NAJIB PROMISED TO FIGHT GRAFT?

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for “a zebra to shed its stripes or a leopard to remove its spots”. May be Barisan Nasional (BN) can try bleaching the fur of the animals white and in a few months the stripes and spots will all reappear just like grey hair. So, this is really for “election news” only and the Prime Minister expects Malaysians to believe him.

Caretaker PM Najib pledged to fight corruption, boost public services and seek a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council if his coalition partners retain power in elections due in a matter of weeks. Under the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, corruption and abuses of power is at its peak.

BN politicians and ministers come to power and position themselves to strip and bleed the nation of its wealth and will eventually bankrupt Malaysia if we continue to vote and appoint them to be our representatives.

Former Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Adviser Tan Sri Robert Phang on October 3, 2012 said that the international anti-corruption conference in Kuala Lumpur was a waste of time and an occasion for the Malaysian government to pretend that it is serious about fighting graft.

Lim Kit Siang said, “No reason to celebrate but many grounds to rue over Transparency International (TI) 2012 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which ranked Malaysia 54th as compared to 60th in 2011 as least corrupt country in the world”.

Malaysia is below average in international rankings and scores. In 1995, under Mahathir, we were at No. 23, by 2003 under A. Badawi we were at No. 37, by 2008 we were at No. 47 and today under Najib we are at No. 54 (2012).

How can Najib pledge to fight corruption when he was responsible for making Malaysia its worst record under his guard compared to two of his predecessors?

What is the use of Najib promising more specialist graft courts and greater public disclosure of government contracts if BN has no intention to ensure that laws, rules and regulations are strictly enforced without fear or favor?

It seems that there are two standards – one that is only applicable to ordinary citizens and the other to the rich and powerful politicians and cronies. If BN has been in power for the last 55 years and Najib has not done anything about corruption in his last four years as PM, do you think do anything this time around?

There are so many cases and issues involving powerful politicians that have been raised in the past. The PM and relevant authorities have so far chosen to remain quiet and no action has been taken.

Furthermore, the caretaker PM Najib recently expressed, "My sincere apologies to all Malaysians if we have done anything wrong” which had been broadcasted live on national television. Najib expects Malaysians to forgive them.

In fact, if Najib and BN are sincere in the fight against corruption, they must bring to justice all politicians who are involved, punish and remove them from office.

Najib said, "At the end of the day, we are ordinary humans. I can assure you that we will do better in the next five years" as if to justify their wrongdoings. Is it human to be corrupted, to overspend and increase national debt from RM258 billion to RM504 billion in four years, to allow capital flight of about RM1 trillion in ten years when ordinary citizens has to fill up Bank Negara forms and declare every transaction of more than US$10,000 send out of Malaysia, to overspend on all projects, to fail in implementing 53.7% of projects for Sabah under the 9th Malaysia Plan, et cetera?

Najib’s statement ought to be corrected, the other Malaysians are ordinary humans and citizen but BN ministers and cronies are the rich and powerful citizens who can do no wrong.

Is it time for change? Malaysians had given BN 50 years or more to rule the country and they have failed in so many ways compared with Singapore and Brunei. Our Ringgit had fallen to record lows against the Singapore and Brunei dollar.

Prices of goods and services have increased tremendously and are expected to increase further with the GST (Goods and Services Tax) going into the 3rd and final reading in parliament if BN wins. The prospects seem to get bleaker and bleaker for the people if BN wins again and rule for the next five years.

It is now for the people to vote for change to ensure that the success as report by the auditor general for Penang and Selangor in the last four years is no fluke and could be repeated for the rest of Malaysia in the next five years. The people of Malaysia are the “king makers” and Sabah, Sarawak and Johore will be the most critical states for the future of Malaysia.