Scrap the RM85.5 million for reviving JASA and put the money for a special agency to promote national unity and bring Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics together as one united people to fight the Covid-19 pandemic

Scrap the RM85.5 million for reviving the Special Affairs Department (JASA) and put the money for a special agency to promote national unity and bring Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics together as one united people to fight the Covid-19 pandemic

This is the first step to make the 2021 Budget presented by the Finance Minister, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Azia in Parliament last Friday into a “Unity Budget” in the face of Covid-19 epidemic, and not one which made use of the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s call for the budget to be passed as a blank cheque to achieve narrow self-interests and political mileage instead of serving national interests.

In the last two days, nearly 30,000 people have signed the online petition (https://www.change.org/p/ahli-dewan-rakyat-batalkan-peruntukan-jasa-dalam-belanjawan-2021?recruiter=862892777) calling for the RM85.5 million plan to revive JASA to be aborted amid the tough economic times during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I have signed the online petition and I call on all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics to support the online petition to make it the most successful online petition in the history of Malaysia to ensure that the 2021 Budget is a Unity Budget for Malaysians facing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Pakatan Harapan government dissolved JASA because it was the chief liar and propagandist instrument of the Najib government, whose director-general was more powerful than an ordinary Cabinet Minister.

In fact, the Director-General of JASA was a super-Minister, whose salary was more than the Minister for Communications and Multi-media under whom JASA was formally parked, and the JASA director-general was responsible only to the Prime Minister and not the Minister for Communications and Multi-media.

During Najib Razak’s administration, JASA was most unpatriotic and irresponsible in opposing the five nation-building principles of Rukun Negara and the chief government agency to perpetrate the falsehood that the 1MDB financial scandal was “fake news”, and demonising the DAP as anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-royalty and even as “communist” to distract Malaysians from the issues of 1MDB and kleptocracy.

I am really shocked that the Perikatan Nasional government has not only decided to revive JASA. the chief demonisation agency of the Najib administration, but to allocate it with a huge budget of RM85.5 million ringgit next year, which is almost thrice the allocation of RM30 million in the final year of the Najib administration.

It would appear that the Perikatan Nasional government has come full circle and is now in the same mould of the rejected UMNO-Barisan Nasional government before May 9, 2018.

Would Najib Razak support the call to abort the revival of JASA?

In his victory speech, the 46th President-elect of the United States Joe Biden promised the end Trump’s “era of grim demonization”. It will be most unfortunate if at this time, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is doing the very opposite in launching a new Trumpian “era of grim demonization” in Malaysia with the revival of JASA in 2021 Budget.