Copyright Notice

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, at the address below.

Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Tuesday 29 January 2013

The Prince and the DAP



I was in Seremban yesterday (on Thaipusam day) visiting a friend. On the fence bordering the field in front of King George V School, there was a banner showing the picture of Tunku Abdul Aziz. Tunku Aziz is a former vice president of DAP. The banner declared that Tunku Aziz will be a speaker on current political issues. As I was driving past, I could not tell whether there were other speakers. Tunku Aziz’s face was featured prominently on the banner.
I asked my friend, what was the occasion that required the presence of this former VP of DAP, whom the party held in great esteem. Tunku Aziz has since carved a name as a critic- at- large on DAP. DAP hasn’t spoken ill of Tunku Aziz even though they have parted company. As for Tunku Aziz, he has been a much sought after commentator on DAP politics especially by members of the MSM. He is free to do as he pleases.
I was told Tunku Aziz told his audience of around 100 people of efforts by the DAP to court a son of the ruler of Negri Sembilan into the world of politics. To be more specific, courting the prince to join DAP.
The son of the ruler in question is Tunku Zain al Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz. He is as we know the person behind IDEAS- an NGO committed to the propagation of good thinking and civilized debates on a wide ranging of topics. He also writes a column on Fridays in a leading newspaper. He is a graduate of LSE and has worked, I am told at the House of Commons. Politics is therefore not entirely a field in which he has no knowledge.
If one has met him, one will be impressed at the prince’s knowledge and intelligence. He articulates effortlessly on a number of issues and I can assure you, he can hold his own in any debates and discussions. In short, in contrast to how I classify some people, this prince can walk and chew gum at the same time.
The prince has admitted there were indeed meetings between him and representatives of the DAP. The first meeting I am told, was arranged by Tunku Aziz himself. Tunku Aziz actually proposed to have the meeting at his house over a meal but the meeting was finally held at a clubhouse.
Tunku Aziz can’t pretend not to know the intention of the meeting. If he did indeed have actual knowledge or had imputed knowledge given the person of his intelligence, then he can be said to acknowledge the credibility and potential of such a meeting.  Otherwise, he would not have gone along with the idea and was indeed instrumental in arranging the meeting.
Yet in his talk on current politics, Tunku Aziz chose to reveal the substance of the meeting. That he has chosen to reveal the private nature of the meeting or meetings, such action on his part can only reflect the vengeful action of Tunku Aziz. Or even reflect the ratting nature of the man. But we are not here to discuss the finer qualities of Tunku Aziz.
What is the issue really? The DAP is a legitimate political party long maligned as being anti-Malay and anti-Monarchy. Now if DAP has approached a prince of a ruling house, that can only show that DAP has come to terms with the political, social and cultural realities of Malaysia. The presence of Malay rulers and of their existence and influence has to be factored in. if DAP leaders have approached and made overtures to Tunku Zain Abidin, I say, this is a strategic move.
That aside, Tunku Aziz’s objection to DAP meeting up with Tunku Zain seems to convey the message that only certain political parties or persons from particular political parties are qualified to meet up with any member of the Royal Families. DAP leaders and members are also loyal subjects of the Malay rulers. The rulers are sovereign over all Malaysians and not only rulers of particular groups. Raja2 Melayu means the rulers are Malays, but rule over subjects composed of various races. DAP has as much right as with any other parties to engage with members of the Ruling Houses.
Why should we question the freedom of DAP and the prince in question to meet up? I am sure the prince and the DAP were not conspiring to do ill on this country.
What if the prince has actually agreed to whatever DAP proposed to him? Why should we even question his freedom to exercise a personal choice? If he had done so, why should his choice be abused while we applauded when other members have chosen to join other political parties? Why should his choice if he had done so, be judged negatively and wrong, while the choice of other royal members were held as right?
And I see the prince has come out with a preliminary explanation of his actions. Actually he should not even be called to explain his actions as it is entirely within his rights and personal freedom to make a choice.  
So to Tunku Aziz and his supporters, let no one be sanctimonious when it comes to Tunku  Zain al Abidin while we supported and regarded it as proper when others before Tunku Zain have entered politics. Tunku Zain has listed down a list of members of the Royal Houses that have gone into politics and left indelible marks in the history of Malaysian politics.
Or do we find it objectionable that a member of the Royal House should even fraternize with opposition political parties such as the DAP?  The DAP has not committed any wrong in meeting up with Tunku Zain.
UMNO does not own the Malay rulers.





21 comments:

Anonymous,  29 January 2013 at 19:11  

DAto',
I think what you meant is Taipusam...

