Sorry off topic

Comments on Social Contract 3 by TDM appearing in CheDet.com 10/Sept 2008

///1. I am sorry to have to revert to the social contract issue again because of some disturbing development.

2. Young Malays, including professionals are said to have espoused liberalism and meritocracy. They question the need for affirmative action and the New Economic Policy. They believe that the Malays should compete with the other races. If they fail then they do not deserve the dominant role in the politics of Malaysia. They should accept non-Malay leadership of the country.///–TDM

I am proud of the Malays who think that life is individual responsibility and the agenda in life should be decided by the people themselves. The sense of pride and shame should relate to oneself. As society progress, it should be the collective efforts of people, government and the society in general to provide assistance to the needy without regard to their colour, creed or religion. That should prevent opportunities use the mechanism of divide and rule to hijack the role of government for serving their private purposes.

///3. This view of the young Malays sounds refreshing. Unfortunately these liberal Malays are in a minority. The majority of the Malay professionals and young Malays have hardened their stand on the position of their race since the disaster of 2008. They are incensed especially by the arrogance of the Bar Council. They now question the social contract and reject the need to adhere to it. This sounds almost like the Chinese stand. But the difference is startling and disturbing.///–TDM

TDM did not conduct a survey and can hardly be believed to know whether the liberals were in the majority or in the minority.. It is not known why young Malay professionals should be incensed by the Bar Council’s actions which wanted to revive the moral and legal authority of the role of the judiciary. The action of the Bar Council to organize discussion of conflicts of laws regarding religions served the need of the legal professionals. If the Malay professionals should take the action of the Bar Council as an excuse to question social contract and reject the need to adhere to it, then they are mixing irrelevant issues. That if true shows only that the professionals might be trained, but not educated. It is not true that the Chinese reject the social contract or refuse to adhere to it. To the Chinese, the social contract is represented in the original constitution of Malaya, including Article 153 which had the provision for a review. The Chinese reject the claim by UMNO that the amended constitution could be considered the original contract.

///4. They disagree with the Tunku giving the one million citizenship without regard for the conditions for getting citizenship.

5. They say before this the Malays made up the majority of the citizens. They could rule the country by themselves. But the Tunku reduced this Malay majority until they have to depend on non-Malay support. To them the humiliation they are facing are entirely due to the Tunku.

6. This act by the Tunku is part of the social contract. They reject it and they demand that the Tunku’s action should be considered to be against the constitution and should be rejected. They demand that the citizenship given by the Tunku should be withdrawn or nullified.///–TDM

TDM has not conducted a survey to ask for the opinion of the Malays how they feel on the above observations. They could not be the considered opinion of Malay professionals other than TDM himself. TDM has simply written up the above three paragraphs to claim that it was how the Malays think. It is TDM who holds those views, and TDM claims that they are the views of the Malays. His Malay readers agree to whatever he says, and soon it becomes public opinion. That is how TDM mould the opinion of Malays. When the gets a few thousands comments agreeing to whatever he writes, then he is claiming that the country is at the brink of destruction, and he has to replace PM AAB to save it. TDM is dangerous.

///7. They also question the other concessions given the non-Malay communities, especially the schools and the use of other languages.///—TDM

There are 60,000 Malays in Chinese schools, and they are happy to be given the opportunity to learn another widely used language, the Chinese, in the world. The defeated UMNO candidate in the recent Permatang Paul by-election claimed that it was his father’s greatest gift to him to be educated in Chinese school. The education issue had been settled after 51 years with Najib claiming that he cares for all communities citing education policy as his proof, TDM consider it proper to raise the settled issue to provoke Malays. TDM is willing to let the country burn so that he stands a chance to be UMNO decision maker again! Only the teaching of science and mathematics in English remains controversial with almost all teachers and parents disagreed with it. But TDM is happy watching the people suffer, rejoicing at his power of destruction to the country.

///8. In short they seem to reject the social contract altogether and to go back to the situation before the leaders of the communities made their bargain.

9. Questioned as to what would happen if the British refused to give independence, they suggested that the Malays resort to armed struggle and co-operation with a neighbouring country. They suggested that we should have formed Melayu Raya together with this neighbouring country.///–TDM

TDM has wild imagination and he attributes it to the ideas of Malay professionals. He further claims that they form the majority. If after spending a fortune of the country resources at educating them, the products should hold those views, TDM as the PM for 22 years should hang his head in shame. Certainly these are not the views of Malay professionals. Otherwise, the Malays would now want to be part of Indonesia without having to fight the British. Who then would decide the use of billions of oil money? TDM thinks that the Malays are fools, and so NEP should continue. He still hopes to see that Malays are stupid.

