We are half way in the election campaign for the six state polls on August 12.
According to one opinion poll, the Pakatan Harapan/Barisan Nasional will lose by some 8,000 votes in Batang Kali, lose by some 4,200 votes in Hulu Bernam and only win the Kuala Kubu Baharu constituency by 2,600 votes
I do not know how reliable is this opinion poll but it is our job in the final week of the election campaign until August 12 to work hard and explain to the people so that Pakatan Harapan/Barisan Nasional can win both Batang Kali and Hulu Bernam, and strengthen the unsafe margin of victory in Kuala Kubu Baharu to 5,000 votes.
We must allow the votes to be split as the battle is beween PH-BN coalition and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition – between the future of Malaysia as a great world-class nation and a divided, failed and corrupt state.
I personally hope that the status quo of 3-3 can be maintained in the six state polls on August 12, but Perikatan Nasional (PN) is aiming for a 6-0 sweep in the August 12 results. The PN plan for a 6-0 sweep in the August 12 polls must be taken seriously, and this is why every voter in Selangor, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu should not only vote and ensure their children and relatives return from outstation and overseas to vote, but should be campaigners to explain why it is important to have a high voter turnout on August 12 to avoid the 6-0 sweep planned by PN.
The DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok has asked you to vote and save Selangor.
I am asking you to vote to save Malaysia.
For the last few decades, Malaysia has been in national decline, losing out to Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and even Vietnam.
We are in danger of losing out to Indonesia and Thailand in ASEAN, as have developed half as fast as Indonesia and Thailand in the past sixty years.
We will lose to Indonesia and China in the annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) before 2030 unless we buck up in our anti-corruption campaign.
From the level of a great world-class nation, we have fallen to become a second-rate mediocre country. Are we to decline further to end up as a divided, failed and corrupt state like Sri Lanka in the coming decades?
We must save not only Selangor, but Malaysia!
For the first time in the 21st century, we have a Prime Minister who understand the vision of a Malaysia as a great world-class nation.
The Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim has spelt out his Malaysia vision in Ekonomi Madani which among others, has the following objectives:
- Top 30 biggest economies in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic products. Malaysia currently ranks 35.
- Top 12 in IMD World Competitive Index. The current rank is 27.
- Top 25 in the UN Human Development Index. Current rank is 62.
- Top 25 in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Current rank is 61.
In fact, in the historic place of Kuala Kubu Baru, I call on all political parties and candidates for the six state polls on August 12 to declare their support for Anwar Ibrahim’s Ekonomi Madani for Malaysia to rise up again to become a great world-class nation.
How can they claim to love and be patriotic to Malaysia if they are against the vision to reverse the national decline of the last few decades so that Malaysia can rise up again to become a great world-class nation.
If they do not support Anwar’s Ekonomi Madani, can they state what plans they have for Malaysia to rise up again to become a great world-class nation, or they want Malaysia to continue in the trajectory which will end up in Malaysia as a divided, failed and corrupt state?
I am 82 years old and retired from DAP and Pakatan Harapan front-line leadership politics.
But I am equally concerned as a patriotic Malaysian citizen that Malaysia should reverse the national decline of the last few decades, and rise up again to become a great world-class nation.
The first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn, who were also UMNO Presidents, understood the goal of Malaysia as a great world-class nation.
It was during their time that Malaysia won the Thomas Cup and the Malaysian hockey team qualified for the Olympics. Can we restore the glory of Malaysian sports and in other fields of human endeavour?
Malaysians are not anti any race or religion, yet I have been accused of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, cause of the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur and even a communist.
I have been thinking about these baseless allegations against me.
One thing is very strange about these baseless allegations.
I have been in politics for 58 years since the end of 1965.
For the first 35- 38 years of my political life, these allegations were never made.
It is only in the last 20 years that I am accused of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, cause of May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur and even a communist.
Why was I not anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, cause of the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumjpur and not a communist in the first 35-38 years of my political life, but became anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, cause of May 13, 1969 riots and even a communist in the last 20 years starting with the film Tanda Puteri which had tried to portray me as urinating at the flagpost of Selangor Mentri Besar’s residence on May 13, 1969 when I was not in Kuala Lumpur but in Kota Kinabalu?
The reason was simple. In the first 35-38 years of DAP’s existence, the Malay political parties do not see DAP as a threat although we held on to our belief of a political movement for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region. This is why since the first general election in 1969, the DAP had fielded Malay and non-Malay state and parliamentary candidates.
The Malay political parties felt that that DAP cannot win over Malay support.’
But in the last 20 years, there had been a sea change in political attitudes and thinking, and more and more Malays subscribe to the DAP ideology that Malaysia is for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, provided they are committed to be Malaysians.
We made a breakthrough in 1990 with Ahmad Nor elected as MP for Bayan Baru in 1990.
In the 2013 General Election there were two DAP Malay MPs – Zairil Khir Johari of Bukit Bendera and Mohd Ariff Sabri bin Abdul Aziz of Raub. There was one Malay DAP Malay MP – Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji for Raub – in the 2018 General Election and three DAP Malay MPs in the 2022 General Election – Syahredzan bin Johan (Bangi), Young Syefura Othman (Bentong) and Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera).
In the last 20 years, DAP is seen as a threat competing with Malay political parties for Malay support, and the demonisation of DAP as anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, cause of May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur and communist was a defence mechanism by the Malay parties to prevent the DAP from getting more Malay support.
But this is like King Canute and the tide and August 12 will be a test-case whether there can be political stability and national unity among Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, to make Selangor and Malaysia the role model for the world for inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony and for Malaysia to rise up again to become a great world-class nation.
Malaysia cannot rise up again and become a great world-class nation without the support of all races and religions in the country.
On August 12, the voters in the six states will be voting not only who will be the State Assembly person, who will run the state for the next five years, but also for children and children’s children’s place in Malaysia – to save Malaysia so that it could rise again to become a great world-class nation.
For this reason, the six state polls on August 12 is even more important than the 15th General Election on Nov. 19, 2022.