The two blackspots of the 48th Barisan Nasional Anniversary Convention

The 48th Barisan National Anniversary Convention seems to be an answer to my statement that Malaysia should rectify the wrong direction we have taken in the last half-a-century and return to the nation-building principles as agreed by the nation’s founding fathers in the Malaysian Constitution and Rukun Negara if Malaysia is not to end up as a failed state.

I had said that the first three Prime Ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, would have been shocked that the nation had deviated from the founding nation-building principles to the extent that there are Ministers in the Cabinet who do not accept the Rukun Negara principles and there are leaders who are proud that Malaysia is notorious in the world as a kleptocracy.

I had asked whether there is nobody in UMNO who dare say that UMNO should not seek the return of Najib Razak as Prime Minister, that his years as Prime Minister when Malaysia became “kleptocracy at its worst” worldwide is not something to be proud of, that UMNO should spearhead the movement for Malaysia to be a world-class great nation by returning to the nation-building principles our founding fathers have agreed in the Malaysian Constitution – constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and national unity from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity?

There were two blackspots in the Barisan Nasional Convention – the prominent role of Najib as a speaker where he could spout the disinformation that money laundering had nothing to do with corruption, and the speech of the UMNO Deputy President, Mohamad Hassan who spoke of the need to rebrand and recalibrate, yet referred to departure of the political parties from Barisan Nasional after the BN defeat of the 14th general election because “their morals, goals and loyalty have wavered and their appetite is insatiable”.

There was no apology or regret for the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of making Malaysia a “kleptocracy at its worst” in the world.

Does Malaysia want to be a kleptocracy in the world for a second time?

Lim Kit Siang MP for Iskandar Puteri