On the second day of the wake for Kerk Kim Hock’s death, let Malaysians be part of a national campaign to “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia” in memory of Kerk Kim Hock’s life-long political struggle and sacrifices to save Malaysia from kleptoracy and kakistocracy.

In the past two years, Malaysia’s international reputation plunged to the lowest depth in the nation’s 60 year history as we are regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

The Prime Minister and the Umno/Barisan Nasiuonal government not only has no political will to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the international infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy, it seems to be doing its utmost to compromise the reputation and standing of the major institutions of the country by making them allies in the great charade to suppress all accountability about the 1MDB scandal.

The recent three-week meeting of Parliament ended yesterday, which achieved a major blot in Malaysian parliamentary history with questions by over 30 Members of Parliament on the 1MDB scandal rejected by the Speaker of the House on the most ridiculous and indefensible grounds.

As a result, those who want to reduce the Malaysian Parliament into a 1MDB Parliament seem to have succeeded, with Parliament taking part in a national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist by banning questions and debates on the 1MDB scandal in the Malaysian Parliament.

But the national and international charade orchestrated from Putrajaya requires not just Parliament, but all major national institutions to participate fully in the national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist – like reducing the Judiciary, AG’s Chambers, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara, Police, the media into 1MDB Judiciary, 1MDB AG’s Chambers, 1MDB MACC, 1MDB Bank Negara, 1MDB Police, 1MDB media etc!

Do we have enough upright, honest and God-fearing Malaysians to ensure that these who want to make Parliament, Judiciary, AG’s Chambers, MACCA, Bank Negara, Police, the media and other national institutions to participate fully in the national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist do not succeed?

Malaysia is at a critical watershed in our national development – whether we can liberate ourselves from the yoke of the 1MDB scandal and international infamy of a global kleptocracy.

Malaysian faces two dangers – becoming a kleptocracy and a kakistocracy, ie. a government run by the worst or most unscrupulous of people, who are prepared to do the worst to divert national and international attention from the 1MDB scandal.

Let us remember the pledge in the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and the Malaysia Proclamation 1963 that the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

If Malaysia is true to this pledge in the double Proclamations, Malaysia will never become a global kleptocracy, let alone a kakistocracy.

When the country achieved independent nationhood on August 31, 1957, it heralded the beginning of a new era where all its citizens could dare to dream big dreams to remake the world.

But have we been able to achieve world-class status in every field of human endeavor, whether political, economic, educational, social, environmental or on good governance after sixty years?

We have not and we seemed to have lost our way, and if we do not change course, we will be trapped in the trajectory hurtling ntowards a failed and rogue state.

On this second day in the wake of Kerk Kim Hock’s death, I call on Malaysians to take part in a national campaign of “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia” in memory of Kerk’s life-long political struggle and sacrifices – to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and kakistocracy.

Wherever we go in Malaysia today, the most frequently-heard political comment even by the most unpolitical of people is: “The country cannot go on like this without change or the future for our children and children’s children will be unthinkable.”

A “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia” national campaign is most befitting to remember the life-long political struggle and sacrifices of Kerk Kim Hock.

(Media Statement on the second day of the wake for Kerk Kim Hock in Malacca on Friday, 11th August 2017)