Up-dated: 12/8/2018 5:00 AM
Media Statement by
Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin
UMNO Vice President
9 August 2018
Jalaluddin al-Afghani, a Muslim philosopher once argued, that religion is important because it instills the feeling of ‘shame'.
By ‘shame' here it refers to the ability of the Muslims to hold back from committing injustices, in any form prohibited by God, and pushes them to seek enlightenment and progress through knowledge.
He further expounds his argument, that without Islam, or religion in general, the sense of ‘shame' is undermined and there will be an absence of an important social and moral sanction against injustices.
Reflecting upon the arguments above, Shaharuddin Maaruf concluded that the Malay elites are not ashamed of their wrongdoings.
They take pride in their lawlessness and do not advocate for right, virtuous achievements.
They are not ashamed of committing multiple shades of injustices, like social greed and opportunism to name a few.
A new reality
The current realities facing UMNO demands us, members of the party, in particular, to reflect on the narratives we used to subscribe and defend as well as accepting the fact that the rakyat has spoken and rejected us and what we believe in its entirety.
We are no longer the government, and we no longer have the privilege to say confidently, that there is some coterie of Malays who are still behind our backs.
Those who deny the said reality might say that we still hold on to the 46% of the Malay votes.
Yes, that might be true but we must also look at the demography of these Malays and what are their values.
We must cater to all Malays, urban or semi-urban, and above all, Malaysians as a whole.
Therefore, as said by Johari Abdul Ghani in its open published by Malaysiakini, UMNO must retreat to the very philosophy and foundation that the party was built upon; a party that upholds the Malay interests and at the same time, do not look down on other races for its quest to power.
He also stated that his intention is to see a strong, inclusive, credible and dependable UMNO in the future and to reform is the only way we can acquire back such values.
His contention is clear. This is not just Najib Razak in the limelight, this is more than what he has done, or allegedly did, the perception that surrounded the allegations and how it costed the party.
This is about the survival of UMNO as a whole, as a Malay, and should be a Malaysian institution.
A body that stands for the many and fights for principles shared by the masses.
This is also about, in my opinion, what UMNO must be, post GE14 and PRK Sungai Kandis is the manifestation of the party and its reluctance in adjusting to the new reality.
To Islah, not just ‘reform'
Islah is to move and amend certain circumstances from a previously unjust state to a better one.
Real Islah demands us to admit our mistakes, recognize what is the truth and strive as well as commit ourselves to it.
Islah is not just ‘reform'. Islah runs deeper into the spiritual, intellectual and structural design of a previously corrupted state, person or circumstances.
I do think that we cannot commit ourselves to this effort if we are still in the state of denial and unable to admit and discredit the injustices and corruption of the past.
Where do we go from here? I do not have a definitive answer for that.
But UMNO shall rise back from the ashes, gain the trust of the everyday Malaysians and path a new narrative to Malay nationalism.
We will educate our politicians in order for them to understand the postmodern predicament faced by the Malays and Malaysians generally, and how we, as a party, can offer in leading the public through the precariousness of the future.
But such an endeavor is long, tiring and taxing. It will be made more impossible when UMNO still lives in its own labyrinth, reminiscing the past and allows a man who is under a legal trial to be significantly involved in the party.
Yes, we should treat him with honor and respect. But we also should move on from what has passed. It is Najib Razak who is on trial, not UMNO.
Not a feudal kingdom
The response towards the open letter penned by Johari Abdul Ghani is a mirror of what UMNO used to be, and it is still now, to a certain extent.
The feudal values are still dominant in UMNO until it has hindered our progress to Islah and move for the better.
There is no sense of ‘shame' in the feudal landscape.
People were not held accountable because of the favors he or she gave when he or she was in power.
“You give me some when you were in power, therefore I shall not hold you accountable to your wrongdoings, forever". This narrative must go and must be replaced by the real feeling of ‘shame' against wrongdoings and injustices.
Power nor material benefits cannot put aside the fact that the feudal elites are still servants of God and are also answerable to the people under his or her purview, and not just for the political survival of one.
Ends
Sunday, August 12, 2018
More to the call on UMNO to distance from Najib
Though losing the Sungai Kandis by-election, BN claimed there were positive indications. However, analysis has no value as it is too early, and the seat is a lubuk (goldmine) of PKR.
The pre-mature confidence became the basis for Dato Johari Gani to question the strategy to put Dato Najib in the forefront of the campaign. [His statement at the end of the posting].
