Politicians, and especially those who have been given the mandate to ‘rule’ or ‘govern’ the country, must be honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient. They must have PRINCIPLES..............

Politicians, and especially those who have been given the mandate to ‘rule’ or ‘govern’ the country, must be honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient. They must have PRINCIPLES and be consistent in their upholding and promotion of the principles for the good of the rakyat and the country and not be swayed or swerved by their personal interests and greed. -- Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin

That was what Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah a.k.a Ku Li said in his birthday message to Lim Kit Siang (you can read the full message below). I have picked up just the particular section above as that, in a nutshell, sums up what the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) has been saying.

The Sarawak state election will soon be upon us. So let us focus on that before we even talk about the next general election. And, like it or not, the outcome of the Sarawak state election is going to influence the result of the coming general election. So how the opposition performs in the Sarawak state election may be reflective of how it is going to perform in the 13th General Election due only God knows when.

SNAP, with whom MCLM has sealed an alliance, may be contesting 28 or 29 seats in the Sarawak state election. DAP may contest another 15 or 20 (I suspect). And PKR has said (announced) it will contest 40 seats. That comes to 85 or 90 seats altogether whereas there are only 71 Sarawak state seats in all.

Does this mean some parties will reduce the number of seats they intend to contest or will we see three-corner fights in 20 or 30 (or more) seats? Anyway, SNAP said it still supports Pakatan Rakyat so there should be no excuse for PKR and DAP to not sit down and work out a seat allocation formula with SNAP and come to an amicable conclusion.

What is more important is for SNAP to reveal its list of candidates. Whether it is 20, 30 or 40 is one issue. The more important issue is who are these candidates? If you can’t reveal them early because you are scared that they may be bought off then they are not good candidates to start off with. If you don’t trust them then dump them now. If they can be bought before the election then certainly they can be bought after the election.
I suppose it is not use telling PKR and DAP to do the same thing because they normally keep their list of candidates a secret until the eleventh hour to not only prevent the candidates from being bought off but to avoid sabotage from their own party members who may be angry/frustrated that they were not chosen instead to contest the elections.

It is extremely difficult to trust political parties completely when they do not trust their own candidates or their own party members (who may sabotage their own party candidates out of frustration and jealousy).

How, therefore, do we achieve what Ku Li said? -- Politicians, and especially those who have been given the mandate to ‘rule’ or ‘govern’ the country, must be honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient. They must have PRINCIPLES and be consistent in their upholding and promotion of the principles for the good of the rakyat and the country and not be swayed or swerved by their personal interests and greed.

****************************************

Razaleigh's open letter to Kit Siang

By TENGKU RAZALEIGH RAZALEIGH HAMZAH

Dear Kit,

After a long journey in your political career, weathering the often rough and tumble of Malaysian politics, you somehow managed to survive and carve a popular name, an icon among your admirers and a ‘political bug’, so to speak, among your opponents.

So, you are now 70 years of age — not too young but not too old either — to go on treading the political journey.

You have consistently upheld and stood your ground on matters relating to the fundamental rights of all the rakyat, irrespective of race, to free and responsible speech, the rights to enjoy a just and fair distribution of the economic and social wealth of the nation, and to political, judicial and legal justice.

You have consistently and courageously spoken up against the corruption and the various misdeeds and defaults of the government and demanded actions, both in Parliament as well as outside it, despite the possible reprisals, the threats and even possible punitive actions that might be taken against you, which in fact you have suffered in the past.

But you have not kept your silence; you continue to grow bigger and speak even louder.

In the end, it seems to me you are the winner because, despite what your opponents say about you, as long as you know and believe what you stand for is good for the people and the country, you are on the right path.

Politicians, and especially those who have been given the mandate to ‘rule’ or ‘govern’ the country, must be honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient.

They must have PRINCIPLES and be consistent in their upholding and promotion of the principles for the good of the rakyat and the country and not be swayed or swerved by their personal interests and greed.

The rakyat look up to a Wakil Rakyat or to a government leader not because he or she is a Malay, a Chinese or an Indian, an Iban or a Kadazan; they look up to you because of your principles — principles that they can respect, trust and emulate.

On this auspicious day, may I quote Georges Pompidou who once said: “A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service”.

Let me now say “Selamat Menyambut Hari Jadi Yang ke-70”, in other words “Happy Birthday to You”.

Wishing you good fortune, good health and long life. May you continue to tread the rough and tumble of the Malaysian political road with even greater tenacity and thrust in the years ahead until we can all together ensure that no one in the country is allowed to create a situation of disaster of the type we have just seen in Tunisia and Egypt.

