Malaysia will be celebrating our 60th National Day anniversary in four months’ time.

On the 60th National Day Celebrations in 2017, Malaysians should ask why in the past few years, they feel shy when overseas to admit they are Malaysians, when they had never felt ashamed to do so for 52 years under the first five Prime Ministers?

World-wide, Malaysia is suffering the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy because of the 1MDB international money-laundering scandal, which is the subject of criminal investigations and prosecutions in over half-a-dozen countries except in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, there is a great pretence involving the Prime Minister onwards, affecting the key financial and criminal government departments and agencies, even involving Parliament, that the 1MDB international money-laundering scandal which is making international news headlines almost very other day, does not exist.

This was why yesterday I asked the Special Task Force set up by the Cabinet to investigate the Bank Negara forex losses more than a quarter of century ago whether we have to wait for more than two decades before there will be an inquiry into the international 1MDB kleptocratic scandal.

It is indeed another international scandal that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet can set up a special task force to investigate Bank Negara forex losses in early nineties, but is unprepared to establish an inquiry into the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, which is the subject of the largest kleptocracy lawsuits by the United States Department of Justice against a foreign government.

This is the reason why Malaysians are ashamed of admitting that they are Malaysians overseas, for they know they will be asked further questions about the 1MDB scandal, which they are themselves ashamed and which they could not provide any decent answers.

Najib should end his grand pretence that the 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal does not exist, and set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal – which would be greatest news to restore the pride of Malaysians as Malaysians.

The 60th National Day anniversary should be an occasion for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, to re-set nation-building directions and policies for Malaysians to compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race of nations for development and progress .

Malaysia has performed poorly in the international race in the past sixty years.

The case of South Korea should be a salutary reminder of how far we as a nation have fallen short of our expectations when we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 1957.

Sixty years ago, South Korea was very poor and backward, with a per capita GNP which is only one-third in this country. Today, South Korea is one of the richest, most developed and prosperous nations in the world.

Sixty years ago, any notion of democracy and human rights in South Korea was non-existent as it was ruled by a dictatorship. But today, the South Korean Parliament could impeach the South Korean President and eight judges of the South Korean Constitutional Court could unanimously uphold the impeachment of the South Korean President by the South Korean Parliament on charges of corruption and cronyism.

This is something which is unthinkable under the present political and justice system in Malaysia, despite the unprecedented international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia into a “global kleptocracy” overnight – unless there is a major change in the system of governance in Malaysia in the 14th General Election.

It must be matter of grave concern to all patriotic Malaysians that instead of addressing these political, economic, educational and social issues which show that Malaysia is losing out in the international race of nations in progress and development, there is instead an escalation in the politics of lies, hate and fear exploiting the primordial issues of race and religion.

All Malaysians should unite to “reset” nation-building direction and policies for Malaysia o compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race.

I call on all political parties to focus on how to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic state and getting into the trajectory of a failed and rogue state by restoring our capability to compete with the rest of the world – and to renounce the politics of lies, curses, hate and fear, whether racial or religious.

(Speech at the DAP Gelang Patah anniversary dinner in Skudai on Friday, 5th May 2017 at 10.30 pm)