Pok Li,  29 January 2013 at 19:22  

Tunku Aziz had once mentioned that among his tasks in the DAP was to woo as many Malay intellectuals as possible to join the party. He however admitted that he had failed to deliver. I suppose Tunku Aziz's disclosure of the meeting with this prince from NS only confirms his own admission of his failure. Going around telling people of his objection to the meeting is just an attempt to cover his failure.

Tunku Aziz, you are a failure.

Daulat Tuanku,  29 January 2013 at 21:25  

Tunku Aziz had forgotten that all citizen are subjects of the Rulers regardless of race or religion. Please Tunku Aziz don't loose your direction and bearing on the high aspiration of the rakyat towards our beloved Rulers. It is people like you and UMNO bigots trying to cause a "split" among the people by claiming only one race has the right to meeting royalties. Shame on you!

Jamal Majid,  29 January 2013 at 21:30  

After leaving DAP and becoming a prolific critic of his former party, Tunku Aziz was recently rewarded by being appointed to MACC's advisory board.

The more he criticize DAP and PR, the more rewards will be bestowed on this eminent person. That is the trademark of a carma personality.

LMa,  29 January 2013 at 22:15  

Don't take issue with T.Aziz's revelation of Anthony Loke and the Prince's meeting.

After all, Tunku Aziz is just doing his new chores of pleasing his new Boss or Bosses in Umno. He has to earn his keep. Today Macc advisory panel member..tomorrow who knows he will be appointed as Senator again depending the amount of dirt he can spill on the Dap.

But honestly, he is becoming irrelevant in today's political landscape. He is in the same position as Chandra. They have to spew much more nonsense to be in the good book of Umno.

OneMalaysian,  29 January 2013 at 22:45  

Dear Sakmongkol

“Why should we question the freedom of DAP and the prince in question to meet up?”

The prince had today issued a short press statement in which he chided Tunku Aziz for revealing what had been private conversations. This shows the true character of Tunku Aziz, which you have quite aptly described as “vengeful” and with a “ratting nature”. He is a man one should never cross, as the DAP had done by not renewing his senatorship, for he will never forget or forgive. He is now going to the ends of the world to discredit the DAP. The DAP, on the other hand, has refrained from attacking him; Tunku Aziz isn’t worthy of such action.

If Tunku Aziz fancies himself as some kind of politician as UMNO is now making him out to be, the best way to test his political mettle and popularity is to “turun padang” in GE13. Let’s see how he makes out in the real world of politics.

You are entirely right that the NS prince could talk to any party, DAP or UMNO. That is his choice, and he said so himself, that other parties have also courted him. That the DAP is doing this shows that the DAP is serious in trying to recruit good Malays to strength its membership. If UMNO says that Malays should stay away from the DAP because it is a Chinese party, there is a neat solution. The DAP has only some 250,000 members, perhaps 80% Chinese, so if 250,000 Malays join it (no reason why not because DAP is constitutionally multi-racial) then it would cease to be Chinese-based, but would instantly be transformed into a Malay-majority party. We hope of course these 250,000 Malays are not the corrupt UMNO clones.

Anonymous,  29 January 2013 at 23:28  

The more Tunku Aziz speaks of his time in DAP, the more he paints himself as one without class.

The more DAP refrains from retaliating, the more it paints itself to be made of classier stuff.

But, the crude side of me wants to know why the Tunku really resigned. I think the truth will besmirch his character beyond repair. I suspect the Tunku would think it better to go on the offensive first to cut DAP off from doing so.

Just my twenty sen.

monsterball 30 January 2013 at 00:44  

Tunku Aziz is a shameless pierce of shit. Everyone knows..this ex judge...can be bought to dance to any tune.
I was in Melaka today...and Umno b has already started to put out BN banners...and many red colour banners...to mix up with NY red banners....all over the city.
Remember....Melaka CM..Rustam is the first person...saying.. Umno b will rule forever.
Mixing with the crowds......you can feel Malaccans are ready for change.

bruno,  30 January 2013 at 00:45  

To make a long story short,Tunku Aziz is behaving like a lady scorned.And everybody knows that what a lady scorned can do.A lady scorned can be very dangerous lady and will surprised everyone,what she can and will do what any normal loving lady will not do.

bumi-non-malay 30 January 2013 at 04:28  

I feel sad for him.....Tunku...nothing to hate about him. I just don't get his grief??

I can easily say I hate everything of Tun Dr. Munafiq/Bapa Kemerosotan Malaysia and UMNO-BN.... Barisan Natang!! Ini Kali Lah - ABCD

Anonymous,  30 January 2013 at 10:03  

Tunku Aziz is a scumbag. A despicable old man who is vindictive and revengeful.
He can stoop very low to please UMNO. Recently he even questioned Zahril Khir Johari's ancestry.
He seems to be going senile too.

tokio_rain,  30 January 2013 at 10:49  

Sigh. What a mean-sprited little old man. Reminds me of another old coot. Check this out.

http://ktemoc.blogspot.com/2012/03/lessons-of-history.html

Hehehe.

