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MALASYIA POLITICAL RESILIENCE IN FACING THE NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGES1 DR RAIS YATIM Yang Di Pertua Dewan Negara Malaysia 12 Jan 2021 Brig Jen.

Datuk Mohd Nizam Hj Jaafar (Komandan) National Resilience College All Senior Directing Staff Head of Academic, Dato2 and all Course Members NRC ------------------------------- Brig Jen.
Datuk Johnny Lim (Juruarah Kanan Darat) Mjr Shahran Imran Abd Rahman (Peg Staf 2 Loordinasi) Syukur dapat bersama pimpinan dan peneraju National Resilience College (Maktab Ketahanan Kebangsaan) pada pagi ini.

Lantaran kita masih berada di perenggan minggu kedua tahun baru 2021, saya mengambil peluang ini mengucapkan Selamat tahun Baru kepada Datuk Komandan dan hadirin Budiman di Maktab ini.
Di Sg Buluh menjual baulu Di Bkt Batu mengumpul gula Tahun dua puluh sudah berlalu Tahun dua puluh satu muncul pula … … … … I am truly honoured to be among the bright and sprightly segment of our high-ranking officials today.

Many thanks for your invitation that avails my joining this august group this morning.

The last time I was given the opportunity to address our then Maktab Latihan Tentera Sg.

Besi was way back in 1987 when I was Foreign Minister.
Naturally then the topic thrust upon me was Malaysia’s foreign policy issues.

Now, via your esteemed group we are supposed to delve into the area of political challenges given present resilience in the country.
In exact terms we are to talk about prevailing circumstances in Malaysian politics of the day; quite a tall order, I must admit, viewing the fact that socio-political values and viewpoints have changed drastically over the last decade, not to mention change of Perikatan/Alliance -1974 1974-2018 BN Mei 2018 – 2020 PH Govt (TunMahathir) March 2020- now PN Govt governments.
The thrust of the social media upon us for past two decades has brought in volleys of challenges many of which are still hanging as 1 Talk given at the Central College 12 January 2021.

1 big issues.

Witness the ease with which to express oneself, criticize, to blame others and not to mention to confront leaders in politics and the government of the day and other areas in a care-free if not high-handling manner.
This generation is now the internet generation in which the whole world has become a digital village.

Even my former drivers now dare to say things in fb, twitter and other media with ease and an air of nonchallant.

I would say that the present social-media freedom which we all enjoy breeds both contempt and non- Social media hazards & benefits contemptuous matters.

Speaker cannot speak up?

Much ado abt nothing?


- Shakespeare As Speaker of the Upper House, I have been warned by certain political big-wigs ‘not to speak up’ because they say a speaker is supposed to be ubiquitous, neutral and nonchalant.

But the very system, via Art.

56 of the Federal Constitution appoints me as Speaker and nowhere does it state that the Speaker is disallowed to speak.

What irony could it be when a Speaker cannot speak.
In hindsight, I believe what is meant by the caution is that the Speaker of the Upper House or the Dewan Rakyat is not expected to be talking “much ado about nothing” as Shakespeare says.

But here and now we are talking about something noble and very much pertinent to the psyche of the nation: hence political norms and challenges are truly matters of great significance and very pertinent to the general public.
Moreover, politics being humanized since man had come to grips with social order and responsibility remains pertinent and relevant in our lives.

Hence we now talk about our country Malaysia from the pulpit of government and politics.

MALASYIA POLITICAL RESILIENCE IN FACING THE NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGES – Your Commandant Brig Jen.

Datuk Mohd Nizam Hj Jaafar intimated that I should speak on this topic.
Reading the whole title again, the emphasis is on: (a) Malaysia’s political resilience, (b) the facing of the new political challenges.

Taking my eyes away from the printed words, this means I have to decipher the country’s political challenges.

As a condition precedent you will no doubt agree that I must ascertain whether or not 2 there is in essence political resilience in the present set-up of socio-political realities.
You will also agree if we insert primary and frontal realities which in essence are besetting the envisaged challenges.

Politics in Malaysia today is competing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

You hear about the increasing Covid cases in the thousands on daily basis.

No country is spared the pandemic.


While Covid cases are on the rampant rise, you also hear about the incessant political raptures the likes of which we never before experienced; there are media quarters here who state that this is the worst political split in Malaysia, unfortunately created by the leaders of the Malay-Bumi community.

I would add if our first and second prime ministers –Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn were still alive, they would yank those politicians by their ears.
In Bahasa Melayu we have the proverb that says: ibarat ikan, bahagian yang busuk dahulu ialah kepalanya.

How true.

Now there is another proverb: banyak udang, banyak garam, banyak orang banyak ragam.

Rambut sama hitam, hati lain-lain.

