Letter to Editor
I FEEL compelled to respond to Federal Territories’ Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief Mahathir Mohd Rais’ letter to the editor which accused the present government of going on a witch hunt.
A newbie himself, he appears to be totally out of sync with what his voters have wanted to see: corruption being dealt with severely.
Business people, especially those who are not well connected, find it difficult to pitch for government jobs without paying a bribe, especially when the projects are given to people within a certain circle.
In fact, those against corruption are in the majority. Therefore, how can Mahathir claim that “many” are against the witch hunt that he accused the unity government of doing?
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has shown his resolve to deal with corruption, and in no uncertain terms, he said, “Investigate, including those in PKR.”
Party members not spared
No other prime minister has done this before. Anwar has instructed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate all cases, including those of his own PKR members. This was said in the presence of his own party members in parliament just this week as a warning against PKR politicians who may be tempted to enrich themselves while they are in power.
This, my dear Mahathir, has been well received by the general public.
During his tenure as prime minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has never uttered such a word. Perhaps if he had done so, he could have spared many of his comrades from becoming victims now.
To claim that “many” believe that the arrest of Tasik Gelugor MP Datuk Seri Wan Saiful Wan Jan was a malicious selective prosecution, as though it is politically motivated. Most of us do not know who Wan Saiful is anyway, except that he was given a chance to helm the National Education Fund (PTPTN).
His decision to resign from his party would therefore make no difference to most of us, but if there is an element of corruption, we would want the MACC to act—and to act fast, not only on Wan Saiful but also on those who were blatantly stealing from the country’s coffers.
If Anwar’s government is “aimed at silencing a critical voice in the opposition,” Mahathir’s voice and mine as well, as I have also been critical of the Selangor state government, would not have been heard even in the public media.
Perhaps Mahathir only sees it from his own circle of fellow PN and PAS politicians who thought that they were invincible, in much the same way I would say of some in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in the state of Selangor.
His statement accusing “the PH-BN-DAP (Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional-DAP) government of engaging in selective prosecution” is nothing but malicious in itself and an attempt to single out DAP as the punching bag, when the DAP only has four ministers in the present unity government.
If Mahathir wants to test the MACC, he should ask why reports lodged against certain individuals in Selangor are still not making much progress.
Time to reflect
Can I suggest that perhaps, this is what Mahathir should do instead: reflect over the reasons why his own division, Segambut lost badly to the incumbent, Hannah Yeoh.
Yeoh, as we all know her, is small in size, but she is both hardworking and always on the ground with the people. She is dedicated to her job, and I dare say she and the former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman are good examples for our young people.
Mahathir should also ask himself why PAS, a component party of PN, is now a liability rather than an asset to the coalition. Is there any reason why PN, and especially PAS, is rejected by peace-loving Sarawakians?
PAS leaders are still fumbling over the parade by its Terengganu youth division, referring to it as a Chinese opera and a cosplay.It was also suggested that it happened within the compound of a resort. Looking at the photographic evidence, the resort must be a huge one.
Some have even equated the parade to the Nazis’ parade just before Adolf Hitler rose to power—and if the police fail to act against such parades now, things can get worse. I wish to quote a Malay brother, who expressed his concern,
“We don’t want another Memali or Maunah incident in this country.” — Feb 24, 2023
Stephen Ng
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
