by Tota
ALIRAN

Najib’s ‘janji ditepati’ is a big lie: it has fallen flat like capati, writes Tota.

Najib and the other BN leaders have been going round the country crowing about the so-called ‘janji ditepati’.

This BN slogan is a great lie, confirming that we have a BN government that has inexplicably survived through misinformation, outright lies and shameless deceit. This has been made possible by the BN-owned newspapers like Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, NST, The Star and the vernacular papers which spin pro-BN stories on a daily basis. The government-controlled RTM is nothing but a tool for BN religious and political propaganda.

If one examines BN’s track record over their long spell of 56 years as the government, it will be obvious the track is littered with a long catalogue of broken promises. Below is an analysis of the broken promises by the Alliance/BN government.

The Founding Fathers delivered a secular democratic constitution which is deranged and destroyed by half-past-six prime minister. The most sacrosanct provisions regarding human rights and civil liberties were trampled upon. Janji ditepikan.

The often-quoted Rule of Law was put to death. The ex-half-past-six PM armed himself with draconian laws like the ISA, the OSA, the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Universities and University Colleges Act. ‘Rule by law’ was implemented. The country was turned into a dictatorship. Janji ditepikan.

The destruction of independent institutions – the civil service, the police, the judiciary, the EC, the ROS and the MACC – which were shamelessly turned into BN tools. Janji ditepikan.

The promise of free and fair elections died when the EC’s independence was taken away. When it came under Executive control, manipulation of the electoral systems resulted. Gerrymandering destroyed the ‘one person, one vote’ concept. The electoral roll was allegedly padded with phantom voters, immigrants and Rela members to give BN an unfair and indecent advantage. The urban population has been marginalised, and in fact it is the rural people who are electing the government. Janji ditepikan.

The NEP was meant to help the poor Malays but it was hijacked by the Umnoputras who shamelessly enriched themselves and amassed great wealth which they have allegedly laundered overseas. This has created the greatest income differential in the Malay community among all ethnic groups in Asia. Janji ditepikan.

The Founding Fathers promised freedom of the press and their successors promised a free electronic media. The BN-owned print media and the government controlled electronic media are a total disgrace. What they have served the rakyat since nomination day is both disgusting and revolting. Janji ditepikan.

The Founding Fathers envisaged national unity as a priority to build a prosperous and progressive society after the divide-and-rule policy of the colonialists. The BN has divided the people through thoughtless ethnic politics. As if the classification of people into Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Dayak, etc were not enough, they have divided Malay society into Malays and Umnoputras, who have enriched themselves at the expense of the ordinary Malays. Janji ditepikan.

The promise of free enterprise and a fair economic system has been destroyed. The Umnoputra evil geniuses have cleverly devised policies – privatisation of public entities, GLCs, APs, taxi licences, toll concessions, negotiated tenders, etc etc – to enrich themselves and amass great wealth, much of which is either invested overseas or kept in secret bank accounts. These political scoundrels are the cause of the massive capital flight out of the country. Janji ditepikan.

The Reid Commission promised a federalist system of government with defined state rights and federal control. Through more than 60 constitutional amendments, the state rights were removed and everything is controlled by the federal government. This has resulted in despicable discrimination experienced by the Pakatan Rakyat governed states. For example, the Penang state government has no control of Penang Bridge and Penang Port. Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak are denied a fair share of oil revenue. Janji ditepikan.

The promise of a corruption-free society is a joke. The toothless MACC is beholden to the Executive and the AG. Deepak’s and Bala’s documented corruption allegations against Najib and the revelation of Taib family’s corruption by Global Witness have not resurrected the dead MACC. Janji ditepikan.

The Alliance government continued the practice of local council elections to encourage participatory democracy. But local council elections were suspended during the Confrontation with the promise of lifting the suspension after the Confrontation ended. Now the BN government has permanently killed this important feature of a participatory democracy. Janji ditepikan.

The checks-and-balances promised to check government abuse of power have been removed. The distinction between public and private has disappeared. Look at how the BN government uses the civil service, the police, government transport vehicles, boats, helicopters, planes, etc for BN election campaign purposes. Janji ditepikan.

With widespread Islamisation, the secular nature of the Constitution has been severely eroded. The establishment of Syariah Courts is evidence of this. Civil court judges behave unjustly when they ask a non-Muslim spouse to seek justice at the Syariah Courts in conversion cases. The Islamo-fascists who populate every layer of the public sector do much damage to the secular nature of the Constitution. Janji ditepikan.

The promise to maintain interfaith harmony has not been kept. The BN government’s refusal to establish an Interfaith Commission speaks louder than words about the BN government’s hypocrisy. Janji ditepikan.

The BN government’s refusal to legislate a Race Relations Act reveals their Ketuanan Melayu, Malay hegemony and Malay superiority. Another promise to maintain good race relations broken. Janji ditepikan.

Sabah’s 20-Point Agreement when they helped to form Malaysia is almost totally broken. This is a serious breach of promise. Janji ditepikan.

The clauses in Sarawak’s 18-Point Agreement have been shredded. The BN government is more interested in exploiting the natural resources and supporting a corrupt state government. Janji ditepikan.

So Najib, your ‘janji ditepati’ is a big lie. As someone has said your ‘janji ditepati’ has fallen flat like capati.