Comments (19)..

written by earthman, February 22, 2011 13:25:55

Like the liars in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain, Libya, Sudan, Iran , they who lied will be exposed later and be thrown out. How long can you lie to the people ? Will god be silent as He watch the evil that men are doing in His name? Most of the corrupt and evil say they believed in god and one can sees them doing the daily worship. But yet they don't have the PRINCIPLES to govern with honesty, trustworthy, clean and efficiently. Something is very wrong here and yet many could not see it.

Religion and god's words or laws cannot save us, no matter how much you believe it to be true. Its relationship with god ,just like your relationship with your father on earth. Its true repentance and dependence on God alone. The fear of God as the fear of your father that can make one obey Him/him. True or false? You be the judge.

The love for our neighbours strengthened our principles . The opposite is true for those who are self righteous and boast of it but have no mercy but hate others in the name of god. ...

written by batsman, February 22, 2011 10:12:08

Everyone has a conflict between self and society. Both if someone is overwhelmingly self, then only fools would vote him into office. ...

written by leonardo, February 22, 2011 04:28:19

Pete,

When you talk about WM's politic, I will just learn, and keep my mouth shut. But when you talk about Sarawak, you are like knowing this land by viewing g****e's satellite map. Your MCLM is meaningless, or at most used as a bargaining chip for negotiation for one or two contract or project, not even has enough weight for a rural seat.
Sarawak is not only a FDB of BN, it is also a place where all closed-experiments of BN is being conducted, to seek the surest way to continue running Malaysia.

SNAP? Ha ha ha, Just like a snap of the fingers, now you see it now you don't.
Wake up, Pete. There are things to be learned. ..

written by mob1900, February 22, 2011 03:08:23

I'll just leave this here. ..

written by arazak, February 22, 2011 01:45:38

"Wishing you good fortune, good health and long life. May you continue to tread the rough and tumble of the Malaysian political road with even greater tenacity and thrust in the years ahead until we can all together ensure that no one in the country is allowed to create a situation of disaster of the type we have just seen in Tunisia and Egypt." 

I like this last sentence. It's sort of "perli" to the current top leaders of the UMNO regime.

Who created the "situation of disaster" in Tunisia and Egypt? Of course, it was Zein el abdin Ali and Hosni Mubarak respectively. They created the "situation of disaster" by suppressing and intimidating their own citizens through emergency laws (ours ISA), no freedom of expression, stealing the nation's wealth and the peoples' money, rigging of general election, faktup the security and judiciary system and last but not least, being arrogant and out of touch with the population. These are the formula for "situation for disaster" and we are seeing this very same formula in Bolehland playing out now.

Thank you Ku Li. . ., hope your thieving, tyrant and arrogant and out of touch peers in the regime will take heed! If they don't. . ., we the people will prevail and rest assured that we will kick their butts out from this country! ..

written by doitanyway, February 22, 2011 00:21:35

Ku Li, u r a little different from the others and tq for your very thoughtful birthday greetings to Uncle Kit ! LKS certainly is a man to be respected by us all and may we too wish him a very happy birthday and may he continue to enjoy good health and happiness for a long time to come.

By the way why don't you go join PR? If you believe in changes , it will be very difficult for you to change BN from within !. Go join PR and I believe the changes you believe in will come about with your collaboration with PR ! Come on ! ..

written by Badaksumbu, February 21, 2011 23:02:58

You see, sometimes in a movie if the suspense is taking too long you get fed up and Ki Li is just like that like a snake too, meandering endlessly. Why can't he just get out and be his own? ...

written by Mestizo, February 21, 2011 22:47:11

First we have to ask ourselves the following;

1) Is our BN leaders honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient?

That should be Najib, Muhyiddin, Chua Soi Lek, Koh Su Koon, Palanivel, Abdul Taib, Musa Aman, Ali Rustam, Zambry, Isa Sabu, Ahmad Said, Adnan Yaakob, Abdul Ghani, Mohammad Hassan, Hishammuddin, Ahmad Zahidi, Liow Tiong Lai, Kang Cho Ha, Ng Yen Yen, all BN ministers, deputy ministers, BN state exco members, etc

I still struggle to find any that fit the bill of honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient as for Pakatan

2) Anwar, Nik Aziz, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Karpal Singh, Nizam, Azmin, Khalid, Azizan Abu Bakar, Abdul Hadi Awang, all Pakatan state exco members, etc
There are many could fit the bill but there are also some don't. ..

written by syd, February 21, 2011 21:45:32

u r the boss rpk. u call the shots, and the serfs will oblige.

the days of being on the sideline as an activist does not work. u have to go to the fields and squeeze the balls to get the country going again.

hail rpk!. hail ceasar! ..

written by Awang Hitam, February 21, 2011 19:23:05

Sorry. Lenny means LEMBU ..

written by Awang Hitam, February 21, 2011 19:21:48

Kuli is like playing poker. Waiting for the ace of spade to get a royal flush I.e. President of umooono.