///10. I must admit the retrogression of their viewpoint but this is becoming more current as the debate on the social contract goes on. They are particularly incensed by the Bar Council which seems to them to be questioning Malay rights according to the agreement in the social contract.

11. So far we hear only the non-Malays rejecting the social contract. This is the first time I hear of Malays rejecting the social contract. I think the Government should handle this problem carefully. Otherwise it may become widespread and effect the fragile harmony between the different races.///–TDM

Crocodile tears from TDM.

///12. I did not like putting this on my blog. But I have no access to the Government. In any case I doubt the Government would take this twist on the Social Contract seriously. Dato Seri Abdullah would deny that anything is happening.///—TDM

I too cannot submit these as comments to CheDet.com. I did receive an email reply telling me to click on the link to comment. It never worked.

///13. Malaysia had remained stable for half a century because sensitive issues were not publicly discussed. The Government now appears to practice selective freedom of speech. As long as you don’t attack the Government especially Dato Seri Abdullah you may say what you like whether racist or seditious. But if you attack the Government or Dato Seri Abdullah every effort would be made to silence you or to keep you out of the news.///—TDM

For 22 years TDM could not mould the people to desensitize any issue between races, he has failed miserable as a PM. It is clear now that it was never his intention to barging the nation up on the social and economic ladder. He wanted the country to be stagnant so that he could be the emperor all the time, including the opportunity to pull string behind his son’s throne!

///14. The selective freedom is stirring up racist feelings everywhere. Hence the remarks made by the State Assemblywoman from Perak and Dato Ahmad Ismail in Penang. And now we see the support given to Ahmad and his condemnation of MCA and Gerakan leaders by all the 13 UMNO divisions in Penang.///–TDM

The antics had stayed this long with Ahmad Ismail refusing to apologize and end it earlier because TDM provided support to him in CheDet.com

///15. I believe racist sentiments among Malays and non-Malays are rising. If it flares up the stability of this country may be affected permanently. We may see political wrangling of the kind we see in several other countries. In the process the economy of this country would be destroyed.

16. This slide must be stopped. No one should disregard the obligation to uphold the social contract.

17. That understanding between the leaders of the three races had served us well. So has the ban on questioning certain provisions in the Constitution.///–TDM

People who read only these three paragraph would have thought that he is a statesman. Is he?

///18. I had tried during my time to balance the treatment of the different races. I had been labeled a racist before. But towards the end of my tenure the Chinese in particular supported me. But throughout I never forgot my obligations to the Malays.///—TDM

It is race politics that require balancing all the time where might is right. If TDM has allowed justice and fairness to prevail, all issues will be decided as right or wrong, and not Syed or Wong. But to retain NEP, race politics has to be preserved. NEP is required so that cronyism will stay.

///19. Dato Seri Abdullah has tried to placate everyone. He has given one billion Ringgit here, one billion Ringgit thereinggit there; he has given unknown sums of money to Tun Salleh Abbas and the other judges who had been dismissed in order to placate the Bar Council, he has promised billions of Ringgit for numerous corridors, billions for transport, lower oil prices etc etc. But no one believes him because the promises and fund allocations have not materialised. The fact is that nobody believes him or trusts him. No one has been placated.

20. The racialist trend will continue. I frankly don’t think Dato Seri Abdullah can handle it.

21. What is the solution? Right thinking people must make their rejection of Dato Seri Abdullah’s leadership heard. If we don’t then whatever racial harmony that exist would be eroded and will destroy this beloved country.///—TDM

He might have another paragraph, to claim that only TDM is the saviour of the race and religion, and may be the country so that non-Malays can pay taxes. He takes it as self explanatory and thus has not included it.

///Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was surprised over Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s call for him to reconsider the 2020 transition plan, saying this has been agreed upon by Cabinet and Umno.///—The Star

PM AAB said he was surprised, and that implied that he was alert. When PM AAB said that the transition plan was agreed by Cabinet, did he mean that it was a unanimous decision. Can cabinet decide by majority vote? The same applies to UMNO supreme council decision making.

