My vision and mission for the future
“So, if you want to join Gerakan, make sure you become the conscience of the people and the voice of the rakyat. Speak up and fight for the rakyat. Don’t be scared of opposing what the government does if what they do does not benefit the rakyat. Be the voice of Reform in Barisan Nasional and speak without fear or favour.”
Raja Sara Petra, Malaysia Outlook
I was still in university in London in 2010 when my father and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim quarrelled. My father met Anwar for breakfast to discuss their disagreement and the way Anwar replied gave the impression that it was all mere political talk and that Anwar was not serious or sincere in what he was saying. That was when my father decided to ‘wash his hands’ of Anwar, to quote what my father said.
One issue that triggered this quarrel was when my father told Anwar in a public forum in London, where YM Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim and Tian Chua were present, that Pakatan was not delivering its 2008 election promises.
Tunku Aziz can probably still remember my father telling Anwar to not take the voters for granted and that just because they voted Pakatan in 2008 that does not mean they will continue to vote Pakatan in future.
Anwar replied that the problem is Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the then Menteri Besar of Selangor. Khalid has a huge ego and will not listen to what the party wants, Anwar said. PKR cannot control Khalid and he does what he pleases.
My father replied if Khalid is the problem then remove Khalid and replace him with Azmin Ali. That was in 2010. Anwar, however, just remained silent and said nothing. That was why we were all surprised when Khalid was reappointed the Selangor Menteri Besar after the 2013 General Election.
Anwar said all the problems in Selangor was because of Khalid and yet he was reappointed the Menteri Besar a second term.
Then, when they launched ‘Langkah Kajang’, we understood why they reappointed Khalid a second term. It was so that Anwar himself could take over as the Selangor Menteri Besar.
At first, we did not realise the significance of this until it was pointed out that Selangor was ‘sitting’ on RM3 billion and Anwar wanted RM100 million to be given to PKR but Khalid refused. In fact, the main complaint against Khalid is that he refused to fund the PKR candidates in the 2013 General Election.
Another bone of contention involved a certain water company that the state was buying over. It seems Anwar was not happy with the price being offered, which was allegedly RM2 billion lower than what they wanted, but which Khalid said was a fair price. In fact, a few days ago Khalid himself confirmed this.
PKR, too, raised this matter when it said, “On Aug 1, 2014, YAB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim once again ignored the Keadilan and Pakatan Rakyat leadership when he signed a ‘Heads of Agreement’ deal with the federal government to detail the water restructuring agreements in the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).” This was reported by Malay Mail Online on 5th August 2014.
Being a ‘Kerabat Selangor’, I am very passionate about what happens in Selangor. My great-grandfather, Raja Sir Tun Uda Raja Muhammad, was the Menteri Besar of Selangor from 1949 to 1953 and again from 1954 to 1955, after which he was appointed the first Governor or Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang from 1957 to 1967.
Raja Sir Tun Uda never joined any political party and was never an Umno member although he was very close to Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Razak Hussein, the First and Second Prime Ministers of Malaysia.
In 1960, Sultan Hishamuddin of Selangor was appointed the Second Agong while Sultan Salahuddin of Selangor became the 11th Agong. Five Agongs from now, it will be Selangor’s turn again so most likely my cousin, Tengku Amir Shah, will be the 20th Agong, maybe by 2046 or so by the time he is 56 years old.
Anyway, time will tell if that happens since we live in uncertain times and there are forces trying to end the Monarchy and turn Malaysia into a Republic.
Our family lost a lot and had to sacrifice much when my father chose the Reformasi path in 1998. Most of my family did not agree with what my father was doing but we understood why he did it. But the betrayal by Anwar and Pakatan is something our family can never forget or forgive.
One day there will be people who will say the Monarchy is useless and serves no purpose so we might as well abolish it and turn Malaysia into a Republic. That is why we from the Royal Family must support the Reformasi cause and stand by the rakyat. We must show the rakyat that we care and are prepared to sacrifice for the rakyat.
