The RPK-Haris Ibrahim saga
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RPK & Haris Ibrahim – a great partnership in the newly formed MCLM but which future now holds a big question mark!
The Malaysian Insider (TMI) article MCLM president quits, says undermined by RPK reported that Haris Ibrahim tendered his resignation as president of the MCLM, after citing as reasons for his decision two of RPK’s recent and very damning interviews – see my previous post RPK amputates ‘gangrenous’ Anwar Ibrahim from Pakatan?
Brother Haris resigned as MCLM’s president because he has been terribly upset by RPK’s:
(1) unilateral assertion (meaning minus prior consultation & agreement with Haris & other MCLM office holders) that The Rights group (MCLM) is not a 3rd force and therefore would not contest the next general election, and
(2) remarks that ‘the Egypt-style people’s revolution was not an answer for Malaysia due to the delicate racial balance’“they (Chinese voters) don’t want Tahrir Square type of change”, saddening Haris because according to him “… my friend (Raja Petra) should continue to see us as Malays, Chinese, Indians, dll (others).”
The overall effect, according to Haris, has basically put a spanner in his (Haris’) ABU campaign. because according to RPK,
I lament the end of a great RPK-Haris Ibrahim partnership in MCLM, a movement to promote good parliamentarians and parliamentary practice of first class Westminster-type democracy.
But is there any hope of salvaging the relationship and the impetus of MCLM?
Before I comment on that, let me provide my personal take on the two protagonists.
Let me start with RPK.
I came to know of (rather than ‘know’ per se) RPK in 2005 when I, influenced very much by Jeff Ooi’s blogging, started blogging under the mentorship of my erstwhile partner, Mr X, at the BolehTalk blog.
Then, after I posted a piece critical of Anwar Ibrahim, much to the consternation of my partner and friends wakakaka, RPK contacted me by email with a brief message which I replied with courtesy and kept its contents confidential for the last 7 years. Thereafter we have had no further person-to-person contact.
Out of respect for confidentiality, as should be observed in any private correspondence, I have no intention of ever revealing that message.
As I had written before, cynical kaytee hasn’t been and isn’t exactly a bloke known to be particularly fond of RPK personally (I treat him with clinical neutrality), though of course I do admire, respect and am a wee envious of his creativity and ability to influence many politically.
But I do not always agree with his arguments, for example, those relating to his inflammatory Stat Dec and his take on Ombudsman. I’ve written several posts to disagree with the former – see my post RPK a willing captive in his statutory declaration and …
… shot him down on the latter when sometime immediately after the March 2008 GE, he wrote about instituting an ombudsman (or committee) for the then 5 States under the DAP-PKR-PAS governments. But what took my breath away was his over-the-top proposal when he stated (for some obscure reasons):