The transition plan is UMNO matter, and the transition plan was clearly a political party issue. The Cabinet might be a venue for discussing party issue if all members belong to the same political party, UMNO. Were non-UMNO members transparent in the Cabinet in the sense that they could be seen through, and do no appear to exist when Cabinet decisions were taken. This might explain why the presence of non-UMNO members in the Cabinet had no consequence on decisions taken in the Cabinet.

As AAB had been so used to treat Cabinet as UMNO meeting, he announced that the Cabinet asked Ahmad Ismail to apologize. If Ahmad Ismail had violated any law, he should be dealt with according to the law. The Cabinet cannot decide that a person is pardoned if he had violated the law of the land. The accused had to be charged in court, and only the court could decide whether the person was guilty, and the punishment that follows. Only a pardon board can decide on recommending for appeal, and the right authority will dispense with the pardon. The Cabinet decides all government policies, but it cannot implement them as though it is an absolute monarchy. So the Cabinet was wrong in law to direct Ahmad Ismail to apologize, and it was wrong in law in not accepting the apology of Wee Meng Chee.

PM AAB was not surprised that Muhyiddin invited TDM to return to UMNO. What is surprising is that AAB consider TDM’s application to join, or rejoin UMNO a UMNO issue, when the UMNO supreme council decided to welcome TDM to return at the time TDM resigned and declared that he would only return when AAB is no longer the President of UMNO. I suppose AAB has to be cautious of TDM’s reentry since if AAB says that he welcomes TDM’s reentry, UMNO’s lawyers might say that it is equivalent to AAB taking action to facilitate TDM’s entry into UMNO through agreeing to TDM’s condition that AAB resigned as UMNO President. Yes, a UMNO lawyer is the second highest in command in the Judiciary, but can AAB be sure that the judge will be on his side in view of AAB precarious hold to his chair?

AAB will now have to explain why the Supreme Council decision should not be binding. We will be happy to see AAB prevent TDM’s return. TDM will be worse for the country if he is in UMNO than outside. In fact the country would have been blessed if TDM’s father had not migrated to Malaya. Unfortunately there is no time machine to effect that change.

UMNO should have sacked TDM at the time when he announced his resignation, but did not have the political will to do so. It was a torn that removed itself from the flesh. UMNO supreme council was happy that the problem resolved itself, and would have hoped that his son would follow suit. But the son was a fence sitter, and now the father is returning to help him achieve his ambitions, or more accurately the family’s longer term hold on the future of the country. The persons who now voice their welcome of TDM might be hedging their bet, and showing the opportunistic character since they are convinced that the 916 change is fast approaching and AAB will soon be consigned to history. They forgot that their support for TDM will haunt them for years to come.

If AAB caved in to allow TDM to return, then all those UMNO power-has-been who are crying for AAB’s departure will be emboldened. They can always depend on TDM’s support to be readmitted should they be sacked. In a way the three-year suspension of Ahmad Ismail might be more effective them having him sacked from the party. He could return on TDM’s tailcoat long before his 3-year term is up. But then TDM is 83, and had the history of staying in hospital three times last year. How many times he is going in this year is anybody’s guess.

AAB has the legitimate reason to say that the supreme council’s decision to welcome TDM’s reentry was only valid at that time, and would continue so if TDM had stopped undermining UMNO. TDM will have to reapply for admission which will have to be decided by the party, and the Supreme Council which has the final authority. But has AAB the number to ensure that TDM does not submit his application? Is Muhyiddin confident that he would command the require number? If he had, he might have been able to gain his position as a Deputy PM without having to team up with Tengku Razaleigh to fight the unknown battle. Kuli has everything to gain but Muhyiddin has his MITI post to lose.

PM AAB should have aimed high to be the PM who brought change to Malaysia for the better. But he was not that ambitious and limited his sight on his family and his son-in-law. It is a wasted opportunity for himself, and the people who love Malaysia. We cannot say this of TDM who ( as devils’ advocate) suggested that Malay professional preferred joining force with a neighboring country to fight the British rather than going through the route Tunku took, with the social contract. That would mean that Malaysia would be part of another country. It is like surrendering our homeland without a fight. Why do we bother with our defense spending if that could be acceptable?

In this 21st century when countries which believed and had history of acting on racial superiority are rejecting the old habits of suppression based on race, we still have people championing inequality based on religion as surrogate for race. He who holds this racist view should be condemned. He who manipulated racial politics for individual benefits should just enjoyed their ill gotten gain, and migrates elsewhere so that others would not suffer their bad influence. Only Anwar as PM would achieve that. May be it would be better for AAB to invite Anwar as President of UMNO.