We are saddled with incompetent Malays manning our Cabinet and controlling the rakyat’s money, and this begs the question: “Where have all the smart, decent and responsible Malays gone?”
Is it politics they shun, or is it the Malaysian-style politics which they reject? Should we be content with mediocre Malay candidates to shape our policies and protect the nation? Of course not!
In any given situation, it should be the most able man or woman who should be given the responsibility of leading Malaysia.
Malaysia needs a true leader, not a wannabe leader whose claim to the highest post in the land is that he has the right skin colour, he wears a songkok, he goes to the mosque, he bows to the sultan and he speaks Malay.
Some years ago, a fire broke out in the laboratory of a multinational corporation in Malaysia. When the alarm went off, the most senior person in the laboratory, a bumi, rushed out after grabbing his briefcase.
He went straight home. He was not concerned about the welfare of the workers in the building. The junior members of the laboratory and the cleaners were responsible enough to ensure that all their colleagues had been evacuated safely.
This burning laboratory is an analogy for Malaysia today. The bumi was presumably chosen as a leader because of his ethnicity. At the first hint of trouble his only concern was for himself and his possessions. He had no leadership qualities.
It would not be true to say that all bumis would have acted in this cowardly manner. The story is just to demonstrate that people should be chosen on their abilities. Not their ethnicity.
We have seen from the investigations into the disappearance of flight MH370 that any intruder could come into the country undetected. The RMAF have not explained yet how they saw the radar blips as “non-hostile”.
We have seen that our borders are porous, especially in Sabah, where hundreds of thousands of illegals enter unchallenged. Despite promises from our leaders, tourists are kidnapped with alarming regularity.
You may think that the security situation in the country is the worst of our problems. No, it is not!
Our worst problem, in Malaysia, is the attitude of the rakyat. When Hishammuddin Hussein, the Acting Transport Minister, flew to Australia in economy class, some members of the rakyat said he was so “humble” and therefore deserved to be the next prime minister.
Is our intellect so low that Hishammuddin is “prime minister material” just because he flew in economy class? What if this was a publicity stunt? Was this economy travel a one-off?
For many years the Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng has flown economy on AirAsia. Does he qualify to be Malaysia’s prime minister by this “economy class” criterion?
Are they free of sin?
Hishammuddin was praised for his relative eloquence and ability to respond favourably to foreign newsmen at the various press conferences held to release information about the disappearance of MH370.
After hearing leaders like the MAS CEO, the DCA chief, the IGP and the head of the armed forces stutter and mumble, Hishammuddin’s mastery of English, gained during his English education, would naturally sound mellifluous.
Hishammuddin was able to “answer” the questions of foreign reporters at the MH370 press briefings but why did he refuse to answer questions posed by local journalists about the cost of the rail link between KLIA and KLIA2?
On April 30, when Hishammuddin was at the Express Rail Link (ERL) station at KLIA2, the press asked him why the rakyat would have to pay RM2 to use the rail link between KLIA and KLIA2.
Around RM100 million of the taxpayers’ money has been spent to connect the two terminals. This is just charging the rakyat to use a railway that they have paid for with their own money.
The Acting Transport minister’s response was an abrupt, “Because it is public transport… I’m not going to argue with you.”
He would not have dared to be so coarse with the foreign newsmen because he knew that he would have shamed himself and his country. Hishammuddin reverted to his old Umno Baru arrogant self with the local journalists because he knew that the foreign newsmen had returned home.
The rakyat cannot be sure that the project was awarded in a transparent manner. Did a crony “win” the tender? Why should the rakyat have to pay to use the railway link as their money, the taxpayers’ money, was used to fund the project? Umno Baru seems to be demanding to have its cake and eat it!
Malaysia is in bad shape because of us the rakyat. The poor choice of men in our cabinet is because we the rakyat allowed our leaders to do as they pleased. We kept voting them in and even after we found that they had cheated, we did nothing about sacking them.
Ministers travel economy and we think they are worthy of being PM. The knowingly corrupt ones tell reporters that they have gone for many umrahs (mini pilgrimages), and the Malays among us, feel that they must be pious and therefore, not corrupt. Visiting the holy land umpteen times does not mean they are free of sin.
If you put the two cousins side by side you may logically conclude that Hishammuddin is preferable to his cousin Najib Tun Razak; but are the cousins staging a double-act to protect each other?
If Hishammuddin wants to prove himself he could investigate corruption and deaths in police custody, and as Transport Minister, explain the eight train derailments which have happened in the past year.
He could push through the proposals which various committees have urged to be implemented after many fatal bus crashes.
Talent Corp has difficulty enticing Malaysians to return home and serve their country. Many Malays who work and live abroad and the numbers of Malays who are making plans to emigrate, are rising. Who do you blame?
No comments:
Post a Comment