What to Make of RPK’s tryst with Mingguan?
REST STOP THOUGHTS
Truth be told, I didn’t pay much attention to Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK). Occasionally, when people sent me links, I read his posts on Malaysia Today. He always had a bone to pick, and generally had data to support it.
He’s a magnet for whistle blowers. I speculate this is because he’s royalty, hobnobs with political and social elites (he’s a name dropper), cultivates his image by sassy dressing, hires canny lawyers and writes well.
I don’t follow his blog because I don’t care for coarse language; I’m suspicious of people who augment facts and interpretation with the language of rant. However, that doesn’t change the fact that if I’d been more ‘awake’ at the time of his incarceration under the ISA, I would have protested his wrongful detention.
He’s Che Guevara, proudly royal. Go figure.
Anyhow, I have a lot of admiration for him. According to my friends-in-the-know, he’s done a lot for Malaysia, fearlessly calling a spade a spade. He’s got loyal admirers, even those he’s just failed continue to stand by him.
Thanks to Mingguan Malaysia’s editing out of RPK’s coarseness, I’ve bothered to read what RPK said in his interview with Mingguan, a Malay language broadsheet owned by UMNO and infamous for promoting racism. As I reflected on what he said, it occurred to me that he’s doing what Mahathir did.
There came a time, under Badawi, when Mahathir was ‘blacked out’ by the mainstream media. Mahathir’s response was to move to the online media. RPK says he’s been ‘blacked out’ online. So he’s moved to the mainline. (!)
And RPK’s got what he wanted. He’s getting attention. He’s being heard and discussed, even by the likes of me.
I wonder who’s responsible for the lopsided presentation and interpretation of facts in the interview. Is it RPK or is it Mingguan? I’ll just cover a few of them.
In-fighting. RPK points to infighting in Pakatan’s components. DAP vs DAP. PKR vs PKR. PAS vs PAS. My response is: where isn’t there infighting? UMNO? MCA? MIC? In West Malaysia? In East Malaysia? Fights even occur in religious groups and NGO’s. And yes, fights occur in MCLM, caused by RPK himself. Just like us, politicians don’t walk on water. Get used to it.
Integrity. RPK says some candidates Pakatan wants to field lack integrity: he’s referring to corruption. He says UMNO gets it: UMNO is going to field better candidates in the next elections. [But the evidence to-date, when you consider the candidates UMNO fielded in Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, etc. isn’t convincing.] Integrity is hard to assess: does anyone remember the early, glowing reports about Khir Toyo, hand-picked by Mahathir? It’s what a party does when someone is exposed that counts. We are now in Cowgate!
Let’s not forget the party whip when it comes to voting. It’s NOT just about voting for individuals. It’s ALSO about voting for parties. At least for now.
Anything But UMNO. RPK says, in effect, we must not jump from one UMNO to another. But what is it about UMNO-BN that makes our bile bitter? Isn’t it racism? I am utterly opposed to UMNO-BN because all their calculations are race-based. They don’t want to build bangsa Malaysia; they want harmony based on acceptance of ranking of races: Malay, Chinese, Indian, Others. Is Pakatan another UMNO-BN? What has Pakatan said about Utusan and Mingguan? [I do not deny there are race-based claimants in Pakatan; perfection takes time.]
Anwar. RPK says it’s not about Anwar. He’s right. But Anwar is like Biko in Soweto long ago, RPK some time ago and Dr Jeyakumar and Co. not so long ago. They are points of focus about injustice. I don’t care whether Anwar did it with Saiful. I do care about justice and fair trials – including being given notice and opportunity for a defendant to contest evidence to be used against him.
Anwar’s successor. RPK says the opposition is too dependent upon Anwar. He rightly asks about succession. Who will succeed Anwar? Yet, should we not also ask which is a worse problem to contemplate: Najib’s successor or Anwar’s? Is it any better on the UMNO-BN side? Muhyiddin of school principal fame? Hisham of cow head fame? Khairy of Guan-Eng’s-son fame?
RPK’s role in PKR/Pakatan. [Azmin is reputed to have asked ‘Who is RPK to tell us what to do?’] RPK reminds us he invented the term ‘Anwarista,’ people who will stand with Anwar. RPK played a big role in mobilizing the public over the injustices perpetrated against Anwar by Mahathir and Co. However, RPK left the fold and the inner circle. He couldn’t agree; he left; others continued. And will continue. But RPK has a right to speak – as a citizen . . . and a royal. Azmin should respond to RPK, especially a man with the profile of RPK.
Voters returning to UMNO. RPK says voters will return to UMNO. He says the Chinese will return to UMNO. He says, in effect, the Chinese turned away from UMNO because of his advice, his saying things would be better without UMNO. But it’s not been so; he implies corruption has increased. Yet there is a Freedom of Information Act. And he focuses on Selangor – which includes Hasan Ali and a Sultan. Why not Penang? Also, Chinese voters remember Teoh Beng Huat’s death and the failure to prosecute the alleged petty corruption. Chinese also remember what UMNO-BN is doing to Christians – mainly Chinese.
Eskay and Anwar. What RPK has to say about Eskay is troubling. According to RPK, Anwar lied when he said he did not know Eskay. I wonder whether RPK has offered to provide a sworn affidavit about this. [Perhaps he thinks it’s enough that he’s provided Anwar an opportunity to sue Mingguan for libel?]
Is it about Anwar or is it about the people? RPK says Anwar is mobilizing his forces and the people to assure his own freedom, not the national interest. But Anwar remains in Malaysia, facing charges, while RPK is in self-imposed exile in the UK, avoiding prosecution. Also, shouldn’t Anwar defend himself? Isn’t Anwar setting an example of standing up and fighting – for justice. Have we forgotten the overthrow of previous verdicts?
