Barisan Nasional - It is simple to just blame the Prime Minister of the day for all the 'wrongs' of the BN government, and the 'mess' and state that Malaysia is in today.
Unfortunately. we forget this approach of just focusing on the Prime Minister is flawed - and it makes it simple for the BN to stay in power - all they need to do is, simply change the PM...and many in Malaysia will just say 'Let's Give the New PM a Chance', and vote the BN in again...and again. Remember, that the UMNO led political coalition has ruled from Independence to this day...we have never experience any alternative government.
GUILT is not just for the person who does the actual wrong - but also those who 'allow' it to continue with their silence, or their failure to highlight/criticize, or failure to stop it. ... If someone kills someone, then the killers, the persons who helped 'cover up, the persons who saw or knew about it ignored and kept silent, - well all of them would be guilty.
Members of Parliament have the power to do the needful - they have the power to remove a Prime Minister...
Cabinet members, on the other hand, really have no power, but they can still express their protest and get removed, or they just just resign in protest...being silent and remaining in Cabinet means they support what is being done by the government. But do not forget that most Cabinet Members are MPs, so as MP there have the needed power...
Unfortunately. we forget this approach of just focusing on the Prime Minister is flawed - and it makes it simple for the BN to stay in power - all they need to do is, simply change the PM...and many in Malaysia will just say 'Let's Give the New PM a Chance', and vote the BN in again...and again. Remember, that the UMNO led political coalition has ruled from Independence to this day...we have never experience any alternative government.
GUILT is not just for the person who does the actual wrong - but also those who 'allow' it to continue with their silence, or their failure to highlight/criticize, or failure to stop it. ... If someone kills someone, then the killers, the persons who helped 'cover up, the persons who saw or knew about it ignored and kept silent, - well all of them would be guilty.
Members of Parliament have the power to do the needful - they have the power to remove a Prime Minister...
Cabinet members, on the other hand, really have no power, but they can still express their protest and get removed, or they just just resign in protest...being silent and remaining in Cabinet means they support what is being done by the government. But do not forget that most Cabinet Members are MPs, so as MP there have the needed power...
Malaysians did not choose Najib as Prime Minister?
Remember, we the people never chose our own Prime Minister - We just voted in our elected Members of Parliament(MP), and they chose the Prime Minister...Our constitution states that the Prime Minister is the one that '...command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House...' (Article 43 Federal Constitution). And, as such the MPs decide on who would be the Prime Minister - and for now, Najib Tun Razak is the one that enjoys the confidence of the Majority. Now, who becomes Prime Minister does not have to be the UMNO President or the leader of the BN - it can be any MP that enjoys the support of the majority of the MPs. Hence, it is the BN MPs that chose Najib Tun Razak to be Prime Minister, and who keeps him in the position of Prime Minister. In the US, the people elect the President directly - maybe we should consider this.
When the Prime Minister loses the support of the majority, we can have a new PM. This happened in the State of Kedah, governed by the BN, and we now have a new Menteri Besar because the previous one had lose the confidence of the majority. The other BN governed state that this also did happen was Trengganu. In the Opposition(PAS-DAP-PKR), this happened when Khalid lost the confidence of the majority...
Malaysia has 222 Members of Parliament, and there are still more than 111 that support, and continue to support Najib Tun Razak to be Prime Minister. As such, they should also be equally blamed for all the actions and omissions of PM Najib.
Malaysia has 222 Members of Parliament, and there are still more than 111 that support, and continue to support Najib Tun Razak to be Prime Minister. As such, they should also be equally blamed for all the actions and omissions of PM Najib.
PRIME MINISTER and HIS CABINET(THE EXECUTIVE) - here, the Prime Minister is all powerful, he chooses his Cabinet (the Ministers and Deputy Ministers), and as such, he also has the power to cause them to be removed.
If a member of the Cabinet, has a differing view, there is nothing stopping him from expressing it - provided maybe, that he says it is his personal view, not the view of the Cabinet or the government.
There is no requirement for democracy in a Cabinet - the final decision is that of the PM. The Cabinet is just the 'team' of people chosen by the PM to help him do his work.
If a member of the Cabinet, has a differing view, there is nothing stopping him from expressing it - provided maybe, that he says it is his personal view, not the view of the Cabinet or the government.
There is no requirement for democracy in a Cabinet - the final decision is that of the PM. The Cabinet is just the 'team' of people chosen by the PM to help him do his work.
UMNO - THE SOCIETY
A political party is a society - and there, it is the members that elect their Office Bearers, the President, Deputy President, etc - Decision making power in a society, like UMNO, lies with the entire Committee(the 'Supreme Council'). So, Najib Tun Razak as President of UMNO, cannot alone remove(or rather really 'suspend') the Deputy President - it needs to be a majority decision of the entire Executive Committee of UMNO. So, the suspension of Muhyiddin Yassin as Deputy President was a decision of the Supreme Council, and It had to be a democratic decision of the Supreme Council.
