Kit Siang: One step at a time to save M’sia
“Mo zhe shi tou gua he” has been described as the pragmatic approach favoured by Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’s reforms.
(FMT) – It’s often not possible to see everything that’s ahead, conceded DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang in quoting from a March 10 op-ed in The Malaysian Insider, “A Chinese view of the Citizens’ Declaration”.
“That doesn’t mean you just rant or twiddle your thumbs,” said Lim in quoting the columnist Rama Ramanathan. “It means you take risks and you accept that you may miscalculate, said Rama, and have to take a step backward and try a different approach.”
“The 304 Citizens’ Declaration could be a tipping point in our nation, he said, the point at which a series of small changes or incidents cause a larger, more important change.”
The columnist was in fact referring to the “Mo zhe shi tou gua he” approach, “cross the river by groping the stone under foot ”, added Lim who has been suspended from Parliament as Gelang Patah MP.
” Mo zhe shi tou gua he” has been described as the pragmatic approach favoured by Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’s reforms, he recalled. “There was no explicit grand strategy nor ambitious systematic programme.”
“The saying ‘Mo zhe shi tou gua he’ was one approach for the Save Malaysia campaign launched by the Citizens’ Declaration of 4 March 2016.”
The DAP veteran was urging the people to transcend the divide — political, racial, religious and regional — to ensure that the Citizens’ Declaration was the tipping point to Save Malaysia from becoming a failed and a rogue state. “We should do this instead of raising questions which either have no relevance or are premature.”
Some of these questions, noted Lim, include: Who will be the Prime Minister after Najib Abdul Razak?; Is Mahathir the puppet of Lim Kit Siang or Lim Kit Siang the puppet of Mahathir?; Will Mahathir or Kit Siang benefit most from the Citizens’ Declaration?; Will the Citizens’ Declaration be Umno’s salvation?; Is there a guarantee of success in the Citizens’ Declaration and Save Malaysia campaigns?”
There are no sure and clear answers to the teeming questions thrown up by the unprecedented and historic Declaration, argued Lim. “However, there are certain facts that should be put straight.”
The Citizens’ Declaration to Save Malaysia was not about Mahathir or Lim Kit Siang, continued the DAP leader. “It’s about how to save Malaysia from hurtling down the slippery slope towards failed state status.”
“We must not allow the doctrine of separation of powers, the rule of law and constitutional guarantees of fundamental liberties to continue to be subverted and rendered meaningless.”
Those who want to know who will be the Prime Minister after Najib are putting the cart before the horse, cautioned Lim. “Najib does not appear to be on the verge of stepping down in the same way that Abdullah Badawi stepped down after pressures mounted on him to relinquish the premiership.”
The road to fundamental political changes in Malaysia was going to be a long and arduous one, predicted Lim. “The Citizen’s Declaration was only the first step.”
Malaysia was in uncharted political waters, pointed out Lim. “We can only take the political tests and challenges we have assumed, with the signing and proclamation of the Citizens’ Declaration, one step at a time.”
As stated in the Citizens’ Declaration to Save Malaysia, said Lim, the signatories are fully aware that leadership changes must be accompanied by democratic and institutional changes or the country would be back to square one.
