'Deep State' so deep it's full of nonsense

Sun Daily - Military coup impossible in Malaysia: Analysts:

National Patriot Association president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji 

PETALING JAYA: Any fear of a military coup in Malaysia is unwarranted.

According to several analysts theSun spoke to yesterday, the conditions in Malaysia were unlikely to trigger an armed takeover of the government.

They were responding to a warning from Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad to the government to “tread carefully” on issues pertaining to the Malay community to mitigate the potential of a coup d’etat.

Khalid Samad 

National Patriot Association president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji said such a move would require the support of the whole country, including the security forces, which was unlikely to happen.

Political analyst Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani pointed out that several conditions must be met before the armed forces would rise against the government.

Firstly, the military must have a history of involvement in politics.

“However, we do not have a tradition where the military will interfere in political matters.”

Secondly, he said, the middle class – comprising 53% of Malaysians – made up the majority of the population.

“Those in the middle class have their own problems, like taking care of their daily needs, while the rich would want economic stability.

“These are the people who do not want chaos in the country.”

Public policy analyst Dr Lim Teck Ghee said the Malaysian military had always been above politics and its leaders – past and present – had never shown any political ambitions.

Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Political analyst Prof James Chin said like the British, the Malaysian armed forces had a tradition of staying out of politics.

About two weeks ago I posted Government, stop scaring Malaysians with coup d'etat ogre in which I penned:

I have to say I'm shocked Minister Khalid dares to say that a coup d'etat is possible ...

Yes, Malaysia has practised democracy, warts and all, since its birth in 1957 (and a bit earlier on a pilot plan, where UMNO and MCA, joined subsequently by MIC, won convincing victories in local and state elections in both Malay and Chinese areas between 1952 and 1955).

When a man like Khalid Samad, MP for Shah Alam, talked about the possibility of a coup d'etat taking place in Malaysia to overthrow the Pakatan Harapan-elected government just because Malaysia's Malay population (at 70%), and the security service (police and military) also fundamentally Malay-based institutions, feel they as an ethnic group may be in danger, hasn't he (YB Khalid Samad) been talking cock and contradicting himself?

How can the majority of the population (70% of one race) with the police and military, virtually 97% of the same race (all armed to the teeth) feel threatened in their own country? And by whom?

Nations do not descend into undemocratic coup d'etat at their people's whims and fancies so don't talk cock by drawing in example of uni-ethnic undemocratic Egypt.

Malaya and then Malaysia has never been like Egypt. Our politics have been grown from the Westminster model and nurtured as such, yes, even with warts and all. Nations such as ours, eg. NZ, Australia, India, even Sing, do not abandon democracy so easily.

Leaving out the former communist countries like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia (Indochina), just look around the region, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and tell me whether we have ever suffered any military coup d'etat as they had/have?

Why?

Because our nation, Malaya then Malaysia, has been brought up properly, first by the Brits and then by our founding fathers and early leaders. Like the great democracy India, our leaders have only suspended Parliament once, and only temporarily, in May 1969. Parliament and democracy were resumed about a year later (16 months), on 22 September 1970

I did concede that the only leader who went slightly to the edge of dictatorship, who mangled the Senate, Judiciary, Constitution, and various public institutions, etc etc etc, has been Mahathir, who again is the present PM, but even he (1981 to 2003) dared not go the full hog.

And the fact that he is once again the PM proves there has been democracy at work in Malaysia, always.

The fact that once-opposition Pakatan is now the ruling party proves there has been democracy at work in Malaysia, always.

I lamented that Khalid (and before him, Saifuddin Abdullah) should NOT frighten the public as if they (the public) were little kids, with the ogre of a 'deep state'.

bullshit 'deep state' in Malaysia

Well, National Patriot Association president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji, political analyst Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani and public policy analyst Dr Lim Teck Ghee have all said 'Kerbau lah' to that implausible 'deep state'. They represent a good cross-section of socio-military-political expertise and know what they are talking about.

I add on the views of two well-known writers (including letters to Malaysiakini and other media) as follows:

Kim Quek: Correction, Khalid. Malays make up 50.8 percent of the Malaysian population as of 2015, and not 70 percent as claimed.

Secondly, your analogy of the Egyptian coup after Arab Spring is false. This is because Egypt has a tradition of continuous dictatorship by military generals ever since the toppling of its last king in 1952.

In contrast, the military in Malaysia has been completely non-political since Merdeka, true to the British parliamentary tradition.

So, don’t cook up a cock-and-bull story to justify the Harapan government’s shameful retreat from the noble Rome Statute in the face of opposition on irrational and nonsensical grounds.

David Dass: Khalid's statement must be understood correctly. Yes, he was wrong about the Malays being 70 percent of the population. But he was not wrong about the army and police being 'fundamentally Malay institutions'.

His statement that a coup was a possibility if Malays perceived their rights to be in danger should not be interpreted as a threat. It was, nevertheless, a statement that should not have been made.

We are not like Egypt. We are a democracy. We are a constitutional monarchy. Civilians rule this country. And the military has always served the government. All are sworn to uphold the Constitution. It is important that we keep things that way.

The idea of possible military coups or interventions should not enter our discourse. If there are issues concerning the Rome Statute, they should be addressed.

The government has decided to withdraw accession to the treaty. Many are unhappy with what appears to be a U-turn made because of unreasonable objections.

But because the objections came from the rulers, the government had no choice but to withdraw from the treaty. It is embarrassing for us.

The positions of the Malay rulers, Malay rights and Islam were never an issue. No Malaysian, whether Malay or non-Malay, is going to push for something that is going to be detrimental to the Malay rulers, Malay rights or Islam. Indeed, our constitutional position remains as it is.

The Pakatan government should stop tokking-kok in using a BS 'deep state' to explain away why they belakang pusing from signing ICERD, Rome Statute etc, while now re-instituting car construction, F1 racing, quarrelling with Sing, and the other former 'obsessions' of one dictator.

Pakatan should also explain, or at least admit, why it is now adopting and embracing (though rebranding to fool the public) much-criticised Najib's policies such as Bandar Malaysia, ECRL, Permata, BR1M, etc.

Bandar Malaysia 

Don't be embarrassed if Pakatan wants to re-institute the GST (pehaps under the new name of VAT), wakakaka.

Memang Pakatan ta'ada idea lah.