How Najib continues to define Madani
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
S Thayaparan
Published: Oct 28, 2024 11:00 AM
“I respect them as they are my coalition partners in government,” he said in an obvious reference to Umno reiterating its hope that Najib would be freed in the wake of his apology.
COMMENT | Previously, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak brought down Umno, which could not withstand the sustained attacks by the Malay political elites.
And as analyst Bridget Welsh rightly argued against the grassroots, which felt betrayed, Najib would bring down the Madani regime.
As it is, Umno is running riot, with its continued insistence on freeing a convicted felon by implying that avaricious businesspersons duped him and that his apology was sincere.
Say what you want about Low Taek Jho but he was right when he said a decade ago that Umno guys were great spin masters.
So incensed was then-Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin by this description, that he wanted Low investigated and, of course, the wing supported Najib.
Published: Oct 28, 2024 11:00 AM
“I respect them as they are my coalition partners in government,” he said in an obvious reference to Umno reiterating its hope that Najib would be freed in the wake of his apology.
- Jelutong MP RSN Rayer
COMMENT | Previously, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak brought down Umno, which could not withstand the sustained attacks by the Malay political elites.
And as analyst Bridget Welsh rightly argued against the grassroots, which felt betrayed, Najib would bring down the Madani regime.
As it is, Umno is running riot, with its continued insistence on freeing a convicted felon by implying that avaricious businesspersons duped him and that his apology was sincere.
Say what you want about Low Taek Jho but he was right when he said a decade ago that Umno guys were great spin masters.
So incensed was then-Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin by this description, that he wanted Low investigated and, of course, the wing supported Najib.
Low Taek Jho
The former Pekan MP has since apologised, claiming he was a patsy but this is what Low said in an interview in 2015:
"Did the people supposed to be responsible for decision-making (at 1MDB) suddenly decide to absolve all their responsibilities and then create this PR campaign with me as the focus of it?
"No one seems to ask the question who is the ultimate decision-maker on 1MDB? No one asks that. No one ever asks about the shareholders' role."
However, all this is irrelevant of course. Najib defines Madani's policies on corruption. When he got his reduced sentence, this fed into religious narratives of PAS and the far religious right.
When you have PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and preacher Zakir Naik arguing that it is better to live under corrupt Muslim rule than an honest non-Muslim rule, this is the definition of the Madani strategies when it comes to Najib. This is the message it sends.
Now that Najib may get his house arrest, this merely points to how the ketuanan (supremacy) system handles its reprobates.
Flimsy narrative
Think about Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA). In justifying it, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim advanced the narrative that this was partly a political persecution by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The fact that Zahid, Najib and every other alleged kleptocrat say the same thing points to the narrative that is being shaped by the mainstream political establishment in this country to justify alliances or to shape narratives around corruption allegations.
Forget about the message Zahid’s DNAA and Najib’s partial pardon and possible house arrest say about the hypocritical nature of Madani. What is more damaging is the message being sent to the civil service and security apparatuses which are mired in the kind of factionalism that dominates mainstream Malay politics.
Remember before Najib went to jail, he was going around shoring up support and spreading all sorts of lies and misinformation about the 1MDB scandal and his “political persecution”.
Remember when PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli had the cajones to directly attack Najib and throw rhetorical hand grenades into the well-laid plans of the Umno establishment?
The former Pekan MP has since apologised, claiming he was a patsy but this is what Low said in an interview in 2015:
"Did the people supposed to be responsible for decision-making (at 1MDB) suddenly decide to absolve all their responsibilities and then create this PR campaign with me as the focus of it?
"No one seems to ask the question who is the ultimate decision-maker on 1MDB? No one asks that. No one ever asks about the shareholders' role."
However, all this is irrelevant of course. Najib defines Madani's policies on corruption. When he got his reduced sentence, this fed into religious narratives of PAS and the far religious right.
When you have PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and preacher Zakir Naik arguing that it is better to live under corrupt Muslim rule than an honest non-Muslim rule, this is the definition of the Madani strategies when it comes to Najib. This is the message it sends.
Now that Najib may get his house arrest, this merely points to how the ketuanan (supremacy) system handles its reprobates.
Flimsy narrative
Think about Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA). In justifying it, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim advanced the narrative that this was partly a political persecution by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The fact that Zahid, Najib and every other alleged kleptocrat say the same thing points to the narrative that is being shaped by the mainstream political establishment in this country to justify alliances or to shape narratives around corruption allegations.
Forget about the message Zahid’s DNAA and Najib’s partial pardon and possible house arrest say about the hypocritical nature of Madani. What is more damaging is the message being sent to the civil service and security apparatuses which are mired in the kind of factionalism that dominates mainstream Malay politics.
Remember before Najib went to jail, he was going around shoring up support and spreading all sorts of lies and misinformation about the 1MDB scandal and his “political persecution”.
Remember when PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli had the cajones to directly attack Najib and throw rhetorical hand grenades into the well-laid plans of the Umno establishment?
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli
"We do not have much time before the next general election. There is a lot of heavy work to be done within the next four to five months.
"The first thing we have to do is to counter Umno's narratives, we cannot let them do whatever they want. We cannot allow Najib to syok sendiri (be full of himself).”