True again.

So under these circumstances and situational disposition our country just now is in a state of political confusuon, gurgling with unprecedented difficulties.

More aptly put now is the time of Malay political tumult and confusion.
The MCA, MIC, Gerakan, DAP among others somehow know their strength and weaknesses hence they behave themselves.

As for the Malay and Bumi party leaders, they really rattle and gruntle, losing decorum and decency at every turn.

See those who use suggestive hand-sign in the Dewan Rakyat plus abrasive and tiada BUDI style.

Suddenly every party president or chairman wants to be the prime minister.

Mind you there is only one vacancy each time allowed by the YDAgong.
You will recall The Pakatan Harapan won a total 104 parliamentary seats by 10 May 2018 after all the parties in PH were contested under the PKR symbol following the refusal of the ROS to register PPBM individually.

Many quarters believe that should the parties contested under each individual banner, the result might have been different.

Barisan Nasional won 79, PAS 18, DAP got its 42 DR seats, thanks to the use of the PKR logo.

PKR collected 38 seats, Amanah 11, Warisan 8, Bersatu 13, MCA 1, MIC 2.
Independent 3 and STAR 1.

The PH won, though bereft of the two-thirds majority, on account of the blatant acts of lofty corruption committed by top UMNO 3 government leaders.

The PH leaders suddenly were seen as saviours of a corrupt system.

Accounts of hundreds of glittering gold watches, top price handbags and accessories (they forgot the shoes and rings), diamonds, RM116 million in cash, untold big-time value of rip offs were bared to the public.
Am sure many still remember the sweaty appearance of Dato Amar Singh who did a fantastic job in elucidating the details of the political power loot.

The 1MBD debacle which underpinned the horrendous abuse of power and the sly, slippery ways of Jho Low the Penang boy who massaged the system under the control of the then PM, Dato Seri Najib Razak.

The RM42 billion or so that was milked via multiple international corporate conduit becomes the world’s worst money laundering case ever.
Finally we got recognized, only for the wrong reason.

Systematic degradation of human values After 2.5 years now the stark happenings of 1MDB manipulators and manipulations appear to be too far thrown back into the past so much so people appear to be forgetting them already.

Now UMNO leaders are lining up to say that nothing was wrong, that their former president and their present big bosses are in fact “dianiaya” or victimised.

Tu dia biar betui, as our Penang friends retort.


They already forgot about the huge ocean going Jho Low yacht, the billions of RM sucked out from the future assets of the rakyat.

And now you see how they behave.

You have seen the appetite of leaders who want to be prime minister.

They do this in a multiplicity of ways and means.


Of course PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to hold on to his government of the day position despite Tengku Razaleigh’s assertion that he disputes Muhyiddin’s legitimacy as PM 2.

The Kelantan prince even refused to take part in the DR debate on the 2021 Budget.

Tun Mahathir, on his part, refused to blend proper sentiments with Muhyiddin and issued a blatant call for Muhyiddin to step down as premier.
Meanwhile DS Najib Razak and UMNO’s president, DS Zahid Hamidi reportedly crafted a joint letter supporting DS Anwar Ibrahim to be PM.

The plot even at this juncture became thicker and confusing because the objective of such move is hardly congruent to be understood by the rank and file.

Meanwhile a sense of dislike towards Bersatu was mounting.

To think that this development is afoot while there are 7 notable UMNO ministers and 9 Deputy Ministers in Muhyiddin’s Cabinet.
2 Malay Mail 22 Nov 2020: Questioning Muhyiddin’s legitimacy as PM, Ku Li to refrain from Budget 2021 debate by Zurairi AR 4 By a twist of sudden disposition on the part of PKR, DAP and associates Muhyiddin got his dismal victory of 3-vote majority at the Dewan Rakyat final budget decision on 15th December.

Though this is seen as down and under, it nevertheless holds water in the legislative democratic process.

After all, Tun Mahathir himself did say in 1987 that even winning one vote is victory.
DS Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) the Opposition Leader, now about 2.6 years out of jail on account of his sodomy case, announced on 23 September last year that he had “strong, formidable and convincing numbers’ in majority to form a new government.

The YDAgong was not convinced and Anwar whimpers on his way out of the Istana gateway on 13 Oct last “With a clear and indisputable support and majority behind me, the government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has fallen.” year.
Tun Mahathir Mohamed our 4th and 7th PM following his self-ouster as Chairman of Bersatu and his resignation as PM in February 2020 has formed a new political party called Pejuang and Saddique Abdul Rahman also formed his Muda party though the two entities have not satisfied the ROS in handing out their respective party formation certificates.

