by Michael Murty
The Rakyat Post
Dec 12, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12, 2014:

“I no longer care about my political position”.

This was the reply by Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed when asked about his attendance at the “Freedom of Expression Under Threat?” forum held by the Bar Council here yesterday.

According to Sinar Online, Nur Jazlan said he wanted to use the opportunity while he still had it, to voice his opinion.

“The question about my political career is no longer on my mind. I do not care about my position within the party (Umno) as I have reached an age where I no longer am chasing positions within the party.

“But I do want to use the platform that I have to do consensual politicking, rather than bickering all the time,” he told the news portal.

Also present were student activist Adam Adli and Human Rights Organisation (Hakam) president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Nur Jazlan said his actions to face his opponents or the people that did not agree to government policies, was the type of change he tried to create for his party.

“I will not join the Opposition because I do not believe in what they do but I try to make changes in my own party anyway.

“If there was anyone brave in my own party to change its ways, I want to be the first one.”

He said he would accept if that caused the end of his political career.

“If that is the sacrifice I have to pay, it is okay. How many dare to take such high risks? I am willing to, that is why I do it.”

He stressed that politics in the country had to change because the people are more mature with their thoughts.

“They want a government that hears everyone’s opinions.

“If we stick to just fighting with the Opposition, it will only be detrimental to the country,” he said.

It was also reported that Nur Jazlan threw down the gauntlet to his party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be aggressive in bringing change to the party.

He even praised Adam Adli for having the guts to be different and articulate, which was reminiscent of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim back when he was a student leader.

In November, The Star Online reported Nur Jazlan of saying similar things, when he said “Umno don’t like me anymore, I lost when I contested for a seat in the supreme council. They see me as someone who doesn’t want to preserve the old ways”.

He said he wanted the government to improve their accountability, accounting practices and financial discipline by establishing a system of institutional memory, audit trail and a fear of being audited.

He also hit out at the party for not being accommodating to its young leaders or appealing to the young, saying things like the “Umno general assembly is becoming boring every year, because they talk about the same things”.

He urged the party to change, comparing the party to DAP who had many young leaders — singling out Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming who is 32 and Dyana Sofya, 24, as good examples.