Now, of course, Umno is in the coalition government and through his proxies in the party, Najib continues to define Madani and of course, the DAP.
The pusillanimous attitude of someone like Jelutong MP RSN Rayer is, unfortunately, louder than the rhetoric of someone like Anthony Loke, the DAP’s big cheese who could only muster a let cooler heads prevail, when Najib received a partial pardon:
“There are mixed reactions (to the matter). Some are upset Najib was not released, while others are upset his sentence was reduced. I urge everyone to remain calm and keep cool heads.”
"We do not have much time before the next general election. There is a lot of heavy work to be done within the next four to five months.
"The first thing we have to do is to counter Umno's narratives, we cannot let them do whatever they want. We cannot allow Najib to syok sendiri (be full of himself).”
Now, of course, Umno is in the coalition government and through his proxies in the party, Najib continues to define Madani and of course, the DAP.
The pusillanimous attitude of someone like Jelutong MP RSN Rayer is, unfortunately, louder than the rhetoric of someone like Anthony Loke, the DAP’s big cheese who could only muster a let cooler heads prevail, when Najib received a partial pardon:
“There are mixed reactions (to the matter). Some are upset Najib was not released, while others are upset his sentence was reduced. I urge everyone to remain calm and keep cool heads.”
Jelutong MP RSN Rayer
Keep in mind that Rayer “respects” a coalition partner like Umno, whose youth chief has viciously attacked a DAP minister, created a controversy involving socks which resulted in acts of arson and continues to stir racial and religious sentiment among the rakyat.
He does this with complete immunity and shockingly, no rebuke from the prime minister who was a long-time reformasi comrade of the DAP.
Welsh perhaps, the best hand when it comes to observing the political circus in this country wrote of Madani:
“Those who wanted a different government from that of Umno now have the same party and practices in power, with Anwar providing the means for the party’s leaders and their family members to be rehabilitated, including through taxpayer-funded patronage.”
‘The muted DAP’
Replace Anwar with Najib and this was exactly how the train was running before it was derailed by a confluence of events that brought down Najib and in many ways, Pakatan Harapan. And where is the DAP in all of this?
Well, they are busy keeping a low profile. The following extract from an interview with Seputeh MP Teresa Kok highlights the way DAP has been successfully neutered by Umno and of course, Madani:
“One dilemma faced by DAP is having to respond to the challenge from Umno, particularly from Umno Youth leader Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, who issues racist statements every week that target DAP.
“If DAP does not respond, we would be seen as a ‘muted’ party by the Chinese and Indian communities.
“However, when we get into loggerheads with Umno and Umno Youth like before, the Malays see us as being rude and racist.”
Where does this leave rational Malaysians? Nowhere good. You see there is no trade-off. If Madani could point to policies in education, healthcare and social services which were egalitarian and utilitarian, then rational people would have no choice but to ignore these political moves by the Madani elites as the price of doing business in a country like Malaysia.
Mind you, I was never one of those people who were gleefully awaiting Najib to be paraded around in an orange jumpsuit.
You don’t get to play the moral high ground card when your coalition was previously aligned with the architect of old Malaysia, Mahathir.
Perhaps, how Najib best defines Madani is the way he and his coalition government enablers game the system while a deaf driver and construction worker have to hope for justice in Madani.
Keep in mind that Rayer “respects” a coalition partner like Umno, whose youth chief has viciously attacked a DAP minister, created a controversy involving socks which resulted in acts of arson and continues to stir racial and religious sentiment among the rakyat.
He does this with complete immunity and shockingly, no rebuke from the prime minister who was a long-time reformasi comrade of the DAP.
Welsh perhaps, the best hand when it comes to observing the political circus in this country wrote of Madani:
“Those who wanted a different government from that of Umno now have the same party and practices in power, with Anwar providing the means for the party’s leaders and their family members to be rehabilitated, including through taxpayer-funded patronage.”
‘The muted DAP’
Replace Anwar with Najib and this was exactly how the train was running before it was derailed by a confluence of events that brought down Najib and in many ways, Pakatan Harapan. And where is the DAP in all of this?
Well, they are busy keeping a low profile. The following extract from an interview with Seputeh MP Teresa Kok highlights the way DAP has been successfully neutered by Umno and of course, Madani:
“One dilemma faced by DAP is having to respond to the challenge from Umno, particularly from Umno Youth leader Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, who issues racist statements every week that target DAP.
“If DAP does not respond, we would be seen as a ‘muted’ party by the Chinese and Indian communities.
“However, when we get into loggerheads with Umno and Umno Youth like before, the Malays see us as being rude and racist.”
Where does this leave rational Malaysians? Nowhere good. You see there is no trade-off. If Madani could point to policies in education, healthcare and social services which were egalitarian and utilitarian, then rational people would have no choice but to ignore these political moves by the Madani elites as the price of doing business in a country like Malaysia.
Mind you, I was never one of those people who were gleefully awaiting Najib to be paraded around in an orange jumpsuit.
You don’t get to play the moral high ground card when your coalition was previously aligned with the architect of old Malaysia, Mahathir.
Perhaps, how Najib best defines Madani is the way he and his coalition government enablers game the system while a deaf driver and construction worker have to hope for justice in Madani.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
Najib controls the Madani regime
ReplyDelete