Riddles and lies – except the truth!
P. Ramakrishnan
Most Umno politicians speak in riddles. They are so confusing and make little or no sense at all when they speak.
Take the example of Islam and Malays, for instance – their favourite topics to keep our ethnic tensions on the boil for their political reasons.
They will be quick to allege that the non-Malays have insulted Islam without providing a shred of evidence to support their claim – without mentioning who insulted Islam and when. It would be a sweeping statement to rile up the Muslims against the non-Muslims.
Their other strategy would be to accuse the non-Malays of having denigrated the Malays – again without specific examples in what ways and for what reasons this so-called insult was perpetrated. The pity of it all is that no one among the Umno politicians demands evidence. Thus, this absurd charge inflames the unthinking extremists into actions that pose a grave danger to the peace and harmony of the nation.
They seem unable to understand and appreciate what democratic rights and parliamentary democracy are all about. Any action by the citizens to claim their democratic rights is seen as a challenge to the government, and tales are spun to discredit such efforts.
The recent statement by the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Home Minister, Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamdi, is a case in point.
According to Zahid, an unnamed mysterious Umno-BN leader was plotting to “topple the government” by getting MPs from both sides of the divide to sign a seven-page statutory declaration pledging support to remove the Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, through a motion of no confidence. He likened this to grabbing power “through the back door” by toppling the government.
He mentioned that the plot and plotter were real and issued a challenge: “If he has guts, this person must deny it through the press.”
Why should this mystery man own up and expose himself? Since Zahid has so much information about this so-called plot, why doesn’t he expose him? Why shelter a traitor and go easy on him?
If Malaysians are cynical about his claim, can you blame them? Now Zahid reveals that the plotter is “just an old man”! What happened to the claim that he was an Umno leader?
His notion of parliamentary democracy is rather shallow. When a motion of no confidence is carried, the prime minister loses his position. The government is not toppled.
In the case of the BN, it has a comfortable majority to continue to govern with a new PM. Any talk of toppling the BN government is sheer nonsense. Najib will be consigned to the back bench – that’s all!
If Zahid is so opposed to grabbing power by “the back door”, as he puts it, how then did the BN take over the duly elected Pakatan government in Perak in 2009? Was that done democratically? Didn’t they also produce a list of names to support their case of majority support in the state assembly?
But for Zahid to insist that the only proper avenue for a change of government is through general elections is absolute hypocrisy.
We question his sincerity when he says, “… we will never allow the back door way to happen because the government now is the choice of the people through democratic means by way of national polls.”
Were his lips sealed in 2009? Tell us Ahmad Zahid, “Was’t the Perak Pakatan state government then chosen by the people through democratic means by way of national polls?”
This red herring is a ruse to divert attention from the central figure who is the nation’s headache! We are in turmoil because of Najib and his 1MDB involving billions of dubious ringgit that had no business going into his private accounts.
Was it a loan? Was it a trust fund? Was it a donation? To add to our consternation, that money has been emptied from Najib’s account! And it has left Malaysian shores rather suddenly and mysteriously!
Malaysians are outraged by these so-called silly excuses to keep under wraps this Malaysian mother of all political corruption.
In the latest twist, we are told it was a reward from Saudi Arabia in appreciation of Malaysia’s effort for championing Islam, practising Sunni Islam and combating the Islamic State (IS).
Are we inventing lies to cover up what is considered by many as political corruption or are we forced to come up with another lie to cover up the previous one?
What is the truth, Zahid? Can we get to the bottom of this mystery that is causing our national coffers a huge burden? Let’s stop this witch-hunt about the mysterious plotter and get real!
As you have claimed to have so much information being the home minister, please tell us was it a loan, a trust account, a donation or a reward that had found its way into Najib’s private account? Also tell us how the remaining colossal sum of money in Najib’s private account left Malaysian shores?