It became an interesting debate on the role of Dato Najib in UMNO and the way forward for UMNO. Interesting because it is not the practise of UMNO to express such manner of views openly and with such frankness.
The spirit of Malaysia Baru has got the better of UMNO.
In the midst of the exchange, Tan Sri Annuar Musa suddenly made statements out of context to the current subject thus making it possible there could be more than midst the eye.
Annuar said UMNO is ready to work with any political parties with DAP included. And, he also said UMNO will takeover governmennt mid-term. That is a change from earlier claim of not finishing the term.
It is intriguing but makes no sense now. It better not be a false sense of hope to motivate members.
The expressed call to throw Najib under the bus, to quote Sara Petra could be a political drama with more to come.
More so, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim is confirmed as the only candidate for PKR Presidency and the much talk of Azmin challenging him turns out as nought.
The speculation is Zahid has been talking with Anwar. Is Zahid the only one?
Throwing Najib under the bus
Jo Gani's statement received a harsh response from competitor within his division together with counter arguments evading the hard subject and resorting to typical personal attack.
It is unsuitable under the current liberal political environment from the change brought by Najib. So Zahid gave a gentle advice to show respect and not kick a man when he is down.
More so, Najib contributed much to the party. However, he beg Najib to not mind the friendly fire.
While there are weakness in Jo Gani's view [read a response below], it did not come out of the blue. Analysts and political pundits have expressed the same. Vocal blogger and socmed writer, Zaharin Yaasin is one of the earliest.
Slander, lies and misinformation contributed immensely to BN's loss but the mistakes and failures in communication and propaganda is our own.
Nevertheless, the loss of BN could be attributed to the several political waves coinciding; young voters, Chinese tsunami, #Undirosak of traditional voters, and the most prominent and more than expected was the anti-Najib wave.
In response to Jo Gani's statement, Tan Sri Anuar Musa explained Najib was not part of the Sg Kandis strategy.
Najib himself explained he was helping out at the request of the candidate, Dato Lokman Noor Adam. He claimed he does not need UMNO and it is unfair on UMNO to defend him as he can defend himself.
Najib was also responding to further views of Anuar Musa and VP Dato Khaled Nordin that he has become a burden for UMNO to distance itself and leave the baggage behind.
Khaled repeated a view he said before the general election loss that UMNO must accept the reality it was rejected by the people. By leaving Najib behind, only can UMNO move forward.
Jo Gani repeated Najib a burden for UMNO again.
PPBM leaders and supporter masquarading as UMNO leader took opportunity to be a batu api. Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik was doing Mahathir's bidding to call for sacking of Najib from UMNO.
Zam picked on Zahid's leadership. However, his public remarks are losing credibility as he usually play along conspiracy theories. It is obvious Zam is trying to get into the good book of Mahathir through such verbal initiatives.
This time it could be hurtful for Zahid to claim Najib remained in control of the party. Already coffee shop talk is claiming Zahid is weak, lacking leadership and party has no direction.
To make it more convincing, they are saying Datin Seri Rosmah is calling the shot.
Here we go again.
The open and frank remarks made of Najib are quite hurtful. And, Jo Ghani, Annuar, and Khaled received the brunt of Najib's online supporters with accusations of betrayal, hypocrit and opportunistic.
Maybe there was no other way to get that message across to Najib, UMNO and its members and supporters.
Can UMNO distanced itself from Najib?
The depth of the public debate should not hurt Najib's personal feeling.
He has gone though worse slanders and undergoing the worst with 7 charges laid on him with a new investigation on UMNO money allegedly stolen by security personnel at PMO.
The question that need be ask is: can UMNO distanced themselves from Najib?
Its not just the alleged wrongdoings but the policies and programs he initiated to the transform the country, the people friendly spending and abundant investment together with goodwill from foreign engagements.
Without those to highlight, there are none to excite voters. Certainly UMNO and BN need to find a formula to aggresively winover voters as pointed out by Jo Ghani.
It is not smart strategy to keep defending Najib when it does not look possible he could turnaround the perception like Anwar was able to do. Maybe he should wait till he pass the age of 90.
The majority of Ketua Bahagians that expressed their anger at Najib in Janda Baik and judged him as lying, due to the more than 2,000 jewelleries, need to ponder this.
In a sense, the debate could be testing the water and a way to attract attention which if agreed by the public, it is hoped draw support for UMNO .
As far as Zahid, he has his limitations, many in fact. But there are other strength that many seemed unaware or chose ignore.
There could be other intentions behind the debate.
No comments:
Post a Comment