– Othman Wahab
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 03, 2012
MARCH 3 – I am stumped, I really am. Why can’t people really mean it when they say they apologise and say sorry. There should not be any qualifications or buts.
There must be sincerity. And I think that critical ingredient was missing today when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told a gathering in Kedah that he would like to apologise for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) mistakes in 2008 which resulted in the coalition losing its two-thirds majority.
He then said that the BN would work hard to rectify its mistakes. But the “mistakes” according to Najib were made several years ago so why weren’t the mistakes rectified after all BN controls Putrajaya and all the purse strings and everything else.
So why weren’t the “mistakes” rectified. Najib has been PM since 2009 so he can’t blame Abdullah Badawi.
Apart from mentioning the arrogance of BN reps as one of the mistakes, he did not elaborate on other reasons which led to a strong showing by the Opposition. I can fill in the blanks.
* Corruption and abuse of power: there were the allegations against Khir Toyo and Zakaria Deros. PKFZ
What is still the same:
* Criminal breach of trust in the National Feedlot Corporation case and the controversial settlement of Tajudin Ramli’s close to RM590 million debt to Danaharta and the controversial award of a RM2.2 billion (project) to a company linked to Umno lawyer and the former Chief Justice.
* The compromised judiciary: Remember the VK Lingam tapes and the findings of the Royal Commission which implicated Vincent Tan and Mahathir Mohamad.
What is still the same: All legal precedents were thrown out the window when BN usurped power in Perak.
* Clamping down on civil liberties: Force was used to put down the Hindraf gathering in 2007 and the activists were placed under the ISA.
What has not changed: Last july, police fired tear gas and chemical water against Malaysians who were marching for clean elections.
* Race relations: From the keris wielding by Hishammuddin Hussein to labelling non-Malays kaum pendatang to the unresolved issue of burial rites for converts.
What has not changed: Perkasa stoking racial tension, attacks on churches and suraus and Umno supporters dragging a cow head in protest against building a temple in Shah Alam.
This is what I can remember but I figure Najib has a lot to apologise for and to make amends. He has had two or three years but things do seem no better, even worse.
#1 by k1980 on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 9:49 am
Why NO apology for Bukit Merah?
http://www.magickriver.org/2012/03/bukit-merah-catastrophe-revisited.html
And none whatsoever for Teoh BH?
#2 by monsterball on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:01 am
One side of the mind is willing….the other side opposes it.
It has become…don’t mean what he said and said what he don’t meant.
It’s an unreliable person .. relying on advises from others…thus has becomes… a puppet.
#3 by yhsiew on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:03 am
///But the “mistakes” according to Najib were made several years ago so why weren’t the mistakes rectified…///
The writer, Othman Wahab, was right. The rakyat want action not lip-service.
#4 by k1980 on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:06 am
Still waiting for him to apologise for the c4ing of the Mongol gal
#5 by Godfather on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:24 am
Have things improved post 2008, Ah Jib Kor ? We see even worse situations under your watch. Multi-billion defence contracts announced with zero transparency. The KIDEX project given to UMNO lawyers who believed that building highways with no experience is better than practising law. Pos Malaysia and, apparently, Penang Port awarded to UMNO crony Syed Mokhtar.
Then the worsening of race relations. Then the vote-buying under all sorts of gimmicks. Like “lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu” ?
You want us to vote for you in GE13 so that you can apologise again prior to GE14 ?
#6 by k1980 on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:34 am
Apologise for all the attacks listed below
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2012/03/03/nearing-the-end-umno-behaves-strangely/
#7 by Godfather on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:56 am
It’s a shame that thieves have resorted to apologising for their past misdeeds in the hope of being allowed to steal again.
#8 by Godfather on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 11:04 am
Actually shows how bankrupt – and desperate – this BN coalition is. They understand now that the tsunami will hit Sabah and Sarawak, so they have to start begging….
#9 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 11:05 am
In the first place when PM said that he apologized for BN’s mistakes resulting in 2008 loss of 2/3 & states, that BN has learnt its mistakes, he neither specified nor defined what these mistakes were! For all we know the ‘mistakes’ he talked about are not the same ones that others have in mind. Hence even as he apologized, the mistakes/controversies others and the writer think of (for eg, NFC, Tajudin/MAS/Danaharta and other scandals cited by the writer) still continue, with Perkasa’s strident voice, unabated. I think he just simply took a leaf from the PM of Southern neighbour whose apology to voters in last election possibly saved the PAP from a fate worse than just losing 6 out of 87 contested parliamentary seats and loss of Aljunied constituency leading to George Yeo’s exit – something that PAP is not used to and by itself represents a catastrophe relative to the PAP’s untrammeled dominance of politics in Singapore for half a century! So the Malaysian counterpart thinks that appearing humble in the face of perception that BN/UMNo’s leaders are smug and arrogant will win sympathy and forgiveness and get back some votes. He does not take into consideration that the S’pore govt is not M’ysian govt, PAP not UMNO, the mistakes are not the mistakes here and certainly it’s a different electorate for the same effect to be hoped for!
#10 by k1980 on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 11:09 am
Ajib, surely you know that the Japs first apologise, then take out their knives and commit harakiri. Why haven’t you followed them?
#11 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 11:14 am
In order for one not to get away with and capitalise on a glib apology with no particulars, one should ask and dare Ah Jib Gor to particularise and list down specifically which particular mistakes for which he has apologised on behalf of BN to make the whole apology meaningful….and after that see if his predecessors will take kindly to what is said of the mistakes allegedly committed by BN under the administrations of their respective watch.
#12 by tak tahan on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 11:22 am
Ajib kor,what about an apology for your cuckoo wife’s shopping-spree(birkin bags,golden bra,diamond decorated g-strings ect) at the expense of tax payers’s mony?And also all the lucky jantan and betina lembus staying in the plush condo?For a start,at least you can truly show your remorse by calling mOOOOOOO!!!
#13 by Cinapek on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 11:28 am
“..So why weren’t the “mistakes” rectified. Najib has been PM since 2009 so he can’t blame Abdullah Badawi….”
Yes, indeed,why?
Because this man will never do anything for nothing. More so if it does not benefit himself personally. From his infamous “lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu” remarks and the recent “give me two thirds in Parliament and I will improve MACC” one can easily deduce that he will “do” something for the people only after he has received what he asked for. These incidences betrays his true nature. Instead of acting responsibly as a PM practising good governance, which is his primary duty and responsibility, he will instead only do something (not necessary good or improvement) after he is satisfied he has obtained what he wanted.
Add to this to the various flip flops and the many promises he has renegaded upon such as the infamous stadium promise during the Bersih 2 rally, anyone who gives him their vote will be a fool and deserves what they get.
#14 by Bigjoe on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 12:12 pm
IF 2008 were mistakes, what were the mistakes and what has changed? If you think about it, for the non-Malays what made them vote opposition in 2008 is even more true today..The problem what were the ‘mistakes’ for swing in Malay vote and what has been done about it?
Clearly UMNO-Perkasa/BN think the Malay voted against them in 2008 because they were not aware the impact it had on UMNO-Perkasa/BN i.e., they took their vote for granted. THAT is really what they really mean..
This comment, clearly shows an unrepentant UMNO-Perkasa/BN – they don’t think the Malay vote swing in 2008 was real, fundamental. They are literally just sneering at Malay voters.
BUT the real danger is PR make the same mistakes as UMNO-Perkasa/BN. Like it or not, except in Penang, they have not made political sensation in Kedah, Kelantan and Penang..Even if the Malay vote swing fundamentally to PR is real, in the modern age of media politics, they still need to package and sell it like crazy..
#15 by sotong on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 4:57 pm
Apologies accepted….now move aside for the new team to fix and clean up the mess!
#16 by Sallang on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 8:08 pm
It was not an apology for the mistakes, but a MUST TAKE.
Perkasa must have gone to the ‘nujum Pa belalang'(witch doctor), and asked, ‘Esok Masih Ada?’, but was told, ‘Tiada esok bagi mu'( starring Jin Shamsuddin+Noor Kulamasari)
Since Hari Raya over already, will minta maaf again, next year.
#17 by GodIsWatching on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 9:52 pm
Mere lip service to get an apology announced to the masses for reasons that smart Malaysians know only too well does NOT amount to a demonstration of true repentance and remorse or of being ashamed for all the evil done in succumbing to cronyism, nepotism,corruption and wanton abuse of the trust of the people. We are just watching BN’s survival-mode strategy unfolding in its desperate quest to be seen as ‘humble’, and to shed its arrogant leather that Malaysians have time and again been talking about.
Sorry? What value is a mere word uttered when lousy unrepentant BN fellas like the Sabak Bernam MP who walks out of court after being found guilty smiling and grinning from ear to ear!!!! So many BN fellas know nothing of remorse, what more have any fear of meeting their Maker at the end of life’s journey … But then again, if any of them had the fear of God within in the first place, fortune and fame and and power and worldliness wouldn’t have had a hold on them and they would have been able to run the country with dignity …so, whatever, BN can think they are saying sorry and the rakyat will now just know better that they are at the very end of their journey now …
#18 by mm08 on Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 10:13 pm
Sorry no cure! Where is your action? We want action, given three years not much had been rectified whereas more corruption and problems occurred. Why should we support you again?
#19 by tak tahan on Monday, 5 March 2012 - 12:00 pm
I say it’s too late to apologise…too late..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePyRrb2-fzs