“Not a day since retirement from politics I have not thought about the future of M’sia”

That was why I had not sought the views of the DAP leadership during this period when expressing my views.

I believe that I have succeeded in this objective since my political retirement at  the DAP Congress more than a year ago, and that I am not representing DAP in any way when I express my views.

I can say that since my retirement from front-line politics more than a year ago, I have not for a single day not thought about the future of Malaysia.

Some of these thoughts are:

• Is it possible to reverse the national decline of the last half century, where we have lost out to Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam. Come 2040 or 2050, are we going to lose out to more countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines? In fighting corruption, we are losing out to China, India and Indonesia. What is our future.
• Is it possible to reset the national policies of the last half century, for instance the New Economic Policy, which was meant to last a span of 20 years but has lasted over half a century, creating UMNO-putras while leaving the Malay masses as poor as ever.
• Can we convince Malaysians that Malaysia has only a future if we reset and  return to the founding principles of Malaysia as set out in the Constitution and the Rukun Negara: constitutional monarchy,  separation of powers, parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary, the rule of law, good governance, public integrity, minimal corruption, Islam as the official religion and freedom of religion for all faiths, respect for human rights, unity in diversity for plural Malaysia?
• Is the Malaysian Dream for Malaysia to become a world-class great country an impossible dream?

Recently, an all-engrossing question has been how long the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim unity government will last.

I have said that the chances of the Anwar unity government lasting the full term of five years are positive, but it must not self-destruct by embarking on policies that are totally at variance with its core values and the principles of the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia which had the support of the first four UMNO presidents, like fighting corruption and restoring an independent judiciary.

The frenzy of the past week can be fathomed by the writing of the political scientist, Wong Chin Huat, who wrote a piece entitled “Unity government ends if Najib walks free”.

The immediate problem for the survival of the Anwar unity government seems to be internal rather than external.

I think it’s a fallacy to believe that UMNO can only return to its glory days if Najib is pardoned. On the contrary, I believe Najib’s pardon now will not benefit UMNO at all but will benefit PAS and Bersatu instead, apart from causing the collapse of the Anwar unity government.

The only way for UMNO to restore greatness is to take the lead in a reset and return to the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia.

Malaysia will lose its opportunity to reset and return to the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia, which had the support of the first four UMNO presidents— Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and Tun Hussein Onn—and be a model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and harmony if the Anwar unity government collapses at the end of the month.

Does Malaysia have a death wish to return to the trajectory of a divided, failed and kleptocratic state? I will leave these issues to be dealt with at your retreat. — April 15, 2023