DS Najib Tun Razak our former PM who now faces a High Court conviction of 12 years imprisonment and RM210 million in fine has announced his push for an early GE-15.
He is supported in this view by DS Mohd Zahid Hamidi, former DPM who was also Najib’s former political secretary.

Behind all these furor is the deep seated desire of DS Najib, DS Anwar and even TunM to sit or to sit again in the PM’s chair – even though two of these erstwhile group members already sat and ruled us as prime minister.

For now, the debacle of 1MD is still being investigated and (Satu kali tak cukup mahu 2 kali.

TunM Nampak macam mahu 3 kali.)

adjudged by the courts.


The SRC case, described by the presiding judge as the “worst case of abuse of position and betrayal of trust” clutches DS Najib with a RM42 million pulldown of corrupt practice.

It cannot be easily shackled off though the appeal process does appear to be at a dragging pace.
I now put it to you now that the primary motive behind the push to support Anwar is the hope that with a speedy Gonzales GE15 the legal-judicial wrangle could be meandered to benefit some of these leaders whose left feet are almost into the doors of Sg Buluh.

Woe betide..if that happens it would be the end of confidence for our 5 judiciary.

That is indeed a debacle we should avoid for the sake of our dear Malaysia.

But those notable leaders involved don’t seem to bother.
They appear to be only concerned with their fortune.

Politics being the art of creating good governance for the governed has also brought about great dividends for the politicians.

All prime ministers, ministers, Menteri Besar, Ketua Menteri, members of Parliament have had commendable returns for their political services.

Some remain as politicians, a few among the premier politicians graduated to the level of statesmen in their own rights.
The reality that good political leaders are hard to come by, this statement is so may be due to the stringent standard applicable in assessing them.

Words like honesty, integrity, capability and a strong sense of fairness and justice may well be applied but the real challenge is in whether a political leader fulfills his promises on a good sustainable life.

In regard to politics and politicians, many metaphors and stark words of description have been hurled at both.
You hear of words like dirty politics, divisive politics, don’t get involved in politics, don’t trust promises made by politicians and the like.

But after being in the field of politics for past 5 decades or so, I dare construe that a political leader must be ready to expect more criticisms than praise.

Pinch your cheek every time you get praise or criticism.

All your good deeds are drowned by just one mistake.

In the West they make fun of politicians all year round.
The last one being in the UK when a Scotsman shouted back “Let the prime minister gets the Covid jab first.
If he can still say Hi every body and wave his hand when he gets down from his car, then I will believe his politics of Covid19.” The comedian, Groucho Marx used to say, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” But you will agree, the most sublime and sober rendition of politics as the disciple of good purpose has been said by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 during the birth of the American Nation: 6 We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed – Thomas Jefferson 1776.
Saying this haunting words must have pleased Thomas Jefferson himself who became the 3rd President of the US (1801-1809) but look at what happened a few day ago to Donald Trump, a serving president who is linked to the Capitol Hill rampage by his supporters – all said and done the US now is not qualified anymore to teach us what democracy is all about.

Essentially those haunting words of wisdom and human rights by Jefferson have become ingrained.
But you and I do remember that slavery in the US only started to dismantle subsequent to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865 by President Lincoln.

And to the horror of blacks in USA, even as late as 1965 there were still major racial segregation which was the rape of civil liberty, a topic for Martin Luther King who was assassinated for his tireless, noble work he did for his people and country.
What this teaches us is that politics could be a noble thing in as much as it being looked at as dirty and dishonorable.

It all depends on who the man or woman is.

I would simply put it this way: no leader is infallible, and no politician can bring in all the positive and lovely things in life without the people’s consent and censure.
But if the people themselves are equally prone to accept shady dealings, corruption and crime as acceptable and adopt the “ok-ok” attitude, don’t blame it all on the politicians.

We the people must have the daring gusto, wisdom and audacity to limit the powers of an individual leader.

The question is – how?

• Teach our children the essence of truth, care and a life of high culture.
Or BUDI in the larger circle of the Malay community; virtue to the West, Li Yi Lian Che to the Chinese and Natgunam to the Indian community.

• Strengthen our education structure by substantive cross- community learning contents: students who learn together should eat together and play together.

• Be relentless in enforcing our laws.

Siapa salah dia kena.

Do not interfere with the Judiciary of the nation.


• Politicians too must have their own General Orders capable of a high degree of enforceability and accountability.

7 The biggest challenge is about the future of Malaysian politics and its application to subject statecraft.

Take the case of the party leaders who are seen as brash and rough.

UMNO leaders want a speedy Gonzales GE15.

They say they want change and a government that has a bigger majority.
In earnest they want to take over TS Muhyiddin’s place but they forget the Covid19 disastrous devour.

They have no idea about the post-Covid economic tailspin.

