The high morale and commitments of the Unity Government Convention yesterday to make Malaysia a respected world-class nation are the basis to think of Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia not just for a term of five years but two terms of 10 years.
The Unity Government Convention radiated hopes for the future and a commitment to undo the wrongs and failures of the past six decades whether in resetting and returning to the original nation-building principles laid down by the nation’s founding fathers (which included the first three Prime Ministers who were also UMNO Presidents) for a plural Malaysia, reviving Malaysia’s economy and abolishing poverty, ensuring good governance and step up efforts in the fight against corruption, upholding the rule of law and an independent judiciary and most important of all, unite the diverse races, religions, cultures and states in the country and be a role model to the world of “Unity in Diversity”.
The Unity Government Convention has also put to rest all the recent chatter about its imminent toppling, and as the Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim repeated his challenge yesterday, the Perikatan Nasiohal (PN) Opposition is entitled to move a motion on vote of no confidence in the Unity Government in the forthcoming meeting of Parliament if it has the numbers.
With the successful holding of the Unity Government Convention yesterday, the Unity Government should be able to pass its next test – the three-week Parliament beginning in a week’s time to continue to sustain hope among Malaysians that they have a chance to see a reset and return to the original nation-building principles the nation’s founding fathers had agreed upon – a united, progressive and prosperous Malaysia which is role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
The next test will the general election in the six staters of Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu in July or August.
Although these are state general elections, they are also a crucial test whether the people of Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu support a national reset and return to the original nation-building principles of a plural Malaysia, which involvers the resolution of long-standing state problems of poor water quality, narrow and potholed road and uncollected garbage in Kelantan and the slow development in last threedecaees in the three states, Kelantan, Terengganu.
In a recent diatribe, the PAS President Hadi Awang alleged that the Malays were conned by plunderers who gave and received bribes.
Was this the reason for the three states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah having the slowest development in the last three decades?
I make a bold suggestion – that the Unity Government extends its hand of co-operation to PAS, but on one condition – firstly, the PAS President Hadi Awang must get rid of his animus against Anwar Ibrahim being the Prime Minister of Malaysia and secondly, Hadi should start be an honest, responsible and respected Islamic leader.
I have given the PAS President, Hadi Awang ample time to substantiate the numerous allegations which he had hurled against the DAP and myself, but he has not been able to substantiate them.
Recently, he had made six wild and preposterous allegations against the DAP and myself, but he has not been able to substantiate anyone of them.
These six wild and preposterous allegations were:
- After the 15th General Election, Hadi accused the DAP of promoting Islamophobia. It is now some six months since he made the preposterous allegation, and despite my many challenges, he had not been able to furnish an iota of evidence to substantiate his wild allegation.
- During the Teluk Intan by-election in May 2014, Hadi reminded PAS members that DAP had helped PAS when the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition tried to oust the party from ruling Kelantan during the 1977 Kelantan Emergency. He said although there were so many things different between DAP and PAS, like what is halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden), alcohol, pork, and hudud, the two parties agree with each other in eradicating poverty, cruelty, and corruption, among others. Was DAP promoting Islamophobia in coming to PAS’ help in 1977?
- Hadi should know by now that the DAP was not the mastermind or had anything to do with the 2018 episode when the Pakatan Harapan government under the Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad had tried to ratify the International Covenant of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). All Hadi needed to do is to ask the then Foreign Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah who is now with him in Perikatan Nasional (PN), or even Mahathir since they have become such good pals. Is Hadi going to apologise for his wild and ferocious attacks on the DAP as the “mastermind” of the attempted ratification?
- Since 2018, Hadi has not been able to cite a single a case of the 55 out of 57 Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) Muslim countries where Islam was undermined or a single case of the 36 out of 38 countries with monarchical system where the monarchical system was affected as a result of the ratification of ICERD.
- Hadi’s recent wild and preposterous allegations that that non-Muslims and non-Malays were “plunderers” who gave and received bribes and had conned the Malays and Muslims of their rights for over a half a century.
- His latest wild and preposterous allegations that the DAP had targeted Malays who were “ignorant about their faith” to amass political power and that DAP “lured” certain Malay figures to become its “puppets”.
Islam, like the great religions on the world, do not teach religious leaders to tell lies or use falsehoods and fake news.
If Hadi can become an honest, responsible and respected Islamic leader in Malaysia and prepared to admit that he was wrong to make such wild and preposterous allegations and undertook not to repeat the wild and preposterous allegations against DAP and me, I do not see why PAS cannot be invited to join the Unity Government.
The Yang di Pertuan Agong is right – Malaysia needs political stability to become a progressive, prosperous and respected world-class nation. But will Hadi heed what is in the national interests instead of acting for his own personal interests?