Dengan Hormatnya.....

LEGITIMACY

steadyaku47 comment : Najib Razak does not understand many things...LEGITIMACY of his position as "elected" leader is one of them. With thanks to Sopian Ahmad.

Sopian Ahmad

There is one thing obvious that PM Najib does not seem to understand about government, in particular, elected representative government. Most probably he must be thinking that once elected he must have been entrusted with a mandate to rule and rule he does, whichever way he thinks is right!

But in a matured democratic system, being elected alone does not fully defined your mandate to rule or to act. On top of being elected, there must be "LEGITIMACY."

What defined that legitimacy is crucial for his credibility to govern. Legitimacy comes from a fair and free election process. The whole procedures of registering voters, establishing the boundaries of the constituencies, the actual preparation of voting papers, ballot boxes, transportation of voting materials add up to determine the legitimacy of the elected post/s held by the participants in a democracy.... very much like what BERSIH is fighting for in Malaysia.

In Malaysia elections have been under questions!

With or without the RM2.6 Billion, unless effective efforts are taken to address those questions, Najib's credibility has been adversely affected.

Once, legitimacy is seen as being eroded, governance started to become ineffective.
That is what is happening in the political scene of Malaysia today.

WE hold these truths to be self-evident! East or West Malaysia, we all want change!

What the people of this nation wants is to be able to do work that pays them a living wage, good education for their children, clean water, decent health care and the ability to retire with dignity and respect. And in all this they want their government to help.

These are the common needs that bind our people together to unite them against a government they no longer trust and a government they now want passionately to change.

So why the schism between our people if what we want are the same thing?

Do we not all have a stake in each other’s life? Are we not responsible for each other’s future? In the well-being of our neighbour? Are we not our brother’s keeper? Surely our respect and reverence for each other has to be far greater then the hate that could drive us all apart because of race and religion! If we believe in this truth then why can’t we act together and do something meaningful to save this country of ours from a fate worst then death: Another term under an UMNO led Barisan Nasional government?

We know that there are many amongst us that still feel the need to have this division of race and religion. Why is this so? Is it because they know no better? Maybe. But hate and contempt for another human being – for any reason – still abounds in the time that we are now living in. And more worrying is the thought that we have a government that is complicit in the promotion of this hate and contempt amongst its own people because it serves their political agenda to do so. A political agenda that divides and rule what we hold dear within our society – our race and  our religion.

So how do we, as a nation, work together towards reconciling this schism within our people?

Is the harmony between the races a myth? Do we really have shared ideal and common values that have carried us well since Merdeka but has since been wrecked asunder by the policies of this UMNO led Barisan Nasional government? Or are the fundamental differences in race and religion so entrenched that 1Malaysia can merely be an illusion never a reality?

What I offer here is merely my personal reflection on what we are facing as a nation. The overriding consideration is to see how we can bring about change that will be for the common good. 

But do not forget that I am bias. I am against the corrupt and abusive policies of the UMNO led Barisan Nasional government. I am not against Pakatan Rakyat but I firmly believe that within this PR coalition, PKR could be more a disruptive force then a cohesive one to the opposition unless it institutes fundamental changes within itself to reflect the aspirations of the people for open and responsible governance. So if by my reflections you say that I am bias, then I plead guilty as charged.

I am against using government to impose any religious beliefs on its people. I believe in free speech. I cannot help but at times view all this through the eyes of a Malay – for that is what I am – but I am committed to the notion that if you call Malaysia home, then you are one with me. I believe that a government must be a force for good rather then for evil. I reject totally politics based on race, gender, corruption, nepotism and the self-interest of any dedicated grouping within society – be it racial, religious, political or economical.

How we shape our individual and collective destiny will depend on our choice of who will govern us after the 13th general election. This is our personal responsibility to our future and our children’s future –and the future of our country for generations to come.

Today this UMNO led Barisan Nasional government has become too adept at spending our money for purposes that advances their political and personal cause not ours.  They are oblivious to the costs of their madness to our nation future and well-being. So much so that those of us who have worked hard to earn a living, respect the rule of law and revered our King and Country have found ourselves on the wrong end of our government charity . While those who are the political elites and their cronies become fat and wealthy and complacent courtesy of this same government.