Above all those leaders of UMNO, Amanah and PKR, in particular, want an early ticket to become PM.

But in the case of DS Najib and DS Zahid Hamidi, they have to contend with their respective court cases.

Many quarters are saying if UMNO comes back to power, chances are the 1MDB cases and those concerned with Zahid may have legs to walk away.
Is this possible?

In Malaysia anything is possible.

In retrospect, having served almost all the past prime ministers in the past 5 decades, I have noticed that there has been too much of politicking and less nation-building.

Too much of back-stabbing, incongruent rhetoric about political power per se and too little about the de facto welfare of the people.
The recent budget scenario gives us another purview via which Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government received only 3 majority victory in the Dewan Rakyat.

I would have suffered severe concussion if my Senate colleagues acted the same.

Thanks to their delineating maturity, the Senate supported in full the RM307 billion national Budget.

At risk was, if the budget was not passed, millions of Malaysians would have been financially and economically stranded.
And those devastated by the Covid19 pandemic, could be rendered worse off.

No doubt there are many flip-sides to the budget that squarely faces the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless the present government musters courage and resilience to embark on redressing the hard times.
I would recommend young politicians to emulate in particular the resourcefulness of our newly-minted Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul who maintains faith and obligation with the prime minister who himself is facing a sea of troubles – much like what Shakespeare remarks in Hamlet.

“To be or not to be, that is the question.


Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to go against a sea of troubles.” For now I say, if you are looking for resilience in governing, look no further.

It is with the political self of the Prime Minister.

The fact that he has survived thus far spells resilience, though the additional question may not be that easy to answer.
8 *Speculative reasoning now is that the PN government faces a 50:50 ratio position in the Dewan Rakyat.

The 3 vote majority no longer prevails.

So what next?

I submit that Tuanku YDAgong may have to resort to his function and power under Art 40(2).

He may agree or not agree to dissolve Parliament and endorses the 15th GE.

But the Covid pandemic will most probably worsen public health in that event.

How about getting a new a DPM then from a soothing political party.
With the advice of the PM he can do this under Art 43 (2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.

With a deputy at hand, provided the PM trusts him, things could get a breeze and lessen the back-stabbing and the Brutus characters.

One matter is clear.

With a catch 22 position or a 50:50 Dewan Rakyat scenario politics will be an inferno.

The flame may lead to high tumult.

At any rate I believe the YDAgong must now be poised to look at his government more closely.

Would a GE be the answer?


I believe that is not the best way out yet as Mr Covid is still like the Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality, ready to create the evil and may be the good as well.

If this happens UMNO of old may re-emerge and with it the drive to derail certain high prophile cases.

This move will damage the country On the first day of the new year, a local social media analyst aptly pens a description by sociologist Syed Farid Alatas from the University of Singapore on Malaysian politics.
Syed Farid reportedly says that presently Malaysian politics, in particular Malay politics is by far “the dirtiest and most divided”.3 Pick up today’s major newspapers you will see what I mean.

Who will be next PM, Why this PM must go and be replaced.
Our former PM charged and convicted in the High Court for corruption and money laundering is still running around as if business is 100 as usual, while certain high-ranking civil servants who have been smitten by the same 1MDB-related malpractices have to lie-low by virtue of their respective Perintah Am (General Order) provisions.

Sure we don’t have any GO for our political leaders.

Our MPs and ADUNs have none of the on-the-job training enjoyed by civil servants.
The training and courses they have is only pertaining to the question “how to win the next election”.

3 Minderjeet Kaur, “Malay Politics at its ‘dirtiest and most divided’, FMT 1 January 2021.

Syed AlAtas is a lecturer at the Malay Study Dept, National Univ of Singapore.

9 We should have a proper accountability law for all legislative members and Members of the Administration i.e.

ministers, deputies, parliamentary and political secretaries.
They should be trained to be honest and truthful bearing with them a high degree of integrity.

I am hoping the next government has the political will to do this given their expected majority.

We cannot afford to have Ali Baba and Forty thieves anymore.

The 1MDB debacle is one too many.

I miss Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra our beloved first PM who delivered us independence for Semenanjung in 1957 and Malaysia in 1963.
I miss Tun Razak Hussein for his selfless style of governing and judicious approach to public life and responsibility.

I Admire their political steadfastness, their humanity, their political leadership.

Having served under them I discern and appreciate their qualities and purpose.

Our national system must return to basics.

Dare to spell out the mistakes and dare to return to all the rights of yesteryears and effect restitution of good governance.
Kain sulam milik penghulu Digosok oleh anak dara Hari semalam sudah berlalu Hari esok masih ada Anak cipan di Batu Kikir Lalu di bawah ampain kain Memberi ucapan sudah berakhir Mari ditukar dengan yang lain 10