Of course, in any society a suspension or even a 'termination of membership' decision can always be appealed to the membership of UMNO, being the Boss..but this can happen only when there is a General Meeting of Members. The 'appeal' could also be brought to the members by calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting(EGM), and an EGM could be called by the members if the Supreme Council does not want to do it themselves. What does the UMNO Constitution say about this?
Of course, in any society a suspension or even a 'termination of membership' decision can always be appealed to the membership of UMNO, being the Boss..but this can happen only when there is a General Meeting of Members. The 'appeal' could also be brought to the members by calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting(EGM), and an EGM could be called by the members if the Supreme Council does not want to do it themselves. What does the UMNO Constitution say about this?
Muhyidin - silent from 2009... 2013, 2014, 2015...Umno is no longer democratic, claimed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, following the decision by Umno’s supreme council to suspend him as deputy president.- Star, 27/2/2016
Muhyiddin Yasin cannot be excused for the wrongs of the BN government, under the PM Najib Tun Razak's...He was the Deputy Prime Minister since 2009...and see how Malaysia's external debt just skyrocketed after 2008...
Remember the new 'detention without trial laws' and other oppressive laws like the
Prevention of Terrorism Act, Amendments to the Sedition Act, ... Remember the removal of subsidies, GST, increased toll rates, ...
Prevention of Terrorism Act, Amendments to the Sedition Act, ... Remember the removal of subsidies, GST, increased toll rates, ...
Was the stance Muhyiddin took with regard the RM2.6 billion and the 1MDB - really because he changed (or repented and changed)? Or was it just another DPM possibly making his move for the No.1 position seeing that Najib's position was 'weak'?
DO THESE EX-BN PEOPLE REALLY CHANGE? OR IS IT MERELY A PROJECTION TO CREATE A PERCEPTION THAT HE/SHE HAS 'CHANGED'? WHY? TO BE STILL RELEVANT IN MALAYSIAN POLITICAL SCENE?
I have my doubts, especially when it comes to former leaders - who have been removed or 'side-lined'?
DO THESE EX-BN PEOPLE REALLY CHANGE? OR IS IT MERELY A PROJECTION TO CREATE A PERCEPTION THAT HE/SHE HAS 'CHANGED'? WHY? TO BE STILL RELEVANT IN MALAYSIAN POLITICAL SCENE?
I have my doubts, especially when it comes to former leaders - who have been removed or 'side-lined'?
We recollect Anwar Ibrahim - on being ousted, he projected the impression that he was now a 'reformed person' aspiring for 'REFORMASI' in Malaysia? Was there a real change of values and principles?
Anwar was confronted at one forum, as to why he did not protest the ISA arrests and detention in 1987, and later when the Arqam members were arrested - and, of course his answers were unacceptable? He claimed that he had expressed his views to the PM, but then he can say anything now....but there was no public statement, was there?
Anwar and his former BN colleagues did not join any existing Opposition political party - but they formed a NEW political party, today known as PKR... What happened was similar to what happened with Semangat 46 before...
Sadly, some opposition parties not just embrace these former BN leaders - but also elevate them as leaders of the Opposition. It happened with Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li) - and then again with Anwar Ibrahim...
Such behavior by Malaysia's Opposition parties does not make them look good - Do they not have the confidence to advance their own long-time party members/leaders as leaders of the Opposition. The problem in Malaysia is with the 2 dominant Opposition parties - PAS and DAP. PAS, being an Islamic party with a very large membership made up of muslims - mainly Malays, and DAP who has a leadership composed mainly of non-Malays, and a small Malay membership. Given this reality, and having consideration of their respective political base and support, PAS and DAP find themselves having to take opposing stance on certain issues, usually concerning religion. As such, they need to have a third party, to hold hands with to present a strong Opposition pact. Things were improving as both parties have been reaching out to change public perception - PAS by opening its doors to non-Muslims, even palcing non-Muslim candidates in elections under the PAS ticket. DAP too has been increasing its Malay membership, and have been placing more Malay candidates. Malaysians, generally were becoming more open to both parties but things may have started to slide again...
PKR fit the role at this time - the necessary go-between between DAP and PAS. But alas, PKR still remains the weakest amongst the 3, in terms of members(or quality members), and even leaders. Now, PAS is bound by the Resolution adopted in its General Meeting - which impedes its working together with DAP...and so, we have a new PAS break-away party attempting a new Coalition with DAP and PKR.
Whilst PAS and DAP is not welcoming these 'former BN leaders', PKR has been doing so very often.
Anwar was confronted at one forum, as to why he did not protest the ISA arrests and detention in 1987, and later when the Arqam members were arrested - and, of course his answers were unacceptable? He claimed that he had expressed his views to the PM, but then he can say anything now....but there was no public statement, was there?
Anwar and his former BN colleagues did not join any existing Opposition political party - but they formed a NEW political party, today known as PKR... What happened was similar to what happened with Semangat 46 before...
