KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 - The government and Umno are no longer viable and all Malaysians must come together to rectify the "dangerous situation" the country is in, former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said yesterday.
"The government, in its present form, and under the present leadership, led by the party to which I have given my life, are now structurally and inherently incapable of providing the direction and confidence that the country needs," he said in a statement yesterday.
The MP for Gua Musang and aspiring Umno presidential candidate said the country was facing a political and economic crisis because of a leadership vacuum and the country was in turmoil because the rule of law was uncertain and the Constitution was not being upheld.
"Everyone must come together in humility, beyond party politics, to hold an honest discussion, in the spirit of shared citizenship, to steer the country out of the crisis."
He said the political impasse was happening at a time of heightened economic, political and security challenges, noting that:
- The global economy faced the prospect of a meltdown on a scale last seen in the Great Depression of the last century and Malaysia, as a trading nation, was strongly exposed to its effects.
- The March 8 general election signalled a public sentiment that could not be ignored. Malaysians wanted fundamental change, and they wanted it now, whether from within the ruling coalition or from outside it. The Malaysian demographic had changed dramatically over the last 50 years with a more sophisticated, demanding electorate that had, rightly, lost patience with incompetence and dishonesty.
- The grievances of Sabah and Sarawak, which found only partial expression in the general election, remained unaddressed. This risked the very integrity of the Federation.
- Misunderstandings over race and religion were ripe for political exploitation, with potentially disastrous consequences.
He said the government now commands even less confidence than it did post-March 8; but rather than share the public's sense of urgency for change, the present office-holders had redoubled efforts to frustrate renewal, cut off reform, and silence criticism.
"This underscores the weakness of the administration and its lack of will to change," he said, citing the government's inability to respond to the economic crisis with even a basic plan of action."
Tengku Razaleigh said Umno's constitutional provision for the renewal of its leadership by triennial elections might have been expected to provide some hope of renewal. But instead of embracing this opportunity, the party leadership had retreated into the fantasy world of a "transition plan" which rides roughshod over the party's constitution and the rights of its members.
"This brazen attempt to treat public office and party trust as a private bequest between two individuals, one of whom wishes to hold office beyond his democratic mandate and the other to ascend without one, and the continuing effort to force feed the country with this notion, fools no one," he said.
"The 'transition plan' betrays a disturbing failure to grasp the meaning and purpose of public office. In a more mature society, persons who demonstrate and propagate such disregard for constitutional and democratic process would long ago have been disqualified from public life, let alone from national leadership. They do not seem to realise that the public rejects leaders who shun the open light of democratic contest in favour of staged plays and backroom plots."
"This and rampant money politics are destroying the rakyat's hope of national renewal via Umno. And behind the babble of a transition plan, the Prime Minister continues to be subverted by members of his own cabinet and subjected to thinly-cloaked power plays to force his resignation."
Tengku Razaleigh said all these were indications that the government was in a state of denial.
"The Opposition has made undeniable gains in the number of parliamentarians it commands and we are beginning to lose grip of the rule of law. The use of the Internal Security Act and of Sedition Laws to target particular individuals further erodes the credibility of the government."
"The recommendations of two Royal Commissions of Inquiry have also been ignored or watered down into insignificance."
"Political crises come and go, but the present crisis might well be the beginning of a cascade of failures leading to long-term instability and destruction, unless we all do something about it," he said.
Tengku Razaleigh added that there was now a credible threat that the government may fall though a vote of no confidence, or by some other constitutionally legitimate demonstration of parliamentary majority.
"After 51 years of rule by a single party, this is not a possibility that is well understood. It is justifiably viewed with trepidation. But neither sheer denial or inflated claims help the situation."
"Our actions exacerbate rather than calm the fear that stokes civil and racial strife. In the present context of a leadership struggle within Umno and against a strong Opposition, it is impossible to dispel the notion that these extreme measures are calculated to maintain certain individuals in power rather than to address verifiable threats to national security. Nothing does more to undermine the legitimacy of a government than plainly unjust acts. The ridiculous justifications given for some of the ISA detentions have further undermined public confidence that the awesome powers of state are in safe hands."
"We need to come together to find unity and direction out of this predicament. In doing so, we might turn our crisis into an opportunity and renew our unity and sense of direction as Malaysia."
- The Malaysian Insider
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