Malaysia's Political Smorgasborg (Re-issued)

(Originally published on 15.10.2019. Re-edited and re-formatted for mistakes. Re-published due to relevance.)

Innahu sulaimana
Wainnahu bismilllahirahmanirrahim
Alla tanqlu alayya
Wa,tsuni muslimin
Jazzallah anna
Muhammadan saw
Ma huwa ah luh

In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Mr Lee Kua Yew said that he is a social Darwinist; the prerequisite of progress is change. The enabling idea may be attributable to Darwin; but the statement is not quite correct. The idea of change is more attributable to H.G.Wells' 'adapt or perish'.

People must change in order to progress; reform, revolutionise, etc. The Qur'an is more precise when God says He will not change the lot of a race provided the people first change what is inside them. This requires changes in value sets, skill sets, Weltanschauung, attitude, aptitude etc.

In 1978, people in China’s countryside were starving, eating tree bark and branches. But within one generation, China prospered tremendously and now has one of highest GDPs on the planet. This would not be possible without the changes I mentioned. 18 people changed the principles of command economics and adopted some free market economics and supported Deng Xiaoping.

It is important for our leaders to make changes and a group of people to be the change agents. So leadership is important, as well as having a group of committed people.

To be rich is glorious.

Take corruption for example; we must be indignant and be repulsed by it. Some irrational people may continue to adore "Bossku" but we must see Najib as he is -- an uncommon thief. He was the embezzler-in-chief. He stole billions through 1MDB, SRC, and maybe through Felda, Felcra, Sime Darby ad other SPEs. The government must leave no stones unturned in investigating these -- like the Malay saying, "Sampai ke lubang cacing".

Herr Najib may say he is the victim of selected persecution or political vendetta. We say to him not to erect the wet thread. Of course there is political will to act against a person like Najib. But the government must show no one can make use of public office to make private gains. So let Najib get his deserved comeuppance. His political career is closed.

There must be a sense of urgency among our leaders to prosper the country. We must not leave everything to the PM. Why is the bullet train Maglev so fast? It is because each coach has its own engine rather than being pulled by the head coach. The PM has no time to pull every other leader. Each leader must be a Thought Leader.

What must we do to prosper the country? We must prepare the required infrastructure, and then let the people take over. That is why we must educate the people. I was listening to the interview with Maria Ressa the other day and was struck be her simple statement: after graduation, she felt she can do anything. Education is empowering.

It is important to have human capital. For example, our farmers must have good farming knowledge. We need technology so our farmers can grow varied produce. We can grow different vegetables: onions,cabbages, potatoes; we can grow Yubari melons, grapes, apples etc. Farmers can experiment with new form of businesses; a group can form limited companies and invite non-agricultural ventures to invest in them.

Let us talk about the pollution in Johore. Is the state run by dullards? Why is the state dragging its feet over this issue? If not handled properly, Johore can cost the PH goverment. There's one banal teacher who said there was no association between pollution and illness of pupils; presumably there must be one death first before there will there be an association. The state government should close down errant factories immediately. We must send the message to business people that they can do businesses but do them right. Otherwise the federal government will step in.

What is this about the unholy alliance between UMNO and PAS? They are causing us death by a thousand cuts. What they are doing is institutionalising racism. One uses the fuzzy slogan of Malay nationalsm -- the Malays par excellence, Tidak Melayu hilang di dunia, Ketuanan Melayu etc. The other uses the equally vague concept of Islamology. We acknowledge their presence but are not rolling on the floor and pulling off our hairs; as Cao Cao famously said -- "When a loser combines with a coward what can they achieve?" Or as Robert Mugabe said, "If our clothes is made of cassava leaves we do not befriend a goat". Imagine if UMNO the goat were to nibble at Haji Hadi'ss clothes; our DPM and the MP from Seputeh will faint and young children will go to sleep with nightmares.

The government ought to outlaw parochial nationalism and divisive religionism.

The minister of foreign affairs must vociferously voice the plight of Muslim Uighurs in China. It is unfortunate we have heard nothing from him. Our founding father established Southeast Asia as an area of peace and neutrality, which means we do not interfere in the internal affairs of a neighbour -- but the treatment of minority Uighurs in China is a cause for concern. Over 1 million Uighurs were sent to 're-education' classes, which are actually euphemisms for ethnic cleansing and complete erasure of culture and religion. We ought to rebuke China.

Finally we come to the vexed issue of succession. It is not a given that Anwar Ibrahim is our next PM. This is not a cult culture. This is not an elected dictatorship. Dr Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim are not joined at the hip. Dr Mahathir doesn't have the constitutional capacity to name his successor. The next PM must be a leader of a party, and must command majority support of MPs in the House. If that person is Anwar Ibrahim, so be it -- then, he has my qualified support. But he needs to do at least two things: one, to refrain from orchestrating or bring involved in palace intrigues and machinations; two, never use public office to pursue private pursuits.

Only then he can be the next PM.

- Sakmongkol.