Say what, PM?


— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 02, 2012

JUNE 2 — Does Najib Razak really listen to himself? Or does he just read a speech and love the bluster.

He was at his Umno best today at the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday, threatening to crush anyone who threatened law and order (just for clarification, he was not talking about the million illegals in Sabah who pose a law and order threat or the foreigners being given documents so that they can vote in Selangor but I suspect his ire was directed at Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih).

One line in his speech caught my attention: the ends must never justify the means, said Najib.

That is a good joke coming from the prime minister who has watched/encouraged/stayed silent as:

1) Perkasa/Pekida and other thugs encouraged by Umno have started a wave of violence against political opponents and Malaysians who don’t support the current regime.

2) Mat Rempits and other groups are funded and encouraged to beat up and harass anyone identified as a threat by the BN government. Ambiga Sreenevasan, Nurul Izzah and Lim Guan Eng come to mind.

3) The cops abused their power and strength to fire upon and assault citizens of this country on April 28. Where were you then, Mr PM?

4) A systematic campaign of defrauding the electoral system by padding up the voter register with foreigners. And we are having a discussion about the ends never justifying the means.

If my memory serves me correctly, Najib famously declared that Putrajaya must be defended come what may. And he has spoken that same desperate message to silat groups, Pekida and other unsavoury groups.

So Najib, I think you have lost your right to dish out advice.

  1. #1 by yhsiew on Sunday, 3 June 2012 - 11:37 am

    Najib was referring to Bersih 3.0 when he said he would crush anyone who threatened law and order. Didn’t he know that the greatest threat comes from the person in charge of defense, who sold the country’s Navy secrets to foreigners?

  2. #2 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 3 June 2012 - 12:23 pm

    The words “without compromise to quash” means that the govt will not tolerate any more Bersih’s sit in’s or demos like 2.0 or 3.0 unless otherwise agreed to by authorities as to venue and conditions of gathering. Implication is that political contestation has to adhere to established institutions ie ballot box, courts and elections as regulated by EC. So the problem is intractable if the argument from civil society/opposition is that established institutions are heavily weighed/stacked in favour of incumbent against opposition and that these institutions (such as Election) will be relied upon as arbiter only if Bersih’s recommendations are implemented (which by all counts, they won’t be by the next GE). If the alternative to that is more Bersih assembling in public areas to “pressure”, this is obviously “no go” as the line has now been drawn that these kind of assemblies on the streets is conducive to violence breaking out. (Here they seize the breaking the barricades in defiance of court order which PKR’s leaders presented to them as first cause of the ensuing violence after 3 pm on 28/4 which becomes then the convenient pretext to brand and categorise Bersih’s assemblies (as hijacked by opposition) as violent! Their silence/seeming acquiescence of other acts of violence mentioned as 1) to 3) of the above article could be interpreted (by some) as an argument or warning that any more Bersih/opposition’s street protest (equivalent to violence) will (esp next time around) not be met by kid’s glove but an iron fist, well deserved.

  3. #3 by monsterball on Sunday, 3 June 2012 - 1:00 pm

    His mind sways like one swaying to woo a lover.
    And so…be it King’s Birthday Speech…it is war time to him now.
    The PM’s Speech????
    Why he has nothing to report good news to the King.
    He cannot play the usual diplomacy role as a politician.
    It is war time!!
    Patriots Vs Traitors ….fighting to defend PutraJaya.
    Forget about 13th GE date announcement.
    Najib’s “Patriots” are not showing signs of winning.
    It’s a long long long wait for 13th GE..by one that was NEVER been elected at all….as PM for past 3 years.
    He will defend PutraJaya with his life.
    Is our country ..really at war????
    Najib love war games from young mind stays that way at age 56.

  4. #4 by sheriff singh on Sunday, 3 June 2012 - 1:20 pm

    He has an army of speechwriters who just write to make him look and sound good. Never mind if the speeches don’t make any sense, are contradictory or even insincere, so long as they glorify him.

    All he has to do is just to read the speeches and to forget them immediately afterwards. He does not even need to remember what he has just read and said and will not even need to justify them. After all, Malaysians have very short memories. The few exceptions can be just ignored. His obedient media will then do the necessary to deify him.

  5. #5 by hiro on Sunday, 3 June 2012 - 2:12 pm

    I believe Najib refers to salt and water carrying Bersih 3.0 participants, and I believe he is being closely tutored by Tun Dr Mahathir as a run up to the general elections. He is probably advised that all his purported reforms are not winning anyone over save ardent BN supporters, and therefore a hardline stance is the only remedy left for BN. Better secure the conservative Malay Muslim base, and to hell with the rest.

    Malaysia, be prepared to see more strident allegations and measures against minorities and foreigners (though interestingly foreign media seem to have been bought to sing pretty tunes about Najib’s reforms lately). It’s important to bear in mind that we must remain cool and collected, when slapped, do not retaliate and most importantly, stay resolute because it would appear that increasingly we’re alone in this fight with western governments appearing to dither from their typical human rights stance.

  6. #6 by Bigjoe on Sunday, 3 June 2012 - 5:30 pm

    Najib’s word get more and more ridiculous as the pressure for GE gets worst for him..

    ‘Quash attempts to disrupt public order’ – the best and simplest way is to implement Bersih’s demand and the biggest threat to public order is removed.. So WTF?

    ‘the ends must never justify the means’ – UMNO/Perkasa/BN and Mahathir is ALL ABOUT THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS – its what got us and them in the crap hole we/they are in. Forget that its absolutely nuts to be so absolute – men proposes god disposes – no such thing as never..

    Honestly it feels like watching Charlie Chaplin’s Adenoid Hynkel..

  7. #7 by Taxidriver on Wednesday, 6 June 2012 - 1:15 am

    Because Najib keeps contradicting himself, I suspect he is suffering from amnesia like his mentor. Truely a chip off the old block

You must be logged in to post a comment.