Sadly, some opposition parties not just embrace these former BN leaders - but also elevate them as leaders of the Opposition. It happened with Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li) - and then again with Anwar Ibrahim...
Such behavior by Malaysia's Opposition parties does not make them look good - Do they not have the confidence to advance their own long-time party members/leaders as leaders of the Opposition. The problem in Malaysia is with the 2 dominant Opposition parties - PAS and DAP. PAS, being an Islamic party with a very large membership made up of muslims - mainly Malays, and DAP who has a leadership composed mainly of non-Malays, and a small Malay membership. Given this reality, and having consideration of their respective political base and support, PAS and DAP find themselves having to take opposing stance on certain issues, usually concerning religion. As such, they need to have a third party, to hold hands with to present a strong Opposition pact. Things were improving as both parties have been reaching out to change public perception - PAS by opening its doors to non-Muslims, even palcing non-Muslim candidates in elections under the PAS ticket. DAP too has been increasing its Malay membership, and have been placing more Malay candidates. Malaysians, generally were becoming more open to both parties but things may have started to slide again...
PKR fit the role at this time - the necessary go-between between DAP and PAS. But alas, PKR still remains the weakest amongst the 3, in terms of members(or quality members), and even leaders. Now, PAS is bound by the Resolution adopted in its General Meeting - which impedes its working together with DAP...and so, we have a new PAS break-away party attempting a new Coalition with DAP and PKR.
Whilst PAS and DAP is not welcoming these 'former BN leaders', PKR has been doing so very often.
Did the Malaysian Opposition parties welcome 'ousted' BN members because they believed these people had changed, or was it merely just a strategy to oust BN? Things became confusing when the Opposition also placed these 'former BN' leaders as candidates for elections - and even elevated them to 'high positions' in their political party?
PKR - well, that is the party formed by a majority of former BN members/leaders?PKR, has over the years been bringing in even recently 'out of BN' leaders - Zaid Ibrahim, Chua Jui Meng,...of late, in September 2015, they also welcomed former Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Muhd Taib(who before this joined PAS) as a member of PKR.
In July 2009, Chua quit the MCA to join the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), - after 2 failed attempts to become MCA President, and the failure to be selected as a BN candidate in the 2008 General Elections...(Wikipedia)
In June 2009 Zaid joined the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), after resigning as a BN Minister on 15 September 2008....In the 2010 PKR party elections, Zaid Ibrahim contested for the party post of Deputy President, but in November 2010, withdrew his candidacy as a sign of protest against serious allegations of fraud and electoral misconduct perpetrated in the PKR party elections by his opponent, Azmin Ali. He later left PKR, and joined a new party, now known as the People's Welfare Party or Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) [Source: Wikipedia]
Are this former BN personalities see PKR as a 'like-minded' political party? Or maybe, they see better chances for political advancement? For, many in Malaysia, this is disturbing...more so, since these were not just former ordinary members of BN - but persons who were former leaders in the BN?
Now, yet again, we see PKR opening its hands to Muhyiddin? Is this something that we need to be concerned about...We must remember Semangat 46 that jumped back into UMNO, and even what happened in Perak when mainly PKR ADUNs hopped out of the Opposition giving Perak back to the BN?
In my opinion, there is no shortage of good people out there that could be candidates in the Elections - people who have been consistent in their stance on human rights and justice.
Azmin and PKR especially must be concerned, because a lot of things which Selangor under Azmin is doing is very similar to the policies and practices of the BN. What Malaysians want is an ALTERNATIVE - not just non-BN people occupying the seats of power?
Azmin welcomes Muhyiddin to the Reformasi club
Call for reforms of institutions is in line with PKR's stand and Anwar's Reformasi movement, he says.
PETALING JAYA: Azmin Ali, deputy PKR president, has welcomed Umno’s Muhyiddin Yassin as the latest member of the Reformasi club.
In a statement yesterday, Azmin welcomed Muhyiddin’s call for
institutional reforms and said his aspiration was in line with the
stance taken by PKR, other opposition parties, and civil society.
“It is the struggle of the ‘Reformasi’ movement started by Anwar
Ibrahim,” Azmin said and urged all political parties and societies, as
well as leaders and member of civil society to unite for the cause of
reforms.
On Saturday, Muhyiddin had stated that Malaysia’s problems arose from
weakened institutions and the concentration of power in the hands of
the prime minister. He had called for reforms of the system.
“We must rise above our differences by our one desire to take over a
national leadership that is weak,” he said. “It is not right that the
people should suffer injustice in the hands of leaders who misuse
power.”
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, who is MP for Pandan, had made
Muhyiddin a personal offer of friendship yesterday in response to the
statement, as he would to everyone who subscribed to the reform agenda,
and recalled the days when he was a member of the Reformasi movement in
the 1990s which sprung up around Anwar Ibrahim after he was ousted as
deputy prime minister to Mahathir Mohamad. - FMT News, 28/2/2016
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