Archive for category Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Repentance in retirement : The Badawi baffle
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Augustine Anthony on Wednesday, 22 July 2009
By Augustine Anthony
A very interesting behavioural pattern is emerging amongst the Malaysian politicians whilst in power and when they are no longer in power. Even prime ministers are not spared.
In Malaysia there are many repressive laws, legislations and stifling administrative procedures that are archaic and unworkable in a modern democratic system of governance.
Often we witness politicians within the ruling government, when called upon to state their views on these laws, governmental directives and administrative procedures, either support it openly or maintain a puzzling silence.
No matter what degree of public outcry, the response is akin to “you shout as much as you can, I am in power and I will decide the way I want it” seems to be the trend in response.
But once they find place in retirement, their views become somewhat perplexingly inconsistent to their earlier views. Suddenly they are now champions of human rights and fundamental liberties.
Read the rest of this entry »
1 Malaysia: A cruel joke?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Razak on Monday, 27 April 2009
by Tunku Aziz | The Malaysian Insider
APRIL 27 – It never ceases to amaze me how simple and trusting we Malaysians are.
We have heard all these promises before. Pak Lah, the Mr Clean and Mr Nice Guy of Malaysian politics proclaimed his great mission of fighting corruption after 22 years of unprincipled and largely unaccountable governance under Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
We lapped it all up, initially at any rate, and believed every word the spin doctors spewed out about Abdullah Badawi.
It was not too difficult a job for Abdullah Badawi, or anyone else for that matter, after Mahathir, to look ethically spotless, clean and pure as the driven snow.
Badawi, with his religious credentials, gave every appearance of being the reformer that this country had been praying for. Alas, his leadership proved a total let-down for Malaysia.
What began as a journey full of hope and promise turned very quickly into a national nightmare. Abdullah, who skippered the good ship MALAYSIA, was in truth an incompetent and inept rating playing at being Admiral of the Fleet.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pak Lah’s “kick at the pack of snapping hyenas around him”
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Razak on Thursday, 2 April 2009
Politics enters turbulent waters as prime minister retires
By Jonathan Manthorpe
Vancouver Sun
March 30, 2009
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is known as a courteous gentleman, ill-fitted for the brutal and violent world of his country’s politics.
But even the tolerant and spiritual Abdullah could not resist a kick at the pack of snapping hyenas around him when he retired last week after nearly six years as everyone’s fall guy.
Unless, he warned, the United Malays National organization (UMNO), the party that has dominated government since independence from Britain in 1957, stops silencing its critics, jailing its opponents and discriminating against minorities, it is on the fast track to political oblivion.
It was a harsh judgement, but a just and alarming one for a country which until recently has been seen as one of the great economic and political success stories of Southeast Asia. Read the rest of this entry »
Islam “more repressive….narrow and parochial”
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Corruption, Islam, nation building on Thursday, 2 April 2009
I was struck by one Q & A in Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s final interview as Prime Minister on 31st March 2009, as published by The Star yesterday, viz;
Q: You talked about progress Muslims made in earlier years and how we must emulate their efforts. But we must examine the Islam practised then. It was so free, lots of freedom to research, to think and implement. When you introduced Islam Hadhari, I thought this would bring it back to that era. But under you, Islam has gone to be more repressive. Just look at the lectures given by the ustaz on RTM1, they are so narrow and parochial.
A: It is a big problem – overseas the idea is welcome. Even Indonesia. But here it is all in a mess. Because we are fighting each other politically. Some PAS members do not like the idea. It is a battle that goes on. Changing of the mind. To do anything like that is not easy.
I have given myself that role. When I talk about democracy and freedom of discourse, it is not an easy job to do. But you have to allow people to enjoy it.
When people like it, the freedom, they think it is very nice. But I would have managed it better. I think up to now, nobody can silence the papers anymore. I don’t like the word takut (scared). Takut is not the way. Being reasonable is very important as well as being correct. Scaring does not work.
No denial whatsoever from Abdullah that under his Islam Hadhari, “Islam has gone to be more repressive…so narrow and parochial”. Read the rest of this entry »
May There Be Many More Such Encounters!
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim, Bakri Musa on Monday, 30 March 2009
by M. Bakri Musa
I congratulate Ustaz Sheikh Mahmud for bringing Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim together recently for a luncheon honoring Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. I also applaud Anwar and Abdullah for their very public display of civility towards each other on that occasion.
Along the same vein, I am pleased to see on the last day of the UMNO General Assembly Tun Mahathir and Abdullah Badawi shaking hands. Despite the many harsh exchanges between them recently, at least they could still manage a brief show of courtesy. Supporters and commentators may read many things on that, but the fact they could bury their personal differences even if only momentarily is praiseworthy enough.
Such public gestures of cordiality and mutual respect are sadly lacking in our society today. As with everything else, we could only change that if we have some very visible examples set by our leaders. We can do without such obscene displays as when a supposedly “Honorable Member” calling the Deputy Prime Minister a murderer in the hallowed hall of Parliament, or the Minister of Education branding the leader of the Opposition “a traitor to Malays!” Splendid example for our school children!