Anonymous,  30 January 2013 at 12:12  

TAA has demonstrated, through his own actions, that he is a symbol of failure, shame and embarrassment. The more he opens his mouth, stupidity, would also be added to this list.

Anak Seremban,  30 January 2013 at 12:34  

Dear Dato' Sak,
Very accommodating of you to a request by one reader to have a Malay translation of your postings. Thank you. This augurs well for a larger group of your readers and followers although it involves a bit of extra work. At least you are willing to take that extra mile for malay readers and commentators. Syabas!
As regards to Tunku Aziz, I feel sorry for him. Supposely to be on the right track coming to his 'finishing line' he fumbled by being a traitor to his own conviction for reasons best known to him. At least he should refrain from being vengeful and to spite DAP for such lame reason in a friendly cordial meeting with the Prince of NS. To everyone there is nothing sinister in such a meeting. So why make a fuss and a political issue out of it? Perhaps due to old age he is going the way of Mamakkutty but still well below the mark.

Anonymous,  30 January 2013 at 14:26  

Tunku is a disgraced to himself and his family

Nevertheless, it's good to know those froggy characteristic early than later.

anymore froggy, plse leap

Anonymous,  30 January 2013 at 15:59  

Funny isn't it? Tunku Aziz himself can joined DAP but other royal members cannot? I say the guy is a fraud. Being vengeful at his age cannot be good for his health. If I were him, I'll retire gracefully instead of being seen as an Umno rabid dog. Gentleman eh?

Anonymous,  30 January 2013 at 20:24  

Elegant silence when used in the right situation at the right time and when dealing with the right people can be more powerful that a million words.

In this case, DAP's elegant silence is a deafening testimony of the party's maturity. It denotes respect for a former senior member of the party, notwithstanding the split.

In the case of Najib vis-a-vis the 'holy word' issue, it is a deafening testimony of cowardice of a leader.

This high profile contrasting situation sure is a good intellectual discussion topic for our university students ... if only they are not asked to listen, listen and listen.

Sumpitan Emas,  31 January 2013 at 00:29  

1/2
Dato' I have given up trying to figure out who and what kind of man Tunku Aziz really is. This piece, given below, was published in Malaysian Insider in 2011, was sent by a friend recently. With Tunku Zain coming out openly to express his disappointment, I am forced to ask myself,"Is Tunku Aziz relevant anymore in national politics?" For him the issue is no more about fighting corruption but the 'complex multi-racial' nature of national politics ; he now even thinks MCA is better at building a cohesive multi-racial Malaysia than the DAP. He has forgotten that he has at least on one occasion lambasted one time MCA President Ong Kah Ting for making a not too subtle racist statement against PDRM. The article is:

Now Every Crook Can Fight Corruption

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/now-every-crook-can-fight-corruption/

APRIL 1 — In late 2006 as I was completing my term of office as a Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in New York, I received an unexpected invitation to deliver a speech at an anti-corruption conference in Jerusalem, Israel. It was an important gathering of academics, senior government officials and NGO luminaries.
The president of Israel, Moshe Katsav, the guest of honour, made a stirring speech about the evils of corruption, enjoining us all to fight it in our society.
Even as he was extolling the virtues of integrity in personal and public life, the police were crawling all over the presidential mansion rummaging through documents as part of an investigation into multiple allegations of rape and sexual harassment by several members of his female staff, over an extended period of time going back to when he was the tourism minister. He was finally sentenced to seven years in prison last week by a Tel Aviv District Court.
I mention all this for two reasons. The first is that I have never known any president, prime minister, chief minister or even a garden variety politician, however corrupt he is known to be, opposing measures to fight corruption. Many are so sincere and convincing that you think a new corruption-free dawn is about to break.
In our case, we have political leaders swearing blind that corruption is evil. They, by any standard, even if you want to be charitable, cannot in all honesty be described as morally upright where corruption is concerned.
The same applies to corrupt civil servants: They would dearly love you to believe that they are all valiant corruption fighters.
So, it seems logical to ask why do we rate so poorly in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, year in and year out?
Corruption is not just about money changing hands. That is common bribery. Corruption is about abusing entrusted power for private gain.