So he can become PM. But sadly the hope is never coming true. Kuli wake up , Kuli bangun jangan mimpi lagi. Takdok chan jadi PM doh! Umno Akan mampus macam Lenny di langgar treler di Gua Musang. ...

written by JJFoo, February 21, 2011 18:50:11

Forked tongue, truly is a trademark of UMNO. They speak the most righteous words and in deed they did the exact opposite.
If Ku Li meant what he says, can't help wondering why is KuLi still supporting UMNO/BN and even campaigned for UMNO/BN in by-election? Forget not that Ku Li himself hit out at the government for shortchanging the Kelantan state on its oil revenue.
Uprising in Tunisia and Egypt wasn't about power grab, whoever come to power was secondary, the primary issue was to get rid of corrupted oppressive government, stopping the crooks and thieves from destroying their nation, their future and their children's future. The peoples simply had enough.

If the Malaysian government was not corrupted or oppressive, Ku Li has got nothing to fear but he's sure seem worry enough to end his birthday greeting to LKS with a thinly veiled warning. ..

written by malsia1206, February 21, 2011 18:41:33

YB Lim Kit Siang paid a high sacrifice when he was detained under the ISA. His son, YB Lim Guan Eng, the present CM of Penang, paid the same high price in the same vein. And they both had to undergo through this ordeal for one main reason only - a strong belief and conviction of their ideals, without compromising. Pray tell me - how many senior politicians from UMNO and the component parties of MCA, Gerakan and MIC, had gone through this same experience? Tun Mahathir took the easy way out and made all his political goons like kindergarten kids.. For their sacrifices, I have to take my hat off and salute this father-and-son team with every honest and sincere respect I can give. And how many Malaysians out there would do just the same? Ask your heart out. ..

written by malaysianforever, February 21, 2011 17:50:02

I salute Ku Li for his courage to pen a birthday wish to Lim. Indeed it is an act which no BN leader dare ever do.

Many Happy Returns of the Day, Mr Lim. Pray for your good health for years to come. GOD bless you always ..

written by a guest, February 21, 2011 17:38:07

Oscar, I have been echoing what you wrote. This is why till date, I do not care much for whatever he has too say.. ..

written by aeiou, February 21, 2011 16:16:39

Wanting these politicians to be honest, trustworthy, clean and efficient is impossible now unless they are voted out. By not prosecuting Mahatail for his excesses, an ugly precedent has been set. His successor and gang members have followed in his footstep and are repeating the excesses knowing that they will not face prosecution as long as they cling onto power. What extreme measures will they resort to if they lose the GE? At the moment, only God knows.

Maybe the worst is yet to come. Mahatail is now grooming his son to be PM. Like father like son, is it? But then the son can be a lot worse than the father. His son may become the PM which is a real possibility. When that happens, we Malaysians may be trapped in another horrible nightmare. ...

written by Oscar Winner, February 21, 2011 16:04:05

It's an irony. Ku Li eulogising LKS and extolling his principles. Till today, I'm still puzzled by Ku Li who still remains as a member of the ruthless, racist and corrupt UMNO. My question to Ku Li still remains unanswered. What are you Ku Li? Who are you? How can you be amongst unprincipled UMNO goons, rub shoulders with them and at the same time praise LKS? I can only surmise that you are just another UMNO goon, no different from the rest, from Najis, way down the echelon of UMNO ..

written by Kaneeneh, February 21, 2011 16:04:00

Ku Li ni, nak ajar atau ejek? kadang2 I terpegun dengan tingkah-laku Putera Kelantan ni yang tersangkut di pugatory alamia politik Malaysia.

Pernah pada suatu masa dahulu saya berharap cahaya yg menyinar padanya akan bertambah terang, akan tetapi, kekadang juga KuLi nampaknya sendiri tak bermaya merentang arus yang mengalir dalam sungai di hadapannya.

Haiya, kalaulah KuLi ni normal macam kebanyakan kita, nescaya beliau sudah jadi PM mengulingkan orang tua tu. ...

written by Fart Fart Wah, February 21, 2011 15:18:26

you mean politicians??? I have yet to find one with principles. Politicians are close to liars and in line to thieves and robbers. Some are even murderers and rapists. There is one barking old stray dog who is still barking and barking and still bent on wanting power.. Name me a politician who has the heart for the people and the country.