Opinion: Zahid's baseless utterances divisive and annoying

Opinion: Zahid's baseless utterances divisive and annoying

1 Apr 2024 • 2:33 PM MYT



Citizen Nades
A legally qualified journalist and a good governance champion

Image credit: The Vibes


Oops! I missed yesterday’s deadline to register for the Central Database Hub (Padu) but why worry?


In Malaysia, it is reasonable to expect extensions and delays to accommodate as many people as possible so that the system can get enough numbers to proclaim it a success.


There are no penalties for missing the deadline but if there are, you would probably be given rebates. The longer you procrastinate, the better, because the discounts on fines for traffic offences get higher the longer it gets.


Of my own volition, I decided not to register with Padu because I did not want to “strip myself naked” (more of that later).


I do not believe the state needs all the information requested as such details are already with the Inland Revenue Board, the Employees Provident Fund, and other statutory bodies.


But then because I do not subscribe to this ridiculous attempt to get private details of myself, does that entitle people like Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to label and describe me as part of the anti-establishment group?


While aiming his guns at former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, he inadvertently or intentionally ignored the fact that all citizens have a right to express their opinions on how the country is governed.


Remarks from this group, he said, comprised “22 percent” of criticisms against the government.


“We must move towards ensuring the majority are pro-establishment because these 22 percent are usually anti-establishment,” Malay Mail quoted him as saying.


One would have thought Zahid’s arrogance and haughtiness would have stopped after Umno’s drubbing in GE15 but he continues to make baseless statements causing nothing but an annoyance to law-abiding citizens.


Just because I am opposed to registering with Padu does not make me anti-establishment or a lesser Malaysian.


It is a given that every citizen has a right to voice their opinion on any policy or issue which they feel is not beneficial to the community.


Sarawak’s stand


Merely expressing a contrary view to that of the government and wanting answers does not make anyone an enemy of the state.


Did his remarks on “22 percent of the anti-establishment group” include all Sarawakians?


Did these remarks come about because of Sarawak’s stand on the registration exercise?


Last Monday, Sarawak’s Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, and State-Federal Relations) Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali rather diplomatically cautioned that any implementation should not deprive eligible Malaysians of receiving the targeted subsidies “by looking into an individual’s financial position and economic well-being”.


But its Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah was blunt and scathing, delivering a eulogy of sorts for Padu when he remarked:


“The moment you fill in, you ‘bogelkan diri sendiri’ (strip yourself naked). Practically everything – your bank account, your house, everything! I do not think that is a proper way to treat your citizens.”


Widely reported in the media in Sarawak, he rightfully pointed out: “If Padu is meant to help the poor, let them fill it in, those receiving government aid can fill that in; but you don’t go across the board and say everybody must fill it in”.


Bentleys and Rolls Royces


Questions continue to linger if the high and mighty had “stripped themselves naked” (as described by the Sarawak minister) upon registration.


Has that prominent Madame declared her collection of jewellery and the Birkins and Bijans? Has her equally prominent other half’s collection of luxury watches been declared?


Does the declaration cover the assets of many ahli korporat who own resorts in St Moritz which are used when they go for ski holidays in the Alps or the well-heeled who have penthouses in South Kensington to stay when out shopping in London?


What about the Bentleys and Rolls Royces which they use during their overseas sojourns?


Or is Padu only meant for lesser mortals who must tell the government the little they have saved over the years by being thrifty or who have little or nothing to show?


Aren’t these legitimate questions that the public expects answers to? But why are those who ask similar questions branded as anti-establishment?


Zahid wants to curb people who hold the government accountable for their actions and those who want to ensure that the implementation of policies is just and equitable.


He must be constantly reminded that he is no longer the home minister with unlimited power who can act in arrogance.


Continued arrogance


If previously, he had the blessings of the prime minister (both had labelled themselves as the dynamic duo) who had given him a carte blanche to bully and harass, these days Zahid has none.


He does not enjoy such power although he tries occasionally to behave like he still is the de facto Number One.


Remember the time he described the Tiga Line group, one of 49 secret societies declared by the Home Ministry as unlawful, as “not thugs and were benevolent gangsters”?


At the height of the 1MDB scandal, in his efforts to develop and further the truth deficiency syndrome that engulfed the nation, journalists were arrested and newspaper licences were suspended.


Zahid must include himself and his party members in his 22 percent, as they constantly try to undermine the judiciary and judicial system with constant chants of “Najib did not get a fair trial”.


So, does the Sarawak cabinet which made the decision become Zahid’s “minority group or not less than 22 percent of the anti-establishment group who will oppose anything new introduced by the current government”?


On top of the Padu controversy, the waters have been further muddied with Zahid and Umno endorsing the actions of its Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh.

Image credit: Focus Malaysia


Certainly, the Sarawakians have not taken them lying down. Political leaders and groups have not minced their words on the socks-gate issue.


At a time when we talk about integration, why is Zahid alienating our East Malaysian brethren?


Is this an attempt to scuttle the support of GPS for the unity government?


Shouldn’t he be putting his own house in order by reining in renegades and troublemakers in his party instead of taking on issues outside his portfolio and issues in which he lacks proper understanding?


Let me declare that I am not anti-establishment or anti-government. I am merely a law-abiding citizen who continues to crusade for good governance and continues to ask difficult questions of the powers that be.