observer pass to the ongoing UMNO assembly. I observed the Puteri UMNO session from the back and I can say that I do not remember when was the last time I felt so angry.

This was Puteri, mind you. If it was a Pemuda session, I probably would have gone berserk.

How I got the pass should be left out of this space because that is yet another story of unsuspected chain of events that if told, would force me to digress from what I really want to share here. So, please do not ask how I got the cursed pass.

I came with an open mind because I have met with some of who I would call reformists within UMNO. Despite knowing that their aspiration comes far short than my expectation, I do wish them success because if everybody is to be kept honest, there has to be competition and at the moment, UMNO — and BN in general — does not provide quality competition. The lack of quality competition is what I attribute as a factor to what I see as Pakatan Rakyat abusing the trust it has respectfully gained not too long ago.

Besides, the opening speech by Najib Razak on Tuesday’s night at Putra World Trade Center was not a bad experience after all. I am not saying I was impressed with or believed in his speech but it was a good learning experience. It was an opportunity to learn the mind of UMNO. Furthermore, this is the time of a leadership change. To witness it is something to remember, for better or for worse.

Admittedly, I arrived at the venue early with great consternation. I think, seeing myself so flagrantly among UMNO people near their headquarters is bad for my reputation. But I swallowed that feeling, advising myself to give it a chance.

That was my mistake.

To be fair, it started mildly. Puteri UMNO said this and that and I learned a thing or two about the internal politics and atmosphere of UMNO deeper. There were a lot of pretty girls too and free lunch. So I thought that could provide me with at least a break even experience: I could learn something, enjoy pretty faces and eat some good food while having my ears and consciousness abused.

Despite disagreeable ideas, the first half of the day went somewhat okay. The second half was another story.

I was on time for the second session but clearly, time is inconsequential to the members of Puteri UMNO. The program began about 30 minutes late because there were too few people in the hall. While I do not pretend to be extremely precise with my time management, a wait of 30 minutes is intolerable. I tend to get very restless when I have to wait that long. I started to talk to myself, criticizing them. Hey, this is a party that governs a country!

It was downhill from then on.

They talked about their policy on the monarchy and language to paint themselves as the most Malays of all Malays while ignoring past contradictory actions that UMNO had committed. For instance, the 1993 amendments to  the Constitution of Malaysia. To use the oft-mentioned phrase of UMNO, “Melayu mudah lupa.” Really, UMNO mudah lupa because not all Malays are forgetful of history.

A state representative of the Puteri wing proposed for money politics to be legalized in a controlled fashion in UMNO, without any hint of remorse. I have heard this suggestion at a closed door discussion before and I thought then it was just a wacky suggestion made by an outlier. To hear it in the assembly so publicly however is shocking.

Maybe, she wanted to say to allow a political donation system, like the one practiced in the US or UK but the way she presented the idea — if indeed what I think that was what she wanted to say really — was too crude.

Another suggested for UMNO to strengthen its hands in business, seemingly unaware of criticisms which UMNO seriously faces.

Still on money politics, there was an unbelievable call for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to not investigate UMNO. More audaciously, she wanted UMNO to manage its own problem with corruption and money politics while outsiders, like the MACC, should stay outside. Having UMNO to investigate itself is like having the accused being both the judge and the jury. Oh, and the legal counsel too. Yes I know, what the fuck, eh?

Pardon my French for I think I should not restrain myself any longer. That would be bad for my psychological health. How can I restrain myself? Why should I restrain myself?

I restrained myself long enough when I was in the middle of the whole circus. That earned me my right to say fuck.

There were some good points: a representative questioned why Ali Rustam was punished while others were let off the hook. The chairperson tried to encourage the representative to not to talk about it but she persevered.

One sang a song despite being reminded that her time was up, several times by the chairperson of the session. Nice voice and face too but, man, this is not American Idol, babe.

Good points however were short and what I considered as bad were aplenty. I do not remember them and I do not intend to refer to my notes. What I remember is that my ears were red. The temperature of my ears was above room temperature.

I was bad at concealing my emotion after some period of time and I think some people started to notice my demeanor at some point of time.

I finally blew my fuse — in a very silent way; I did not make a scene — when a representative spoke of how Malays are successful not mostly because of their own effort but because of BN-government policy which, in no uncertain terms, refers to the New Economic Policy.

Enough, I said. No more of this.

So, I packed by stuff and went out of the hall only to suffer a slow elevator ride downward. There was a beautiful Puteri UMNO who smiled at me but I was at a stage where if I had a shotgun, I would have gone on a shooting spree. She would be my first victim. I impolitely ignored her because the air in the elevator was suffocating and filthy and sinful and full of cruel intention.

The door finally opened but only to a floor full of people shouting and campaigning for candidates which I would rather generalize and accuse them so liberally all as corrupt racists. Something was boiling inside of me and yet here I was, having to navigate myself through a sea of people I would rather not associate myself with. These are the people that make me ashamed to be a Malay.

I marched, determined to get out while putting a straight face, trying to mask my anger and disgust.

Once outside under the cloudy but still open sky of Kuala Lumpur, I breathed deep. My lungs were almost busting until the time was right for me to breath out. All that vicious feelings melted all at once, giving way to a feeling of liberation. My pace started to slow down and finally to a halt. I wanted to relish the fact that I was out of that ill-filled hall and building.

And I saw Australia.

I cannot wait for Australia anymore, even when Australia for me is expected to be a temporary experience.

July come quick!