If Zaid Ibrahim is prepared to spearhead a People’s Movement with a view that it would be a platform for a new ‘People’s Party’ -- whether registered or otherwise -- then we must give him our support to enable this new ‘informal’ party to flourish.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
First read this piece that I picked up from YB Lim Kit Siang’s Blog:
BTN communal poison again
Yesterday, I received an indignant email from a recent participant in the course of the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) -- funded by taxpayers but acting as the propaganda arm of UMNO -- pumping communal poison instead of spreading the message of national unity.
Despite criticisms against the BTN, both in and out of Parliament, invariably followed by denials by the Minister or Deputy Minister concerned, it is clear from this email that BTN has not changed one whit its irresponsible ways.
I read out the complaints in the email in Parliament yesterday during the debate on the 2008 Supplementary Estimates, viz:
Their purpose is to convey THEIR Message to us but I think they are absolutely wrong. It made us more irritable towards BN government and make us more stronger to vote opposition.
Here are their messages:
(1) Kontrak sosial about Kerakyatan and Hak Istimewa Orang Melayu
Effects: Non-Malays should appreciate and cannot expect more. They use Malay toleransi us and also “Terhutang Budi terhadap mereka”.
(2) The country is not safe after 308. The government is not strong enough to maintain the safety. The oppositions is creating chaos in the country. They give a lot of examples. If we continues like this, it might explode another 513 or war in Malaysia like in Iraq. They show us the pictures and videos of Iraq. Therefore we need to vote BN for the peace.
(3) To protect Islam and Malay special rights Malays have to bersepadu for Ketuanan Melayu.
(4) Indians and Chinese contribute nothing to this country. It is the non-Malays who wants to join the Pakatan that time and we beg for that. Throughout the course they only emphasize on Malay’s contribution and say nothing on non-Malays.
(5) Their perpaduan means Ketuanan Malay and never sama rata because they said this is according to Kontrak Sosial. They conducted every facts on Chinese Malay and Indian and not mentioning Malaysian.
(6) They claim oppositions is a spy from America and going to attack Malaysia soon.
In allowing BTN to continue such communal poison in its courses, Umno and the other Barisan Nasional component parties are proving in Parliament, the Cabinet, and to Malaysians at large, that they continue to be blind, deaf and mute to the message of the March 2008 general election for reform and that they deserve further punishment by the Malaysian electorate.
Lim Kit Siang (http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2009/03/18/btn-communal-poison-again/ )
I have not edited the contents of the above e-mail to Lim Kit Siang in spite of quite a few grammatical errors as I thought it would be better if I reproduce it as it is rather than be accused of ‘doctoring’ it. Anyway, the message is clear enough, grammatical errors notwithstanding.
The point is, BTN is, and always has been, the propaganda unit of the government. It’s job is to brainwash Malays into believing that the non-Malays want to rob the Malays of their rights, the opposition leaders are all traitors who works for foreign governments, Anwar Ibrahim is an American stooge and a homosexual to boot, liberal Malays are Muslim deviants who have distorted Islamic teachings, the Christians want to mislead Muslims and get them to leave Islam, and whatnot.
The BTN is a government body. Therefore, the Malaysian taxpayers are paying for its running cost. And, according to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the non-Malays are paying 90% of the personal income tax, in particular the Chinese. This is what the ex-Prime Minister said and I assume, since he was Prime Minister of this country for 22 years, he must know what he is talking about.
Imagine the Chinese paying for the cost to upkeep something that is used to demonise them? I suppose at this point of my article most of you are expecting me to scream ‘Cina bodoh’! Yes, it is tempting to do that. But I really don’t blame the Chinese. I mean, Malays too pay billions of Ringgit of their hard-earned money to the religious department in the form of zakat, and this money is also misused and squandered. The Malays are only doing what they thought was their religious duty and what God ordered. How do they know the so-called trustees of Islam are screwing them and their money?
So, would I be correct in screaming ‘Melayu bodoh’? Hey, they were just doing their religious duty. How would they know they are being conned by the Malaysian government? In that same spirit, the Chinese also have no choice but to pay their taxes. If not, they would end up in court. So, how can I scream ‘Cina bodoh’ even if they are? Anyway, even if you do not pay personal income tax, you still pay taxes in other ways. Everything in Malaysia is taxable. And that money too goes to the government and is misused.
We, the Malaysian rakyat, pay tax. So we have a right in determining what the government does with our money. We can’t avoid paying tax even if we wanted to -- unless we live in the jungle and live off the land. Then, if we do not earn money and do not spend money, we would be exempted from paying tax. (Hey, that’s an idea. Maybe I will go live in the jungle and save myself from paying taxes. Gunung Tahan, here I come!).
Okay, let’s get serious. The government works for us. We are paying them to serve us. We, the Malaysian rakyat cum taxpayer, are the bosses. It is Ketuanan Rakyat, not Ketuanan Melayu. The fucking exponents of Ketuanan Melayu do not pay tax. They live off the taxpayers. They receive money. The Chinese pay money, 90% of it, according to Dr Mahathir, and this money goes to those who scream ‘Ketuanan Melayu’.
