The whole focus of the UMNO General Assembly on its 50th anniversary has been on money politics - whether the speeches by the UMNO President, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed or Deputy President, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the UMNO elections, particularly for the three Vice Presidents, or during the debate by the delegates from the floor.
Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has publicly admitted that Mahathir’s impassioned speech, which ended with a voice choked with emotion and with tears in his eyes, had “paved the way” for him to “make a comeback”.
Another candidate, however, was in tears after the announcement of the UMNO election results when he found that Mahathir’s emotional and powerful speech was unable to swing enough votes to enable him to make a breakthrough as a new elected UMNO Vice President.
The UMNO elections have produced many surprises, created strange phenomena and raised several questions.
Among the surprises were the results of the elections for UMNO Youth and UMNO Wanita chiefs - and Mahathir himself must have been surprised by these outcomes - as well as the UMNO Vice President election results, particularly the fall of Youth and Sports Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from winning the highest vote as UMNO Vice President in 1993 (with 1,413 votes) to a sixth place in a field of seven (with 545 votes) this round.
Among the strange phenomena was the public unanimity of the UMNO leaders and delegates that there should be no compromise with money politics - and yet the whole UMNO elections this year was held under the shadow of money politics. Some of the losers have accused the winners of shouting against “money politics” so that they could practise “money politics”!
Another strange phenomena is the common stand taken by the UMNO President and the Deputy President against the evils of money politics, yet in the UMNO elections, candidates were perceived to be either aligned with one leader or the other, rarely with both, coupled with allegations or suggestions of money politics committed by the other group.
Among the questions raised by the UMNO General Assembly elections are the seriousness, extent and magnitude of the war against money politics - whether it is for the just concluded UMNO General Assembly and elections and whether it is to be confined only to UMNO.
Mahathir has said that the war against money politics in UMNO will go on even after the party elections, and those who won through money politics would be disciplined.
Mahathir has undoubtedly risen in stature as a warrior against money politics, momentarily overtaking his Deputy President, Anwar Ibrahim, who had always assiduously cultivated his image and concern as an enemy of corruption and money politics. However, Mahathir has not given any indication as to whether his speech at the UMNO General Assembly is to herald a national crusade against corruption and money politics going beyond UMNO to embrace the entire national body politic, or whether his crusade against money politics is to be confined to the four walls of UMNO.
In his speech at the UMNO General Assembly, Mahathir called for firm and stern actions to be taken to reject corrupt leaders. The Prime Minister should know that if corruption and money politics are to be effectively stamped out, then the campaign cannot be confined to UMNO but must extend to the entire national political system.
Mahathir’s tears and his condemnation of corrupt leaders at the UMNO General Assembly would be in vain if he does not keep up the momentum to widen the campaign against money politics to take it to the national level to cover all political aspects.
Mahathir’s fight against money politics and corruption in UMNO is an UMNO affair, and neither the DAP nor any outsider can interfere. However, if Mahathir is prepared to take the fight against money politics and corruption to the entire national political system, he can be assured of full DAP support, whether inside Parliament and the State Assemblies or outside.
It would indeed be a great pity if there is no national follow-up to Mahathir’s stand against corruption and money politics at the UMNO General Assembly and I would like to propose to the Prime Minister that a policy decision be taken to extend the war against corruption and money politics to the entire national political system.
Parliament would begin meeting tomorrow and is scheduled to sit for 40 days - 29 days of which would be devoted to the policy and committee debates of the 1997 budget.
I propose the setting aside of two days before the presentation of the 1997 Budget by the Finance Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on Friday, October 25 for a special parliamentary debate on corruption and money politics to show the world that Malaysian political leaders regardless of political party mean business in wanting to establish a world reputation of being clean and incorrupt.
In this Parliamentary debate, a national consensus should be reached by MPs from all political parties on the new national strategy to be adopted to wipe out corruption and money politics in Malaysian politics, whether at the national or state level, whether in UMNO, other Barisan Nasional parties, or Opposition parties.
I hope to meet the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister in Parliament tomorrow to find out whether the Government is prepared to table such a motion and to set aside two days for debate. DAP to move a motion of urgent definite public importance in Parliament tomorrow on SUPP’s unfair, undemocratic and vindictive campaign against Borneo Post, See Hua Daily News and Sin Hua Evening News
I have given notice to the Speaker of Parliament, Tan Sri Zahir Ismail, that I will move a motion of urgent, definite public importance in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow on the SUPP’s unfair, undemocratic and vindictive campaign against the Borneo Post, See Hua Daily News and Sin Hua Evening News, blaming the three newspapers for the SUPP setbacks in the Sept. 8 Sarawak state general elections, losing three state assembly seats to the DAP and in particular the defeat of the SUPP President, Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Wong Soon Kai.
I would inform Parliament that the SUPP action to find a “scapegoat” for its electoral setbacks in the Sarawak state general elections represents a grave threat to incipient press freedom in Sarawak and Malaysia and is a blow to the healthy development of democracy.
In my motion, I would question the propriety of the Sarawak State Government supporting a political party in such an unfair, undemocratic and vindictive campaign when the state government should be a government of all Sarawakians, irrespective of political party! In acting against the three Sarawak newspapers, the Sarawak State Government is committing a grave abuse of power and serious breach of trust.
The SUPP’s action against the three Sarawak newspapers is the latest example of the “arrogance of power” of the SUPP leadership, which was one important reason for the SUPP’s electoral setbacks. The SUPP leadership had been enjoying unquestioned power in Sarawak state politics for so long that they have come to equate their interests with public interests- that what is good for SUPP leadership is good for the people, and what the bad for the SUPP leadership is bad for the people! They just could not conceive that what is bad for the SUPP leadership might be good for the people of Sarawak!
(13/10/96)