by Lim Kit Siang
Two days ago, I was asked whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would dissolve Parliament on 11th March at 11.11 am.
This reminds me of the “Six Ones” forecast two years ago, that Najib could dissolve Parliament on Nov. 11, 2011, which will have “6 1s”, as “11” is Najib’s favourite or even magic number.
But the “Six Ones” of “11.11.11” have come and gone, the years 2011 and 2012 have ended, and beginning today, the 12th Parliament has exceeded its natural life of five years making Najib in the eyes of many Malaysians an ‘illegitimate” Prime Minister, especially as Najib is the longest unelected Prime Minister without a mandate of his own for close to four long years!
On ‘general election mode’ for four years!
Malaysia has made world history and gone into the Guinness Book of Records as a country which has been on general election-mode for close to four years since Najib replaced Tun Abdullah as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 3rd April 2009.
But Najib is still afraid to dissolve Parliament to face the electorate although he has only earned for himself a breathing space of another 49 days before the present Parliament is automatically dissolved on April 27 under the Constitution, without the need for the Prime Minister to ask the Yang di Pertuan Agong for a formal dissolution!
Najib has only himself to blame if he is generally regarded as an “illegitimate” Prime Minister who at best should be Caretaker Prime Minister leading a Caretaker Cabinet which should not make any major or substantive decisions whether concerning policy, appointments, contractual obligations or abuse and misuse of the public service, whether personnel, resources and public funds without consultation with the Opposition.
Last night, when launching the Malaysian Wasatiyyah Institute, Najib called on both Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia to embrace the concept and spirit of wasatiyyah (moderation) and make it the main thrust and direction of the country to ensure the nation’s prosperity and well-being.
Najib’s irony of ironies
Najib is becoming quite accomplished as an exponent of “irony of ironies”, publicly endorsing concepts which he had neither the intention nor the political will to put into actual practice.
I need only give three examples:
His signature 1Malaysia Policy four years ago for every Malaysian to regard himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion and geography second – which was immediately repudiated by his Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and up to now has never been officially endorsed whether by his Cabinet, UMNO Supreme Council or BN Supreme Council.
His profession to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world” but his signal refusal to ensure that the 13th general elections is nationally and internationally regarded as clean, free and fair.
His signature of Transparency International-Malaysia’s Election Integrity Pledge although Malaysia under his premiership is most corrupt when compared to the other previous five Prime Ministers, regardless of what criteria is used. Although Najib signed the Election Integrity Pledge, he and Umno/BN leaders had no qualms to immediately violate it, up and down the country, to this day.
What ‘wasatiyyah’?
What credibility or legitimacy is there in Najib’s advocacy of wasatiyyah and the establishment of the Malaysian Wasatiyyah Institute when in the past four years the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) in the Prime Minister’s Department had a RM300 million budget to be an ethnic hate machine to incite racial hatred and animosity and create more racists than Malaysian nationalists – totally contrary and inimical to the concept and spirit of wasatiyyah?
Can Najib explain what “wasatiyyah” is he preaching when during the recent Chinese New Year, he and his government could violate the concept and spirit of wasatiyyah as in the following instances:
1. Espousing extremism and falsehood when he declared in Kuala Terengganu on Feb. 23 that “a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of Muslims”;
2. His racist, divisive and extremist directive to exclusively screen the May 13 film, Tanda Putera, to 3,000 Felda settlers although the Cabinet decided last November that the film was “inappropriate” to be screened because of “bias” in the portrayal of May 13 riots in 1969; and
3. Barring of a non-Malay reporter from an English daily from covering a programme organised by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) in Penang yesterday while Malay reporters were allowed in.
