By P. Ramakrishnan
The opposition is persistently raising the question, “What has the unity government done the last seven months?” That seems to be their battle cry!
It is easy to raise questions without being accountable! We can also ask the Perikatan Nasional (PN), “What have you done during the 22 months you were the government?” The answer is simply NOTHING – nothing for the nation!
That was why the PN government was kicked out during GE 15 on 19 November, 2022. You were shown the door by the disappointed Malaysians because you failed to deliver. The discerning voters threw you out! You were kicked out because you didn’t deliver! You didn’t deserve another term – so the voters decided and got rid of you!
The same discerning voters are now aware that Anwar has launched an unrelenting war on corruption. His mission is to bring all corrupt politicians who looted and robbed the national coffers to book and recover as much as possible from what was illegally stolen. Their ill-gotten wealth must be re-possessed for the benefit of the nation. They will not go scot-free!
There will be no more negotiated business deals – the greedy and unscrupulous politicians will no longer be able to hike up the prices for a hefty kickback for themselves and their families and cronies at the expense of the nation. They robbed the nation in the past without a tinge of conscience! But their days are over now!
Anwar has declared that all poor Malaysians will be taken care of irrespective of their race. The poor deserve to be uplifted from their oppressive straits and given a chance to lead a decent life. This is the responsibility of any decent government!
Tackling discrimination faced by Malaysians on a multitude of matters such as housing, education, job opportunities, and citizenship is a major theme in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto. This will be attended to meaningfully if the unity government is given the full five-year term to complete its task.
In no uncertain terms, Anwar has proclaimed that this nation belongs to all of us. We are all Malaysians and we must be made to feel that we are part of this wonderful country. No Malay leader has ever dared to say this! But Anwar did! It takes tremendous courage and commitment to pledge this!
It takes a lot of political vision and conscience to promise all this. Where race and religion hold sway, pledging all this is a risky political undertaking. It takes integrity and sincerity to embark on this path of responsibility. But Anwar is already walking this path and deserves our whole-hearted support to complete his journey of fulfillment.
Anwar promises a new dawn and a new opportunity for all. He deserves all the support that thinking, feeling and caring Malaysians can give him. This is the time to rally around him and make him feel that he is not walking alone. He must be made to feel that he doesn’t lack the support needed to push through his policies for a better Malaysia.
In the forthcoming six state elections which will take place in two days’ time, if PH does badly, it doesn’t mean Anwar is finished. On the contrary, you and I and all of us are finished!
Let’s be very clear about this! Let’s be sensible! The outcome of these six state elections involves our future and the well-being of this nation. We can, all of us together, make it better and we must. We have a duty to stand up against a theocratic rule that aims to ‘Arabize’ Malaysia.
The consequence of PH losing is for the PN to come to power. How would you like Muhyiddin or Hadi becoming the Prime Minister? That’s what you will get, if you stay away from the elections. You will be paving the way for their return to power. We will have a theocratic government. Is that what we want?
Remember what Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, the Pas president, had said? To him, bribery is not criminal. There is nothing wrong. Non-Muslims were solely blamed for the prevalence of corruption in Malaysia.
Remember Hadi’s warning to Muslims to place their trust in Muslim leaders regardless of their wickedness, claiming that believers will end up in hell if led by non-Muslims.
He had written “Don’t ever take the infidelic West as an example, because the best of them will still end up in hell, since their kindness is without any faith to Allah and the End Times.”
According to Hadi, Malaysia should be led by Malay-Muslims only as they are the dominant community. He doesn’t believe in parliamentary democracy and is openly against any leadership role for non-Muslims in this country.
Is Muhyiddin Yassin, the PN President, any better?
Who can forget his claim that he was a Malay first and a Malaysian second? Can he be a PM for all Malaysians with such a bias?
The Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) had slammed him for outrageously claiming that Christians in Malaysia were “in concert with a group of Jews to Christianise Malaysia.” Is it ever possible? A little bit of commonsense will reject this outright! Yet, such a lie can be uttered for political ends.
So, it is very clear where you should stand and for whom you should cast your vote. All of us together must save this land of ours from being outraged by unscrupulous politicians!
Let’s heed this saying, “It is never hard to understand and choose between right and wrong. Wisdom is required when a choice has to be made between what is safe and what is dangerous.”
(The views expressed are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rebuilding Malaysia.)
P Ramakrishnan is the long-serving former president of Aliran who served for three and a half decades on its
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