(Petaling Jaya, Wednesday): The UMNO special general assembly on Saturday should take an uncompromising and unconditional stand to denounce UMNO Selangor State Assemblyman for Selat Klang, Datuk Zakaria Mat Derus’ "samseng" politics to drum out political "gangsters" from all political parties and the Malaysian political arena.
The UMNO special general assembly should call for the severest disciplinary action against Zakaria for assaulting another Selangor State Assemblyman to demonstrate that the 2.7 million-member strong UMNO is committed to real changes not only to end money politics, democratise the party and empower UMNO grassroots but to nip in the bud the rise of "samseng" politics.
UMNO delegates to the special general assembly must make clear their unconditional condemnation of Zakaria’s disgraceful and shameful conduct on two grounds, firstly, for the physical assault of DAP Selangor Assemblyman for Bandar Klang, Teng Chang Khim as well as the assault against Teng by his aide/bodyguard in the Selangor Assemblymen’s lounge at the Selangor Assembly on Monday, and secondly, for his racist, vulgar and loutish conduct in using highly offensive and insensitive terms like "Cina Babi" which is completely unacceptable in a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society like Malaysia and should instantly disqualify such a person from being an elected representative of the people.
It will be a great shame and tragedy if the political leaders of major political parties like UMNO increasingly comprise "gangsters", and who relish being rercognised as gangsters (various media had reported that Zakaria had gleefully admitted at the Selangor State Assembly in a previous exchange that he was a "samseng").
The question is whether the UMNO special general assembly can set high moral and political standards on the gangsterish conduct of Zakaria, and if not, then UMNO is just not capable of becoming relevant again either to Malays in particular or Malaysians in general in the 21st century.
UMNO members and the Malaysian people had been promised "radical" and the "most comprehensive" reforms in the 54-year history of UMNO to make it relevant again to the Malay constituency and the Malaysian nation.
Nobody can see anything "radical" or "most comprehensive" in the constitutional proposals like the five-year UMNO party elections to follow national general elections, which will snuff out whatever little that is left of democracy in the party.
Even if the UMNO special general assembly wants to adopt such undemocratic amendments, the least it should do is to take a clear-cut and categorical stand against "samseng" politics as typified by Zakaria and drum out all political "gangsters" from all political parties and the Malaysian political arena. All political parties must not allow the culture of "samseng" politics to take root in Malaysia.
(15/11/2000)