I wish academics as well as heads of NGOs, think tanks, and professional bodies would emulate Sheikh Mahmud. They too should bring together our leaders to discuss issues that deeply affect us in settings other than the political arena. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno – buffetted by winds of change
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Razak, Tunku Abdul Aziz, UMNO on Friday, 27 March 2009
by Tunku Abdul Aziz
26 March 2009
MALAYSIAN INSIDER 4
A monolithic organisation is by definition slow to change. This description fits UMNO like a glove. As it lumbered into its 59th annual party conference, the collective mood of the general assembly was much less confident than it had ever been in its history.
There was really nothing to celebrate, certainly not the succession of Najib with all that huge and unsavoury media attention he is attracting internationally. Even here in Malaysia, where standards of public morality and ethics are much less vigorously applied to those in high office, there is a real feeling of queasiness and unease that Najib appears to be so cavalier about the critical need to clear his name against what he protests are unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety. Read the rest of this entry »
M vs Pak Lah (Round 2) – Mahathirism vindicated, set to be dominant force in Najib premiership
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, UMNO on Friday, 27 March 2009
Although Mahathir triumphalism was checked in Round One of the “M vs Pak Lah” battle in the elections for Umno Youth and Wanita leaders on Thursday, with the outgoing Prime Minister getting the upperhand, Round Two of the “M vs Pak Lah” battle for the top Umno posts yesterday saw Mahathirism vindicated and set to be the dominant force in the new Najib premiership.
With Abdullah’s proxy, Mohd Ali Rustam disqualified from the contest, Muhyiddin Yassin was elected Umno Deputy President with 1,575 votes, defeating Muhammad Muhammad Taib with 916 votes.
The three elected Umno Vice Presidents are Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (1,592 votes), Hishammuddin Husein (1,515 votes) and Mohd Shafie Apdal (1,445 votes).
Abdullah’s farewell speech to wean UMNO from the scourge of money politics and corruption did not go down well at all with the Umno delegates, as he was repeatedly booed when he spoke against “greedy and avaricious” Umno members who created “the negative perception that Umno is a corrupt party” and Umno members who “expect positions and projects”, “titles and awards”, “material fulfillment” while “the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of struggle, the spirit of serving the people and country is fast fading away”! Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO power-crazy? Yes, says Pak Lah…
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Parliament, UMNO on Thursday, 26 March 2009
Is Umno power-crazy?
I had said in Parliament (video) that if Umno is not power-crazy (gila kuasa), it would not have suffered the shattering defeat in the political tsunami in the last general election of March 8, 2008.
For speaking truth to power, I was suspended from Parliament yesterday.
Now, outgoing UMNO President and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has admitted as much that Umno is power-crazy.
In fact, he even gave five illustrations of Umno being so power-crazed as to create a crisis of credibility and erosion of public trust in Umno.
According to Abdullah, the five factors resulting in Umno becoming power-crazy are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah’s warning against return of Mahathirism – Will Najib scotch talk of imminent ISA arrest of Anwar?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak on Thursday, 26 March 2009
In his farewell Umno Presidential speech today, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confirms his image as a basically decent and humble person who unfortunately could not translate his good instincts into government policy, measures and actions resulting in his being prematurely and ignominiously forced out by his own party and becoming the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the country.
Why is this so?
The fault cannot be borne by Abdullah alone, but must be on the shoulders of the rest of Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships, for failing to give Abdullah the necessary support, and in many cases, for actively sabotaging him in the past five years to frustrate Abdullah from walking the talk of long overdue national reforms.
As a result, Abdullah could not even salvage and accomplish the minimalist legacy of reform he had hoped to leave behind before stepping down as Prime Minister – when the last of the trio of his final reform legislative programme, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Bill, had to be again deferred although it was meant to be the “crown jewel” of Abdullah’s last parliamentary meeting lasting 22 days from Feb. 16 which ended yesterday.
Even the first two of the trio of his minimalist reform legislation – the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) Act and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Act – have proved to be great disappointments and letdowns, but Abdullah seemed to have abandoned whatever is left of his reformist zeal in his last three months in office. Read the rest of this entry »
Wow! MCA Minister and Deputy Minister publicly telling the “lame-duck” PM and UMNO President to buzz off!
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Education, MCA on Monday, 9 March 2009
It was only last October that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi denied that “UMNO is big bully in Barisan Nasional” when he spoke at the MCA General Assembly.
This makes it all the more unusual the spectacle of a MCA Minister and Deputy Minister publicly tell the “lameduck” Prime Minister and UMNO President to “buzz off” as evident from the following news reports:
(1) New Sunday Times (8.3.09) – “PM: Resolve language issue before it gets out of hand” –
KUALA LUMPUR: The prime minister wants the Education Ministry to decide quickly whether Science and Mathematics should continue to be taught in English.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the contentious issue should be resolved before it got out of hand.
“This issue has become bigger and more sensitive. I hope the ministry will make a decision on the matter fast.
“If not, the issue will become even bigger and the pressure from non-governmental organisations will continue,” he said after launching a fantasy novel written by 13-year-old Adam Umemoto titled Dragonfire Hammer. Read the rest of this entry »
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