Why such thunderous silence from Ramli and BN to the challenge to make Cameron Highlands by-election the cleanest in nation’s history?
Before the advent of Internet, electronic and social media, the normal reaction time to political challenges worldwide is one day as 24 hours is given to allow the original challenge to appear on the printed media the next day.
Electronic and social media has destroyed the 24-hour rule, as in the age of modern communication, information travels at the speed of light, making it possible to know what is happening almost instantaneously all over the world.
I believe my statement challenging the Barisan Nasional candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election, Ramli Mohd Nor to make the Cameron Highlands by-election the cleanest in nation’s history with the Barisan Nasional and Pakantan Harapan candidates making daily declarations of their by-election expenditures and invitation to Election Commission and NGOs to monitor their daily campaigns would have been known to Ramli six hours ago.
My statement was issued at 9.57 a.m, and although it was reported by Malay Mail Online shortly after 11 am and fully reproduced by Malaysiakini at 12.13 pm, Barisan Nasional mass media communications network would have informed Ramli of my statement shortly after 10 am.
Why then the thunderous silence from Ramli, who wants to give the impression that “integrity” is one the priority goals of his Cameron Highlands campaign when he said that if he wins the by-election, it will not be based on bribery.
Does Ramli mean that he would not be involved in bribery, but that this pledge does not bind the Barisan Nasional - the reason why there is no response from him to my challenge to make the Cameron Highlands by-election the cleanest in nation’s history with the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan candidates making daily declarations of their by-election expenditures and invitation to Election Commission and NGOs to monitor their daily campaigns?
Malaysiakini reported today that while the other three candidates for the Cameron Highlands by-election have a full day ahead of them, with the Pakatan Harapan candidate M . Manogaran splitting his time between the Tanah Rata and Jelai areas, “BN has announced a grand total of zero events to the media”.
Why is this so. What is the reason for the “black hole” in the by-election itinerary of the Barisan Nasional candidate? Are they planning activities which they do not want the public, including the Election Commission and NGOs monitoring elections, to know?
What is the Barisan Nasional machinery hiding from the Malaysian public?
Is this the reason why it is impossible and unthinkable that there could be any positive response from Ramli to my challenge to co-operate with the Pakatan Harapan candidate to make the by-election the cleanest in nation’s history with the BN and PH candidates making daily declarations of their by-election expenditures and invitation to Election Commission and NGOs to monitor their daily campaigns?
The last three days were quite hilarious – with the tongue-in-cheek speech by UMNO leaders like UMNO Supreme Council member, Tan Sri Noh Omar, calling on the voters not to sell their votes, but to “take whatever they give you” whether rice, money or sugar.
This is a speech for Pakatan Harapan leaders and not Barisan Nasional leaders – as Pakatan Harapan does not buy votes, whether Malays, Chinese, Indian or Orang Asli voters.
There was also the hilarious press conference in Kampong Raja by the MCA President, Datuk Seri Wee Ka, who worked himself up into a hysteria over the reimbursement of RM20 each to some 60 Orang Asli motorcylists while remaining blind and unconcerned to the monstrous RM50 billion 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal of Datuk Seri Najib Razak!
Can I remind Wee that RM20 each is legitimate reimbursement for some 60 Orang Asli motor-cyclists who came out from remote Orang Asli kampongs especially from the Jelai area to Tanah Rata on Saturday for Nomination, while the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal is not legitimate at all, as it is theft and daylight robbery of the people’s money.
Is Wee aware that RM50 billion is 2.5 billion times bigger than RM20 – a classic case of MCA blindness to kleptocracy, immorality and wrongdoing in Malaysia, the real reason why MCA was completely rejected in the 14th General Election and reduced from a 7/11 political party in the 13th General Election to a mosquito party with only one MP?
Does Ramli stand for honesty and integrity, as he had not answered although I had asked three times whether he would condemn the 1MDB scandal and the Najib kleptocracy which had brought shame and infamy to Malaysia as a global kleptocracy?
This is the fourth time I am asking Ramli to take as principled stand – or can the voters of Cameron Highlands assume that he would not condemn the 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal but would instead embrace Datuk Seri Najib Razak as a model leader when Najib campaigns in Cameron Highlands from Friday to Sunday?