UMNO’s Corruption - Din Merican Comments
UMNO’s Leaders for the 21st Century
Din Merican
The esteemed UMNO President informed Malaysians that since the dateline of April 18, 2005 had past, UMNO would not entertain further reports of Money Politics. As a result of this decision taken by UMNO’s Supreme Council, those who competed with Isa Samad during the last UMNO elections are clear of the danger from being investigated and hauled up before the Disciplinary Board chaired by UMNO elder statesman, Tengku Ahmad Rithauddin, to answer charges of party level corruption. Maybe it is true that they have no grounds to answer. Otherwise, there would have been plenty of complaints against them. To them, I suppose, one must give them the benefit of the doubt.
Sarcasm aside, what does this mean? I guess, it means that UMNO is now free from the scourge of “politik wang” just as our country is now also free from corruption after Eric Chia and Kasitah Gadam were hauled into the courts.
The Royal Police Force too is cleared of corruption, because we now have the Royal Commission Report that had nothing significantly negative to say of the performance of the Force. With that Report completed, the Police can rest easy, wait for more perks and benefits, and conduct business as usual.
More importantly, it means that the UMNO President possesses awesome political power that he can use against his “enemies” and keep others in the party in check. As Prime Minister, he can use the ISA, the ACA, and other instruments of his Office. This is, of course, not new.
The difference is that Abdullah’s immediate Mahathir was more open in the exercise of his power. He did not have to hide behind some glorified pretense. One always knew where one stood with him. He used power to maintain stability and get things done. He also ensured that the country continued to grow and prosper. I admired the man for his convictions. He never claimed to be a democrat. He was an authoritarian leader who actively and openly promoted “Asian Values.” Malaysians and Asians must be led by strong leaders.
The new man promotes “Civilizational Islam,” talks about “cemerlang, gemilang and terbilang” and civil service excellence, and champions good governance. At the same time, he treats the economy with benign neglect, and dreams of a prosperous future. He claims to lay the foundation for the long-term future. As Lord Keynes said, “in the long run we are all dead.” Abdullah must now act and stop messing around. If he can do that, he will redeem himself, and restore his credibility.
To his diehard supporters, it is “Hurray!” for Badawi, the man who rid the party and country of corruption by his simply waving the magic wand. All UMNO Presidents and Prime Ministers in Malaysia before him had done that. Abdullah has done this “noble act” to save UMNO and our country from further embarrassment, for which we the Malays who support UMNO must be beholden to him.
Unfortunately, his magic wand cannot remove the stain of corruption. What he did was to confirm that UMNO, the foremost national and oldest political party representing the Malays, is corrupt to the core. Prior to this, people who charged that UMNO is corrupt were accused of speculating. Now it is crystal clear that UMNO is corrupt.
Bakri, I must admit that you were right. I was naive to be excited when I first heard the news that Isa Samad had been nabbed, found guilty, and then asked to resign from all party positions for blatantly violating UMNO’s “code of ethics,” and for bribing delegates in order to secure the highest votes for his Vice President post.
I had expected a purge of the party at various levels. Now it looks like that is no longer the case. I am wondering how long I can continue to put my faith in the man who had received such a strong mandate in the last election. My hat’s off to his spinmeisters for their skills in creating this grand illusion, but in the end substance matters.
Best wishes, Din.
July 7th, 2005 at 7:49 pm
Dear Dr. Bakri,
I appreciate reading your writings, and admire you for your interest in our country. On behalf of my friends and myself, I say “terima kasih” for your effort and intellectual contributions.
I have read all your four books. The one on Globalisation and Malaysia is very hard hitting, a sort of wake-up call to the country and in particular the Malays. In particular, I like your open letter to the former PM. That should now be read by the incumbent PM. Your Education book contains very interesting ideas and proposals. I think, we the Malays deserve this “shock treatment” as we are taking too many things for granted. We still think the Government can protect us for ever and UMNO encourages them to think this way.
I agree with Din Merican on money politics in UMNO and corruption in Malaysia. No new news about Isa Samad and others who are just as guilty as he is. Our PM thinks he has solved the problem of corruption in our country by making a few highly publicised moves. Our Police Force is corrupt beyond redemption.
Now they are reacting to Tun Mahathir’s revelations about the Government’s treatment of the national car company, Proton. Minister Rafidah must answer and in today’s NST, it is reported that the Cabinet had directed her to respond. There must be something irregular on the AP and related matters, and the ACA must be call in to investigate MITI and the Minister herself.
Din is a very perceptive writer and clear headed person. He is among the few Malays in Malaysia with an excellent command of English. He is very fair and balanced. I hope he and you can do more joint pieces. Together you both can give less distorted views on Malaysian political, economic and social issues.
You have the benefit of being far away and probably less disappointed than he about our country, while he is in touch with the local scene, talks to people on the ground, and knows the pulse. I have met Din on a number of occasions, and I found him to be a pleasant and humble public intellectual type. He told me that he was both in Government and industry, an insider so to speak.
He appears to be supportive of the Government but can be very critical. He is very low key but a widely read person. I am sorry that he is not appreciated in our country. I asked him whether that had bothered him. I never gave me an answer, but only shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
Dr Bakri, nothing is happening in Malaysia except there is plenty of talk and promises. Our Prime Minister seems to be pre-occupied with UMNO politics and his buggy horse, Islam Hadhari. Macam tak ada model lain (As if he has no other capital).
