In a desperate attempt to bolster his crumbling credibility Anwar Ibrahim is trying to do the impossible and the unconstitutional, demanding emergency session of Parliament without showing any proof of his support of simple majority of the house to pass a vote of no confidence against the prime minister.
This is unprecedented and not likely to happen.If he has the majority support than he can wait for Parliament to be back in session to carry out his constitutional rights or alternatively go to the Agong with his list of names.
Of course the Agong would either want to meet those MPs personally or ask for sufficient documentary proof to convince him to the best of his judgement that Anwar has the support.
Anwar, if you have, prove it to the nation, we the people will support you.If you don't have, please, just shut up!
12 comments:
What's unprecedented? Of course the whole thing is new. So there is no rule that was known which was breached that calls for pathetic cries like "desperate measures." I thought detaining women in Ramadhan is what we call desperate? Huh! Or detaining bloggers and threatening opponents with ISA is what we call desperados. Good that anyone can employ the words though, at least for consolation.
You see, if the PM doesn't fear, why not shame Anwar by meeting with him and saying he doesn't have the MPs if and when Anwar fails to provide the list? Mind you Anwar holds a constitutional office: Malaysia's Official Opposition Leader. How do you see that?
Secondly, since he refused that, why not call for Parliament sitting and prove yourself and end the impasse? It is you who is excercising executive authority, so lead the way by showing that you are in total control. Issit difficult honey?
And finally I'm sure double faced cry like "we will support you Anwar" is not needed to close it. You can stand tall by simply syaing "O God...save Abdullah from both Anwar and UMNO warlords." Can't you pray like that? It will be easier for you. Credibility starts with you before it is gained by others and charity begins at home.
For "brainy input", refer to Constitutional lawyer and lecturer, Prof Abdul Bari's comment in Malaysiakini today:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/89960
Calling for an emergency session of Parliament is not Unconstitutional.
But Abdullah has the right to say "No".
Looking at the crisis in the world economy, my feeling is Anwar should call off this attempt.
But the government must reciprocate.
How to get national unity when Opposition MPs are arrested on Trumped up ISA detention, and UMNO is still stuck inside Saiful's backside ?
We need our best people to work together to figure out how to defend the country's economy from the coming crunch.
HL,
AAB does not want to meet DSAI because if he does, well that will be the need of him.
If I am not mistaken, AAB & UMNO are now planning some drastic action.
What he has asked the PM is pretty reasonable. Peaceful transition of power.
If he reveals the list now, you can imagine what UMNO will do.
After all, AAB has shown that he is not against using the ISA (even against innocent women & during the holy month of Ramadan...I guess thta's what "Hadari" is all about?!).
Operation Lallang by TDM will be Operation Lallang #2 by AAB.
As for Teresa Kok, tell me how does AAB & UMNO explain her detention? The 2 mosques in question have come out & said that she was not involved in anything concerning that "Azan" petition. Yes, Khir "Toyol" & that Utusan Reporter are still running free even though they have lied & tried to cause Racial & religious trouble!
Yes, your title is correct, AAB & UMNO are desperate & they are willing to go to desperate measures, even if it means the spilling of innocent blood as their predessors did in 1969 (May 13th)!
The truth will come out bro...& this "rabid" Government will one day be just a bad dream & a lesson for our History!
Please, you sound like a naive student. Your support is nothing in front of the ISA unless you are willing to shed blood.
There is a rumour that says Anwar does have the numbers needed but he can't use it right now because his allies are mostly non-Malay.
You see, being Malay is a very big issue in Malaysia even in a rural backwater like Sabah.
Just let Anwar have his way. To hell with the administration, they are all just trying to fatten their wallets anyway. Do you think we need to universities in Sabah?
PS. I mean two universities.
johnny,
No politician in their right mind would do what Anwar is asking.This is not a matter of the nation going to war that Parliament have to call emergency session.Parliament will reconvene next month and Anwar can push his agenda.If he has the number nobody can stop him.
Abdullah is not obliged to entertain his request.Anyway what is his hurry if he has the number, unless he is bluffing.
What impasse ? that is only in your mind, the country will still function with or without Anwar or Pak Lah.
Anwar is a seasoned politician and he knew more about parliamentary procedures than you or many of his supporters whom he is trying to hoodwink.
He has the option to go to the Agong who has the power under Article 40(2)&(3) and Article 55(1) to summon Parliament from time to time (2)to prorogue or dissolve Parliament.
But first Anwar must be able to satisfy the Agong that he has the majority.
What's the point of barking at Pah Lah when he has other option.He is doing it to mislead people like you,the uninitiated.
You have the right to support Anwar and I have the right not to agree with him and not to support him.
For 'brainy input'thanks, some of the professors in our local universities just as half six as some of our ulamaks.
kittykat46,
It is wrong if you are bluffing and Anwar is bluffing.
