With Rosmah Mansor conviction and jail sentence for corruption, a week after Federal Court’s unanimous dismissal of the former Prime Minister’s appeal on Najib’s first corruption trial, there is more light at the end of the tunnel.
There is no guarantee that the “more light at the end of the tunnel” will represent the final victory of the return of the original nation-building principles and policies as stated in the Malaysian Constitution and Rukun Negara, as there is a big battle looming ahead – the 15th General Election.
The UMNO Secretary-General Ahmad Maslan had said that Umno and BN must win big in the 15th general election so that Najib Razak’s “sacrifice” for the party will not be futile.
The Umno secretary-general wants the former prime minister’s “Bossku” spirit to be continued by BN.
There is no word of regret for the 1MDB mega scandal, no word of remorse for Malaysia’s world-wide infamy of being a kleptocracy, no word of contrition at the other 1MDB scandals like the recently-exposed RM9 billion littoral combatant ships (LCS) scandal.
The 15th General Election will be a battle between the Rule of Law versus Corruption.
Will the former win and bring “more light at the end of the tunnel”?
Maslan’s statement is virtually saying that the 15th General Election will be a battle of the Rule of Law versus Corruption.
There is no surety beforehand that Najib will be jailed or Rosmah found guilty. The fact Najib is now serving his jail sentence and Rosmah pronounced guilty of corruption marked an important milestone in a national reset to return to the original nation-building principles and policies of the country – constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, good governance, public integrity, meritocracy, respect for human rights and national unity from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity where there are no first-class and second-class citizens whether based on race, religion or region.
UMNO and BN want to turn the 15th General Election into a vote for Najib and Rosmah and against the nine judges who had unanimously adjudged Najib guilty of corruption and the High Court judge who found Rosmah also guilty of corruption on Thursday.
In the next general election, a vote for UMNO and BN will be a vote for Najib and for corruption against the Rule of Law.
Rais Hussin, the CEO of Emir Research, is right when he wrote: “The signs of UMNO trying to re-dominate the judiciary are already clear”.
To Rais Hussin, UMNO wants to “put a lease on the future attorney-general should UMNO/BN come to power”.
Former Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, former Bersih 2.0 secretariat manager Mandeep Singh and steering committee members Toh Kin Woon and Jay Jay Denis are right, when in their joint statement they said that the struggle against graft by Malaysians who took to the streets in the Bersih rallies has borne fruit in the conviction and sentencing of former premier Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor.
They thanked Malaysians for taking to the streets to protest despite the various threats and challenges lobbed against them by the then government.
In retrospect, the Bersih rallies and the “political miracle” of the 14th General Election of May 9, 2018 were just the first steps in the long struggle lasting decades and spanning several General Elections for a national reset to return to the original nation-building principles and policies embedded in the Malaysian Constitution and Rukun Negara and Malaysians must be prepared for the long haul in the battle to save Malaysia as an united, harmonious and prosperous nation and to become a world-class great nation.
(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Saturday, 3rd September 2022)