PM Badawi has forgotten about the economy. Either he does not care or he is incapable of understanding what is happening in the economy. Doa saja tak cukup (prayers alone are not enough). He is aslo too much of a bureaucrat. So he should have stayed in the Civil Service, even there I doubt if he would have made it to the top. He talks about excellence when he is himself is mediocre.
Small contractors like me are hurting; there are new jobs and I have not been paid for my services. I really do not what to do. May be you have some advice. Should give elsewhere to find new opportunities. I am able to slog and compete. Best wishes.
July 7th, 2005 at 9:19 pm
Dear Dr. Bakri,
I share Sdr. Moufthy’s views about our country at this point of time. Nothing seems to be happening, and the economy is slowing down. 80,000 graduates are without jobs and more workers are being retrenched, yet the Government under Badawi is blind to such developments. As Moufthy said, there are no new contracts because the Government is cutting back on public spending. I would like to note that there is rising inflation and high unemployment.
Yet his officials in the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance are giving him assurances that our economy is fine. On the ground, we get a different feedback, one of concern and anxiety. The man in the street is worried. Taxi drivers are yelling about no business. Malay contractors especially Class F contractors are complaining about slow payments. Some of them are being threatened with bankruptcy action by the banks. Rm2.4 was recently allocated, it seems, for projects to revive the lagging construction sector. Some time ago, the PM announced Rm29 billion would be available!! Lama mana nak bohong rakyat!!
I hear his supporters say to me, “Wait until September, 2005, when the 9th Malaysia Plan is tabled in Parliament”. But I know from experience that implementation of the Plan will be slow because the bureaucracy is very inefficient and corrupt, and that there is usually a time tag for the effects of public expenditure to be felt on the real economy.
All said, it will probably be felt in 2007, which suits the PM because it is the year of the UMNO Elections to be followed by the General Elections in 2008. We are in 2005 and struggling in the meantime.
Now we hear of a former UMNO Sabah Chief Minister losing a million pounds (rm 7+million) gambling in a casino in London, and of possible irregularities over the APs and under-declaration of imported CBUs. A few weeks ago, as commented by Din Merican, an UMNO Vice President Isa Samad was suspended for engaging in money politics (corruption). How come he got so much money? Why was there no ACA investigation? No news about Khir Toyo, the Selangor MB and the controversial rape of the Forest Reserve land?
I also read in http://www.malaysia-today.net about politics and the Negri Royals. We are in mess, and I got a feeling that the present PM is letting problems slip by, and is losing control over the behavior of party seniors like Osu in Sabah and Ministers like Rafidah Aziz.
I am sorry for the PM. He came into office with a strong mandate on the back of a great Election Manifesto with hopes high. After more than 20 months, he is still unsure about how to take the country towards ” era cemerlang, gemilang dan terbilang”. Right now, I can only hope and pray that “kita tak sesat dan hilang”.
I acknowledge that the high oil prices and developments in the external environment (latest being the bombing in London yesterday, July 7) are not helping. Inaction is not the answer either. This period of uncertainty calls for a proactive and interventionist Government.
I call for Keynesian type stimulus package. So what are Dato Mustapha Mohamed and his high powered economic team in the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) secretariat doing? It is time for them to revisit the currency peg, and update the National Economic Recovery Plan policies and strategies which were successfully implemented during the I997-98 Economic Crisis by the Mahathir-Daim partnership.
Salams.
July 9th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Dear Dr Bakri,
UMNO and PAS are the same; behind our backs they talk and do deals with each other. But when the Press, or TV is around they will play sandiwara. We, the Malays, are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Often we are duped.
At today’s presentation at Sisters in Islam Office, where I met Pak Din, Professor AB Shamsul suggested that we should look at Malaysian politics differentky. He calls Malaysian politics “oppositionism”, meaning that all politicians in our country are serving their own interests, using their party as platform and the power of their office for financial gain.
These politicians pretend to argue with each other at the intra- and inter-party levels. In reality, they are all in the game to extract maximum benefit, so that they can live comfortably after their retirement. It is a buddy-buddy system.
It is, therefore, not meaningful to look at their manifestoes,public statements and speeches in Parliament, or analyze election results. Look at the history of PAS, for example. It has been in and out of UMNO over the years in “katak” style. It uses the Islamic State amd the mullah image to appear different in the eyes of the rural Malays. In reality, it is a Malay party like UMNO.
Is the PM serious about his reform agenda. Only the naive will be carried away by his words and promises.Now he is quarrelling with Mahathir over Proton using proxies like the ambitious Shahrir Samad, the MP from Johor Bahru and Chairman of the Backbenchers Club. They are not interested in the future of Proton, more in the power play.
MIC (The Chettiyars) and MCA (The Chinese Business Elite) are also playing the same game. Don’t expect the leadership of MIC to come from the plantation worker class or that of MCA to come from the New Villages. UMNO too is elitist and feudal.
In short, I think the state of Malaysian politics is pathetic. This is, of course, not something new. It has been going on under British colonial rule; it has been played by the rulers, and oppositionism is the culture of all parties.
Fortunately, more and more Malaysians are now understanding how the game is played. Over the long term, more people will abstain from exercising their right to vote. Change is a pipe dream since politics is for those with vested interests.
Thank you, Zurina.
September 16th, 2005 at 7:25 pm
Just to say hellow!