A retired government servant asked me this morning whether there is hope for the future.
I replied that there would be no hope for the future if the previous UMNO/Barisan Nasional had continued to rule in Malaysia; but there is now hope with the historic decision of the 14th General Election a year ago.
But I cautioned him that it would be a herculean task to undo the corruption, abuses of power and injustices of six decades, that it would be impossible to resolve all the problems left behind by the Najib regime overnight as it is a task which will take years and even decades to complete but Malaysians must have stamina, perseverance and faith in themselves to work towards a New Malaysia.
Every day in the first week of the second year of Pakatan Harapan rule, from May 9 – 15, 2019, we have been moving strongly in the direction of a New Malaysia to restore democracy, rule of law, justice and a better life for all.
This can be seen by the following chronology:
May 9, 2019: The Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in his first anniversary speech, gave a report card of the Pakatan Rakyat Federal government in Putrajaya and a reaffirmation of Pakatan Harapan‘s commitment to the principal PH objectives to reduce the costs of living, achieve institutional reforms, engineer economic growth, restore power to Sabah and Sarawak and to build an inclusive and moderate Malaysia.
As former top civil servant Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam has written, Mahathir’s announcement of a new economic model of “Shared Prosperity” provide a radical breakthrough for fundamentally new socio-economic policies for the next 10 years or two socio-economic five-year plans until 2030 – to ensure sustainable and equitable growth at every level of society regardless of race, class, and location based on three objectives of
1. Tackling income and wealth disparity.
2. Creating a progressive economy, and
3. Emerging as a leading economy in Asia.
May 10, 2019: The announcement by the new Inspector-General of Police, Abdul Hamid Bador that the Police have consented to the formation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), after a meeting to some 20 top police officers with the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) director-general Abu Kassim Mohamed in Putrajaya.
The IPCMC will serve both “the men in blue and the man on the street.”
May 11, 2019: The landslide DAP/PH/Warisan victory in the Sandakan parliamentary by-election, with multiple importance and significance, including:
(i) A national turnaround in political stocks of Pakatan Harapan after three by-election defeats in Cameron Highlands, Semenyih and Rantau from January to April 2019;
(ii) A knock-out blow to the two myths that “UMNO is Malay, and the Malays are UMNO” and the invincibility of the shameless “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign of former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
(iii) As a “finance twitter” article aptly describes it, Shafie won the “personal war” between him and Najib in the Sandakan by-election. Bossku in Sabah is Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and not Najib.
(iv) Setback for the UMNO-PAS axis, demonstrating that PAS leadership has lost the moral high ground after associating itself with UMNO kleptocracy and the politics of lies, intolerance and extremism.
(v) Reaffirmation of the voters of Sandakan for the task of a New Malaysia, New Sabah and New Sandakan.
(vi) Need for Malaysians to redeem our international honour, prestige and dignity, for the “Apa Malu Boosku” campaign is no less a slur on our national reputation and dignity as the 1MDB scandal and the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of being condemned by the world as a global kleptocracy before Najib was thrown out of Putrajaya.
May 12, 2019: Warning by the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Jaujan Sambakong that village leaders in Sabah will be stripped of their posts if they are found to be abusing their power or condoning corrupt practices.
May 13, 2019: The statement by the Home Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that the bill for the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) will be tabled in Parliament this year.
May 14, 2019:
1. Prime Minister Mahathir’s announcement after the eighth meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption that past prime ministers and defence ministers implicated in land swap deals as revealed by the Defence Ministry report that the government suffered an estimated total loss of RM515 million due to the 16 land swap deals, will be probed as no one is above the law.
2. The Kuala Lumpur High Court today fixed 48 days, from Jan 6 next year, for the trial of former Prime Minister Najib and former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who are facing six counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM6.6 billion.
May 15, 2019: Finance Minister unveiled members of the Debt Management Office (DMO), which is intended to review the government’s debt and liabilities, including from statutory bodies and special purpose vehicles.
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, 16th May 2019)