Yesterday, I was on a 20-hour 700-km four-state campaign trail, from Gelang Patah to Malacca, Rasa in Ulu Selangor parliamentary/Kuala Kubu Baru state assembly constituencies in Selangor, then to the three Parliamentary constituencies in Perak in Teluk Intan, Lumut and Bruas, ending in Ipoh.
Wherever I went, there were large throngs of Malaysians from all races and religions, representing the Malaysian microcosm of a plural society, united and excited by the common hope and aspiration that the country undertake the greatest political enterprise in the nation’s 56-year history – a peaceful and democratic change of the Federal Government in Putrajaya.
Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak want Malaysia to become the world’s best democracy, we still have to establish the preconditions for Malaysia to become a normal democracy before we can really aspire to be the world’s best democracy.
One of these pre-conditions of a normal democracy is the peaceful and democratic alternation of power in general elections, where voters exercise the final and undisputed right to decide whether it is the incumbent or the Opposition which should form the government of the country for the next four or five years until the next national polls! This is taken for granted in all normal democracies, whether in the West or East, whether in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the European countries or in Japan, South Korea, even in the Philippines and Indonesia but not yet in Malaysia despite 12 general elections in over five decades of parliamentary democracy.
In fact, for 56 years, Malaysia has had an abnormal democracy, with an unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority for the ruling coalition breeding an arrogant, authoritarian and opaque government in the past three decades marked by rampant corruption, cronyism, abuses of power, injustices, massive violation of human rights, the plunder of the natural resources and the despoilation of the environment in the country.
For instance, UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders like the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and the de facto Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir had been spreading the fallacy that it is not necessary to change the Federal Government to bring about changes of policy and that the Barisan Nasional government is capable of bringing about these changes.
This is of course bunkum.
Najib has been Prime Minister for full four years but his National Transformation Agenda has been a colossal failure, whether in combatting corruption; reducing crime; raise educational standards from primary, secondary to tertiary level; upgrade the Malaysian economy into a highly competitive one; promote respect for democratic and human rights; uphold the rule of law and generally ensure good governance in the country.
Although Umno/BN had been deprived of two-thirds parliamentary majority, which is a rarity in other parliamentary democracies, he has a very strong parliamentary majority of 58 parliamentary seats which many strong governments in other democracies do not have luxury.
If Najib cannot implement his Transformation Agenda with a strong 58-MP majority, there is no hope that he could ever “walk the talk” in transforming Malaysia after the 13GE.
The BN list of candidates for the 13GE should be the last straw to send UMNO/BN to the Opposition benches in Parliament, for there can be no justification or excuse to justify the selection of one of the most divisive, unprincipled and destructive voices in the country, Zulkifli Noordin as BN parliamentary candidate for Shah Alam.
The appointment of Zulkifli as BN candidate is the best proof that Najib and the BN parties are not serious about the 1Malaysia policy, for Zulkifli stands for the worst and most unprincipled opposition to 1Malaysia politics, even telling lies to incite racial hatred and conflict.
Why have the moderates in UMNO endorsed Zulkifli’s candidature? Have the MIC, MCA, Gerakan, PPP and the other BN component parties forgiven Zulkifli his insult of the Hindu religion and his lies to incite racial hatred and tensions?
Let MIC President, Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, the Gerakan President, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek, the PPP President, Datuk Seri M. Kayveas and leaders of other BN component parties declare their individual and respective stand on the Zulkifli candidature on the Barisan Nasional ticket.