It is time we taught the government who’s the boss. We are the boss, not the government, not the Ketuanan Melayu slime-balls and scumbags. The Ketuanan Melayu slime-balls and scumbags are robbing the nation -- money that we, the taxpayers, the rakyat, are paying the government.
It is time we taught the government the meaning of People’s Power, Kuasa Rakyat, Makhal Sakhti, Ren Quan. Call it by whatever name (in Iban, Dayak, Bugis, Kadazan, Bajau, Dusun, etc., language) the meaning is the same. It means: we, the people, call the shots.
Enough wastage of public funds! Enough corruption and abuse of power! Enough persecution, discrimination, oppression and selective prosecution! Enough racism! We must stop this rot. And only the rakyat can do this. The politicians, both sides of the political divide, appear to have failed us.
The economy is crumbling. By year-end about one million Malaysians will be unemployed. The government quotes figures of only 50,000. Bullshit! It is going to be more than that -- much, much more. As it is now, the unemployment rate is already more than 100,000. However, instead of focusing on the economy, they spend all their time over a hapless tree in Ipoh. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns.
I am proposing that Zaid Ibrahim spearheads a new political movement. Never mind if the government will not allow the new movement to get registered into a political party. The movement does not need to be a registered political party. After all, Pakatan Rakyat is not registered either. So what’s the difference?
The new political movement -- registered or otherwise -- must be people-centred. It must be people-oriented. It must be about People’s Power, Kuasa Rakyat, Makhal Sakhti, Ren Quan! It must be about bringing reforms to Malaysia. Let the Manifesto be the People’s Declaration that was launched and accepted by seven political parties back in February 2008, three of these parties from Pakatan Rakyat. We do not need to invent another manifesto. Why the need to re-invent the wheel when the present one already works fine?
The agenda of the new movement must be to abolish all repressive laws -- and there are many in Malaysia. We must introduce new laws such as the Anti-Race Act, Freedom of Information Act, Bill of Rights, and much more. We must set up an Ombudsman that is headed by people with the characteristics and reputation of Ghandi and Mother Teresa both rolled into one. The Police Force Commission, Judicial Commission, Human Rights Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and whatnot, must be totally independent and headed by personalities such as those heading the Ombudsman, people with an unblemished and squeaky-clean record.
We must have a People’s Parliament. While the Parliamentarians are elected during the general election, the Senate must function as it was originally intended, as a ‘second-layer’ Parliament. The Senators must come from the rakyat, not from the political parties, like now. The Senators must be representatives from the various councils, organisations, movements, societies, associations, and even from the Blogging community and whatever.
The Senate must have the power to review all bills and laws introduced and passed by Parliament. And whatever is not acceptable will be sent back to Parliament, unsigned and unapproved. Parliament will then have to debate these bills and laws again until they get it right and the Senate is happy with them.
Another possibility would be for 10% of the seats in Parliament to be reserved for the minority groups. We will have to determine who these minority groups are, but the objective is to ensure that there would be no way any one party can have hegemony in Parliament. If there are 222 seats in Parliament, then another 20 seats must be given to the minority group. So we shall have 222 Parliamentarians representing their constituencies and another 20 representing minority interests.
Okay, the arithmetic and mechanics need to be worked out. But the long and short of it would be only 90% of the seats in Parliament will be under the control of political parties. The balance 10% would go to representatives of minority interests who hold no political affiliations or sit in any political party. These would be the ‘direct’ rakyat’s representatives -- a sort of ‘People’s Parliamentarian’. They would therefore not have to vote along party lines since they hold no political party position.
Yes, there are many reforms required and much that can be done to reform the system. We need to think outside the box and break away from tradition. Forget about what we have been doing these last 52 years. The system sucks and we are seeing it break down. Get out of the rut of the traditional system and venture into new territory. Why do we need to do what is normally done? Why can’t we do new things even if they may appear unorthodox?
We talk about democracy and democratically elected representatives in Parliament. That is bullshit. The 222 Parliamentarians that we now have are not representatives of the people who voted them into office. They represent the political parties that allowed them to contest the seat under its party banner. Their loyalty is not to the voters. It is to the parties they represent. The 222 Parliamentarians are not Wakil Rakyat. They are Wakil Parti.
If Zaid Ibrahim is prepared to spearhead a People’s Movement with a view that it would be a platform for a new ‘People’s Party’ -- whether registered or otherwise -- then we must give him our support to enable this new ‘informal’ party to flourish. That would be our only hope for the future. And that too will be the only hope for People’s Power, Kuasa Rakyat, Makhal Sakhti, Ren Quan to succeed.
Over to you Zaid! I hope you will agree to this People’s Movement and develop it into a People’s Party in time to come. And this new People’s Movement or informal People’s Party can also one day contest the general elections. Whether a three-corner fight will emerge or whether it will be a one-to-one fight depends on Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. If they agree to ‘give way’ to this new People’s Party, say 20 Parliament seats and maybe 50 state seats, then it can remain a one-to-one fight. If not, expect a three-corner fight and we will let the rakyat decide whether they want the traditional ‘two-party’ system or they want to see a true People’s Party emerge. The rakyat, after all, are the boss and we are talking about People’s Power, Kuasa Rakyat, Makhal Sakhti, Ren Quan.
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