Because he feel ashamed he couldn't deliver his promise on 16th Sept he is doing this to play with time and continue playing the game.
Believe me, if Anwar has the majority MPs with him now, he would be marching to Putrajaya with his supporters demanding Pak Lah's resignation.
He is always confrontational.
sm,
I know you are big supporter of Anwar,nothing wrong with that.This is a free country we can support whoever we fancy and still be civil with friends on the other side of the fence.
I believe at this moment Anwar hasn't got the majority.If he has he would have used the other options.
Well,all we have to do now is wait until Parliament re-convene and see whether he can push his agenda through.
supa,
You are joking, we need more than two, actually we need three...Haaha.It would be nice if we can but I don't think the Federal would agree.
I am certainly naive student of Anwar's School Of Deception.
Have a nice day.
well it seems very likely that anwar does not have the numbers to topple the ruling coalition. if he really does, then he could just go straight to agong or regardless of his 4 'conditions', if the supposed defectors have infact crossed over to PR, abdullah will effectively not be in power anymore to initiate the actions mentioned.
anwar is walking with his swollen balls between his legs and im still amazed that ppl still believe in this drama-king (or queen :P).the current instability caused by anwar is having adverse effects the economy. reps in government who are trying to do their work is unsettled with all the 'defections' speculations and all this tug-of-war between the two only has one loser.Us.
I hope he stops his shenanigans and do it quietly rather than being arrogant and boastful as he is doing now. It leaves alot of anxiety,uncertainty for both sides and instability to the country.
When will these two actually start working to appease us,the citizens rather than going through the backdoor is beyond me.
Hopefully something good will come out of this.Probably some truths will reveal themselves.Hopefully.
It is shocking that some people would support PM meting Anwar. Why should Abdullah meet Anwar, who until now has not given any solid objective prrof of his claim? Typical of him, he would then give excuse not to show the list out of concern ofr the safety of the MP. This is just typical of his paranoid ideation, ususally shared by his supporters - SHARED PARANOID DELUSION.
If ever, whatever happened to him or his follower in the past is due to his provocation and his crimes (which his supporters and him defined as political persecution)
Dear Hantu n all UMNO-enriched cronies(including Jed Yoong) here:
I doubt you have the intellectual courage to read/confront the following article let along the capacity to argue sensibly against it, Cheers
Ahmad Ismail, Penang.
ANWAR - DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER CHOICE FOR FREEDOM?
Great article by John Lee MK. You will never believe that this is a 22-year-old.
AUG 29 - As the Permatang Pauh by-election fades into the recesses of our memories, there is talk of it being a turning point in our ountry's history. Unfortunately, this talk habitually and routinely focuses on the possibility of changing the government by Sept 16.
It ignores a simple reality: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has already made history by being the first Malay politician to ever actually win more political support through an explicitly non-racial platform. It is practically impossible to underestimate how Anwar bucked the trend; he has completely turned our understanding of politics in this country on its head.
History has already made it crystal-clear; Malay politicians who try to unite the country by appealing to a common sense of Malaysian-ness inevitably wind up heading into political oblivion. Dato Onn Ja'afar's political career went up in flames the moment he founded the first multiracial political party in the country, in spite of it having every conceivable advantage - it was literally the incumbent party of the time because of Onn's towering status in Malayan politics. And it, of course, foundered completely.
Since then nobody has even tried to unite the Malays as Malaysians. Unite the Malays as Malays, of course; Syed Jaafar Albar famously proclaimed in the 1960s that he was a Malay first and a Malaysian second. Syed Hussein Alatas made an admirable attempt to change Malaysian politics through Gerakan, and we all know how that turned out. Literally every Malay leader who has tried to be Malaysian first ever since has risked being branded as a sell-out, a puppet of the non-
Malays and a stooge of Lee Kuan Yew.
The one exception was Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who experienced some brief success with his Bangsa Malaysia idea. This only makes sense, considering Dr Mahathir's iron-fisted handling of anyone who dared to oppose him; it is thus a pity that he never took this policy beyond mere words.
The moment Dr Mahathir handed over the reins to his successor, Malay politicians were up in arms criticising Bangsa Malaysia as a "nebulous" and untenable concept for daring to acknowledge that the non-Malays have a place in this country too.
So here we are today: 51 years after independence, the easiest way to tar a Malay politician next to calling him a Jew-lover is to accuse him of saying this country belongs to the Chinese and Indians too. That is simply how Malaysian politics works; to win the support of the Malays, you need to denounce the non-Malays as foreign squatters, who are only here as a matter of privilege rather than right, a privilege revocable at any time.