Sumpitan Emas,  31 January 2013 at 00:30  

2/2
The latest to join the serried ranks of the country’s star-studded corruption fighters’ gallery is Daim Zainuddin, who, in my humble view, is the last person to lecture us about probity and rectitude.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, with his oversized baggage of religious credentials and other feel-good paraphernalia, had me fooled completely and the experience was all the more unpalatably galling because I genuinely like him as a person.
Whether he likes me or not, I dare not say. His intentions were I am sure very good, but then as we all know, the road to hell and moral damnation is paved with good intentions.
One lesson we should never ever forget is that politicians as a breed are pathological liars. There are naturally one or two who are reliable and decent.
But seriously, you would probably be better off trusting a cat with a plate of fried fish. Opposition politicians are no exception to this universal truth. So keep an eagle eye on them too, including me, just to be on the safe side.
They cannot abuse power because for now they have no power to abuse. Many will find the temptation irresistible. Name me one honest politician; I will name you 10 wayward Yang Berhormat, together with a clutch of even more crooked Yang Amat Berhormat.
Now, as for the second reason: My highlighting of the sentencing of Moshe Katsav of Israel is to draw comparison between the justice system of Israel and our own Mahathir-defaced system.
I cannot, figuratively speaking, for the life of me ever hope to see, not in a million years, a similar demonstration of the application one law for all enacted in our Palace of Justice. While we are not yet a failed state, our judiciary has, by general acclaim, failed to justify its existence.
What a stark contrast between a working democracy that is Israel and a thoroughly corrupt country that is Malaysia today.
Najib Razak’s tantalising array of transformation plans are doomed to failure if he continues to show arrogance and disdain for public opinion by putting disreputable, unsavoury and corruption-tainted Umno politicians to head Felda, Felcra and other institutional milch cows.
Let me remind Najib, the self-proclaimed listening ear of the people’s needs, that in the ultimate analysis, actions speak louder than words.
Malaysia cannot achieve wholesome, ethical developed nation status by 2020 or 2099 if Barisan Nasional politics remains stuck in the same groove of careless indifference to basic values and value systems that Malaysia desperate lacks and needs.
Knuckle down to basics and the rest will fall in place. At present the transformation plans sound like so much noise and nothing more because it is inconceivable that they will ever be carried out in a prudent and accountable and sustainable way for the benefit of the long-suffering people of Malaysia.
Discerning Malaysians are not blind to the fact that all the public money being so generously doled out on a daily basis in Sarawak and Selangor is nothing less than advance vote buying.
Money cannot buy the nation’s burning desire for change and change there will be. Try another tack, and save the country from bankruptcy.
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
Tunku Aziz, one of the prime movers in setting up Transparency International Malaysia, in happier times was regarded by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as "one man (who) was able to harness his personal passion and deep commitment to the values of ethics and integrity, give it a larger purpose and meaning, and turn it into a force to transform society for the better." Why then was he left out of the MACC Advisory Group? He is regarded as being too outspoken for comfort and, therefore, difficult to handle.

Sumpitan Emas,  31 January 2013 at 09:42  

Dato' allow me to follow through what I wrote earlier, but first a slight correction: it was not the PDRM that was alluded to but the justice system in the country. Here is the part from New Sunday Times 4 May 2008 under 'Unparliamentary behaviour of the worst kind'.

'Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting is concerned that because of the preponderance of Malays, and those who claim they are Malays, in the judicial service, there is the perception according to him that "our judges will not be able to adjudicate fairly and impartially on sensitive issues, particularly relating to religion if a person's faith becomes an issue before a panel of judges whose religious faith and belief may differ from his or hers".

Based on these sentiments, does it not worry the good datuk seri that it is the Malay-dominated police and the armed forces that are providing the security and protecting Chinese lives and property?

Perhaps to overcome the problem, we should introduce national service, not the Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye fun-and-games camp variety, to redress the situation. I cannot tell you how much I really detest anyone playing the race card to justify an argument.'

I am in full agreement with this - MCA has always played the race and religion card when the occasion demands it to hide its subservience to UMNO. But this time it was doubly vicious because OKT was just too crude and too condescending, and I feel vicariously humiliated to be told so frankly by someone of Tunku's stature and reputation. That's the man Tunku was in 2008.

How things, events and men have changed.

Do note, however, this part from 2/2:
"One lesson we should never ever forget is that politicians as a breed are pathological liars. There are naturally one or two who are reliable and decent.
But seriously, you would probably be better off trusting a cat with a plate of fried fish. Opposition politicians are no exception to this universal truth. So keep an eagle eye on them too, including me, just to be on the safe side.'

Anonymous,  1 February 2013 at 08:25  

Like all gomen agents/BN trojans before him - great pretenders..

Lee Lam T
Chandra
Zainal R
Nasa

Money talks

  © Blogger templates Newspaper III by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP