-Dr. S. Ramakrishnan, July 14, 2016.
After the huge victories in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by elections, UMNO seems to show rejuvenation in confidence. They must be relieved that the people did not reject them after the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion scandals. And they have to thank the PAS leadership for tacitly supporting UMNO when the latter is at the lowest ebb. UMNO/BN always performs well in by elections since all the resources are focused on those constituencies. With their deep pockets, their reach is far and wide. After all, no government changes after by- elections. Buoyed after the by-elections, the UMNO president and its central committee members have sacked former DPM Muhiyyudin and former Kedah Mentri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir.
The next target seems to be the Penang chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. They had arrested and charged him on very dubious charges of profiteering from public office without naming the actual crime. Now the chief minister has to prove in court that he did not profit from office. To prosecute the Penang Chief Minister under section 25 and 165, the Attorney General himself came down all the way from Kuala Lumpur. In the case of Penang, they are using a magnifying glass to find a charge but in the case of federal cabinet and UMNO members, the glaring crimes that is visible, somehow are not noticeable to the AG, MACC and Police.
The Malaysian public and international investigators trailing the US$1.051 billion into Prime Minister’s personal bank accounts believe that the money comes from state investment fund 1MDB. Yet no investigation and no officials from 1MDB has been probed. Even the Parliament Public Accounting Committee report on 1MDB is silenced by the OSA. There was RM100 over million embezzled over a 6 year period from the ministry of youth and sports. MACC had arrested one ministry official but not charged in court.
Tabung Haji(TH) has RM70 billion as contingent liabilities as per the notes of financial statement. Last year TH has to sell off lucrative assets in overseas to pay bonuses. Their reserves in balance sheet show negative figures. How did TH, an entity which has all safe investments, show such a disastrous performance? There has been no enquiry or investigation so far. Claims that funds were misused in Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (Yapeim) were not investigated at all by AG office or MACC. And the list goes on.
Despite all these scandals, UMNO seems invincible. UMNO’s racial policies have divided Malaysians deeply so much that no multiracial party can win support across the board. But its legitimacy and support seem to be chipping away even with its stranglehold on the government machinery. Having ruled uninterrupted for 59 years UMNO has taken for granted that Malays and Malaysians have no choice but to support them.
While UMNO is preoccupied handling and deflecting criticism and accusation of corruption and nepotism, fundamentalism and hardline Islamic ideology were allowed to grow and conveniently used for political expediency. The Malaysian police are busy going after opposition politicians. Already more than 200 Malaysians are believed to have joined Islamic state in Syria and Iraq. This is a worrying trend for a small country. Malaysia may appear moderate to outsiders, but the tolerance for radicalism and hardline ideology appears at odds with this perception of tolerance and moderation. ISIS has already launched its first attack on a pub in Puchong. And now there is fear that there is more to come from ISIS. The many years of politicization of Islam has silenced the moderate and intellectual Malays. Hardline Muslim clergies like the Mufti of Pahang and Perak have become vocal and articulate extremism that are inconsistent with plural societies like Malaysia.
The Government’s effort of building Muhibbah and national unity is going down the drain. Billions spent on building national unity but it’s the extremist who are trying to out Islam each other standing taller. Since ISIS is losing out in their home ground they will look for new grounds and experts feel that Bangladesh and Malaysia could be their next target.
Unlike Al Qaeda, which fought as a terrorist organization, ISIS formed a caliphate and they have to fight armies. ISIS stands no chance of fighting armies. They will have to turn terrorist or guerrilla to survive and extremist societies are easy incubators for cells. Malaysia fits this bill. Malaysia has to be serious in eradicating fundamentalism and extremism before it is too late. Using these ideologies for political purpose and survival will destroy the very fabrics, and values our forefathers cherished all these while. We cannot take peace and progress for granted. It has to be safeguarded and protected with all our might.