This state of affairs have continued too long and caused too much pain for our people.  Now in quiet fury we demand change – change to an open, responsible and accountable government. A change we are determine to have even at the cost of having our peace disturbed, our physical self harmed and our time and effort expanded in the pursuit of this change.

How all this will pan out is still an unknown. Who will form government is anybody’s guesses. Our Prime Minister could be a number of possibilities. Malay or non-Malay, East or West Malaysian, of any gender of any religion – such is the possibilities that this wind of change may bring to our nation – and I am sure our people are ready for anything that comes our way – for anything must be better then the UMNO led Barisan Nasional government that we now have!  Nothing is given and nothing is sacred. East or West Malaysian may decide our future. This will be a general election of unknowns and even now those who will be its final participants is still a work in progress. 

The rabid quest for political power will determine to what lengths UMNO and Pakatan Rakyat

Let us say that it would, in all probability be a level playing field because the whiff of a conspiracy to defraud or abuse the electoral process, by any party, would drive the masses to a frenzy that could probably escalate into a physical assault on the guilty party. Such is the commitment of the masses to having a fair and open electoral process – they not only wish it but demand for it.

What is left now is to see the maturity of our people being translated into the giving of government to a party that will govern for our common good. In this process people like me and those who make it their work to have a say on matter that should be said, will continue to do our work quietly but firmly. If UMNO or Pakatan Rakyat do wrong we will write about it. If they do good you will hear about it too.

But as I have said before we are bias. We cannot help that we are of a certain race, or a certain religion  - that our priorities differ and our needs varies – but these differences pales in comparison to our common need to change our country for the better. It is these common needs that will hold our people together over and above that which will divide us.

If you are a Chinese and you eat what I do not, you are still my brother. If you are Indian and you worship what I do not, you are still my brother. If you are East Malaysian and I am from the West that only binds us closer because never before in the history of our country have the East Malaysian been able to play a more decisive role in the future of who will govern this country of ours!

Men and women, young and old–from any state within this nation of ours–it no longer matters if you are rich or poor–we are all one in this 13th general election. We all want change. Najib, Anwar, Mahathir, Ku Li, Pak Lah, Karpal, Kit Siang, Hadi, Tok Guru, Nurrul, PKR, RPK, DAP, PAS, MIC, MCA  or UMNO will all be silent when it is time for you to decide who shall govern us. Vote wisely. Vote with your head not with your heart. Vote for our common good. You are one. With me we are two. Together we can move heaven and earth! Divided we fall!

Vote so that when all this is over you and me can have our tarik over our roti canai and tell each other that WE did what we had to do to bring change for the common good of our nation. And as we argue over who should best be our Prime Minister and our Ministers we know we will not be talking about race, religion, and gender, East or West Malaysian – but about who will best serve us. A dream? Maybe! But surely a dream within reach – a dream you and I can make happen!

And no one tells it better then the Americans: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

Yes we Malaysian have a Life but what a Life – if we disagree with our government on matters they consider to be of national security – we are put away in jail without trail. Liberty is only for those within the Barisan Nasional government who plunder and pillage our nation coffers at will. And the pursuit of Happiness for most of us can only begin when we are able to take back our nation from a government that chooses to abuse the trust we have place in them for the past 50 over years! Today we all understand this for we have lived under the burden of not having a decent life, nor our civil liberty or the ability to pursue happiness because of UMNO. We will no longer subject ourselves to the whims of an abusive political master! No more, we promise ourself – no more!     

If you had told me last year that Sharizat would no longer be Minister by the middle of this year I would have called you mad. If you have declared that DSAI will be acquitted of sodomy two – again I too would have called you mad. Politics is now the art of the impossible in Malaysia. A noble art once but a noble art no longer. This 13th general election will tell us what it has become once the votes are counted. The natives are restless tonight….now what will the morning bring? So my friends walk softly but carry a big stick to take care of yourself until the morning comes…          

Race, Religion and the elections...

The next time some one tells you that PR will surely win the next General Election you must tell them that it can only happen with their help. Do not let the euphoria of victory in 2008 lull you into that comfort zone that tells you that PR will win and wipe BN off the map of politics in Malaysia. It is easier said then done. The GE was five years away once…it is now one or two years away at most. Soon the years will become months, the months will turn into weeks and then the weeks into days. …..and then the election will be upon us! 

In between then and now we must prepare ourselves to meet BN at its most desperate. Desperate enough to irresponsibly include race and religion into their arsenal of weapons to fight Pakatan Rakyat. Desperate enough to fill the jails to the brims with their enemies – real or perceived. Desperate enough to legislate friends into enemies and then have the audacity to equate any opposition to UMNO to that of being a threat to National Security. Desperate enough to do any deal pay any price and seek any way to wreck havoc within the ranks of PR just as long as they can stay in power. They are doing this now as we breath.

Just the thought of an UMNO without power would stampede its odious elites into spasms of fear and dread at punishment awaits them for having abuse the power given to them by the people. Not all of them can afford to live overseas or flee for sanctuary abroad where money can buy you time and a place to call home.

The large majority of UMNO members can do nothing but wait for the inevitable. How UMNO will make use of their members to try and hold on to power would be interesting to watch. All it would take is the call to defend Race and Religion to drive these members into a frenzy of mindless acts and physical mayhem if they are driven to believe that by doing so UMNO will still have power and go on with their merry ways of plundering our national coffers.

Think May 13^th, think Memali. Think of the many Malays, Chinese or Indians who feel themselves wronged for whatever reasons and are just waiting for an opportunity to right that wrong! Think of the many racial and religious incidents that have been happening around our country whether it is by the Malays, Chinese or Indians. Mad men killing people because they are of a different race and follow a different religion. Do you not think that a desperate UMNO will not resort to consorting with lunatics if these lunatics would allow them to cling to power? They think nothing of using trained and disciplined UTK personals to eliminate Altantuya. Kugan was Police murder.

Teoh Beng Hock was taken and flung out of a window for God knows what reason by MACC - under whose biddings?. With money and power you can always find lunatics to do your deeds however foul. And we know what UMNO has done in the past when they have power. The thought of what they will do if they think they will lose that power fills me with dread.

Of what concern are the lives of a few thousand Malaysian if by their death these UMNO vultures can keep the billions they have plundered from the nation and keep the power that will give them more billions. After all they are not doing the killing. No need to turun padang for this.      

For now they do not even bother to hide behind vague words or deeds. Najib offering million of our money to the people of Sibu to buy their votes. This is corruption pure and simple and they have the gall to say it is not?

Taib and his Rolls Royce claiming Sarawak as his own....not only acting as a Sultan but with the money to live as one. 

They no longer hesitate to do these wrongs even when the people know. They are past caring – what matters is the outflow of money into their pockets and their hold on power. For the non-Malays most of them know that they are not thought of being worthy enough by the BN government to be treated equally with the Malays. When that is done these non-Malays know their own country have been taken away from them. Because you have no country when the country you call home is no longer welcoming of you. Just as they legislate friends into enemies through the ISA they also legislated other races into second-class citizens. And so they leave to go to another country that treats them better....much to the joy of UMNO....until UMNO realized the costs to the country and wants them back! 

Let us sit back and watch these UMNO and BN actors play out their last act. Let us listen to what they say and do and take it for what it is. The antics of desperate people playing out the last episode of their depraved life. If you feel compel to put them out of their misery be careful lest they are able to still harm you with their final few cut and thrust of their already blunt swords. I say to let them drown themselves by their own deeds as they wade further away from the shores into deeper waters thinking that the deep holds redemption and hope for them. Like the fall of the Roman Empire, like the last days of Idi Amin, Marcos and Saddam, like the final act of Hitler let history have the final say in UMNO’s history. History will not be kind to them. Neither will we and I for one will claps my hands with happiness and laugh with joy when UMNO and BN are out of our lives. If you can strike at them covertly in whatever way and be sure that you will not be harmed in retaliation - do so. If you can assist PR in their journey to power and a hopeful future do so. For now the least you must do is to keep the anger burning within us.