And what a coincidence it is - that is exactly how the Malaysian government works too. If you're not an Indonesian who can be counted as a Malay, your application for permanent residency or citizenship can never hope to see the light of day. If you're not a Malay, you can expect to hear your fair share of racist remarks in a public national school - and not from students, mind you, but teachers. As a student you can expect a syllabus which teaches you about the meaning of ketuanan Melayu rather than bangsa Malaysia. As an employee you can expect a civil service where you're not welcome unless they need you to fulfil their minuscule quota of non-Malay recruits. As an entrepreneur you can expect a government - and many government-linked companies - which will not give you any business unless you are a Malay. Half a century after independence, and that's what 40% of this country has to look forward to.
And since this is how the government works, up-and-coming politicians and political activists realise this is how politics works too. That is why even though you will never hear the typical Malaysian voicing such sentiments, political activists will readily denounce the non-Malays as foreign squatters here at the behest of a social contract which gives them the privilege, not right, to stay and live here.
Since this is how politics and government have worked since time immemorial, we owe Anwar an incredible debt for nearly single-handedly turning all this - everything - completely on its head. For the past half century, to be a good Malay leader, you have either had to publicly proclaim your support for ketuanan Melayu - and not the mild ketuanan as in strong leadership, but ketuanan as in "blood will run in the streets if our demands are not met" - or you have had to simply avoid commenting on the issue and just hope you can be all things to
all people. Anwar ran on a platform, not of vague meaningless nice-sounding platitudes, but a platform explicitly against everything ketuanan Melayu stands for.
This is a man, mind you, who celebrated the end of his ban on active politics by damning ketuanan Melayu and consigning it to the dust heap of history. This is a man who has publicly and repeatedly proclaimed that his commitment is to the sovereignty of the people - ketuanan rakyat - rather than the dominance of the Malays.
This is a man who has never wavered from his stand that the philosophy of government assistance based on racial origin, rather than economic status, is fundamentally and morally wrong. This is a man who has repeatedly, wherever he goes, whoever he speaks to, driven home the same point, again and again: "Anak Melayu, anak saya. Anak Cina, anak saya. Anak India, anak saya."
And this is a man who has had everything in the traditional playbook of Malaysian politics thrown at him. He's been labelled a heretic, a sodomite, a liar, a hypocrite, a traitor willing to sell the Malays and Malaysians out at a moment's notice. The ruling coalition has done everything in their power to make it known far and wide that this is a man committed to non-racialism; committed to a Malaysia where everyone belongs.
Regardless of whether you think he deserves it, or if he was just lucky, credit is due to Anwar: where so many brave Malay leaders have fallen and failed, he has won an incredible victory. Onn Ja'afar was vilified simply for opening up his political party to Malayans of all creeds and colours; Anwar has gone above and beyond, explicitly declaring that this is a country for all Malaysians, whoever they might be. And he has won a resounding victory.
It would be one thing if he scraped through with a majority of less than 5,000 votes in the recent by-election, but the fact is, it was not even close - not with a landslide majority of 15,000, larger even than the majority his wife won before he explicitly condemned ketuanan Melayu. Anwar has succeeded where everyone else has failed; he has carved out a broad base of political support, not on a platform of rights or privileges for one community, but a platform of justice and equality of opportunity for all communities.
Criticise Anwar all you like for his inconsistent and wishy-washy stands on other issues. Criticise his coalition for its internal dissension and strange hypocrisy all you want. You can even say you have no intention of trusting a man who might just stab you in the back the moment he gains power.
The fact of the matter is, you do not have a choice between Anwar and your ideal, committed, consistent, sincere Malaysian leader. Your choice, in the here and now, is between Anwar and a regime built on racism, built on stoking the flames of mistrust and hatred. This regime of hatred has delivered its promise of ketuanan Melayu; why should we expect things to be any worse under a regime promising ketuanan rakyat? At the worst, it's the same old shit under a different government; at best, we might finally have a government and a political system which works for all Malaysians rather than whoever yells the loudest and threatens the most blood.
As far as taking power is concerned, this is still a long shot. Anwar may yet turn out to be a flop on delivering if he ever gets the chance to govern. But the simple and stark reality is, as far as we who live in the present are concerned, he is our best and only chance to put a stop to this insanity.
Anwar is not the perfect vessel for uniting the country, but there is a reason he scares the powers that be: he is the first real chance we have ever had to unite the country against the demons of racialism and parochialism. And for now, he is our only chance. He is the only one who can cross ethnic barriers to proclaim a commitment to a Malaysia where Malaysians, not Malays, are sovereign, and actually win more support than before.
I am no huge fan of Anwar, but I recognise what he has done, and how far he has come. I support him, not because I like him as a person, but because I believe in the cause he champions, and because I believe that if there is any person in this country who can make that dream a reality, it is Anwar Ibrahim.
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