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Rent culture - ‘You help me lah and I will help you’

For decades the rent-seeking culture has been rampant within the ruling Barisan Nasional(BN) coalition. The goose has now been cooked and answers must be forthcoming. The time for forked tongue expressions, one for the politicians and another for citizens at large, are over. “You help me and I will help you”, the famous refrain of ‘rent-seeking’ approaches, is now under intense scrutiny.

The reality seems to be that some have helped themselves to more than is needed as can be seen in the lifestyle of many of our politicians who have given their lives to serve Malaysians. These BN politicians have served the nation and served themselves. Today with technology and accountability there are means by which questions can be raised. From millions the figures have now reached billions.

The culture remains but the practice does not take into account the realities of today. Further rent-seeking promotes greed and many have lost their sense of balance. Through such practices election after election have been bought and there was little that we could do. Under the guise of stability the goodwill of the people has been exploited. Under a changed scenario, with the BN losing its two-thirds majority, there is greater accountability.

Race has been another means by which rent-seeking has been further entrenched. The political coalition has been equally matched by an economic coalition based on rent-seeking. The pie has to be shared and through the use of enforcement and regulatory bodies further collections have been made and this highlights the state of corruption in the nation.

Have we learnt anything from ‘Cowgate’? The culture continues and the fundamental rule is that you should never get caught. What may be perceived as ‘halal’ becomes otherwise when you are caught! Tenders are overpriced, stadiums crash down, ceilings come down even in Parliament as there is always ‘sub sub sui’. In the end construction is overpriced and badly built. KLIA2 costs just overshot to nearly double the price. How long are these practices going to rob the nation?

 Why should anyone within the BN and Umno in particular speak out against such practices. Things would have gone on smoothly but conflict within a wakened Umno now shows up the crevices. Also, greed and rampant greed evokes envy and this combined with power fuels struggles.

The party is unable to provide credible answers to the questions relating to IMDB. With the culture so rampant and deep you see politicians defending the indefensible. This reveals how deep the rot is presently.

All this raises the question as to what BN and Umno stand for in terms of providing a political future for the nation. Where are the leaders who articulate a sense of both clarity and purpose for the future? From what can be seen at best it is to promote the status quo. Changing culture is not an easy task. This calls for both for leadership and vision, clarity and direction.

We have an opposition who are keeping tabs with what is going on and unless the BN has leaders who can match their guile and intelligence, there is going to be more episodes with Felda and other off-budget agencies. Despite all the polish and glamour that the three Datuks, Idris Jala, Abdul Wahid Omar and Paul Low, provide the Najib Abdul Razak government, it seems like adding perfume to cow dung.

The sad reality is that by their silence they condone what is happening and sacrifice their credibility.

There comes a moment in the life of every individual when the die is cast and you have to take a stand. Failure will be to condone what is going on. Such towering Malaysians are needed at this stage and they need the support, not only from civil society and NGOs, but also from politicians within the ruling BN who love the nation and are concerned for its future.

I do not agree with much of Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s legacy but I do respect his questions on IMDB which till today remain unanswered.

Collateral issues seem like a smokescreen

Nothing is ‘Okay lah’ at the moment unless you are an ostrich burying your head in the sand. We have Xavier Andre Justo in the Thai prisons, Jho Low missing, directors being arrested, office boys being questioned, The Edge publications’ permits being suspended and so many other collateral issues that seem like a smokescreen.

The idea is to raise in the minds of people the question ‘What the hell is happening?’ If you do enough of this then you can blur the issue of US$700 million that went into the specified accounts.

Create enough circumstantial issues like Justo not being paid what he was promised; that information was secured illegally, that the publications had in mind to overthrow the government and that there was such a conspiracy. Is it so simple to overthrow a government or is this is part of a play that is being enacted that would ultimately justify a high-handed response. The arrangement of payment to Justo is quite independent from the information that was received.

While both needs to be considered one factor alone does not devalue the other. The facts of the information now in the public domain are vital and critical for Malaysia. Let us not use technicalities to devalue facts and wrong, if any, on the part of the recipient of these monies. Things are much simpler and there is no need for all these collateral issues to blur the facts. What is most damning is the silence from Bank Negara as a regulatory body.

The future of our nation lies in our capacity to move away from race and money politics; from rent-seeking approaches and to do what is right by all Malaysians. With the energy, talent and capacity that there is in this nation we can create a future for all Malaysian that is fair and equitable, where poverty is addressed and justice is honoured.

We have to move beyond finger pointing and playing race and cement the diversity that will provide strength to overcome the challenges we face today.

This requires standards of honesty and integrity that some have articulated. Let us remain focussed and clear and not be side-tracked form the key question, ‘How come the money went into your accounts in AmBank?’

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