COMMENT Why is Putrajaya always so easily confused?

Over the use of the name ‘Allah’ in the Alkitab, which Christians maintain as their right, Putrajaya said that it will create confusion amongst the Muslims.

The word ‘Allah’ has never been copyrighted by any group of people, and Article 11 of the federal constitution states that non-Muslims have the right to conduct their religious activities without interference.

If Christians choose to worship Allah, how is that going to confuse the Muslims? You call your father Abba, I also call mine Abba. What is there to be confused about?

But the excuse has always been that the name used in a Christian context will confuse the Muslim community; therefore, Putrajaya had to ban the Catholic newsletter The Herald from using ‘Allah’, and push the case all the way to the Federal Court.

To date, I have never even seen a copy of The Herald , and I suspect that it has never even been read widely by Muslims. How many of you who are Muslims have even read The Herald ? Be honest, since this is the holy month of Ramadan.

Same excuse again

Now, Putrajaya is saying the same thing with 1MDB. How is it that reports in the news, especially the Edge , confuse the people?

Putrajaya can only attack former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad by saying that he is damaging the country’s economy by raising questions about 1MDB.

The people are not confused about 1MDB and the country’s economy has been in the doldrums for some time. What may have made it worse is the lack of leadership shown by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, when he chose to evade the issues raised by the opposition and Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself.

As a matter of fact, we are all concerned about the direction that the country is moving towards, if such abuses are not placed in check and balance. This is not about RM1 million or RM2 million, which some of us would take a whole lifetime to save. It is about billions of Malaysian ringgit.

Only confused people will not be able to provide a straight answer. If only Najib had provided the straight answers, without evading the issues, things could have been put under control. This is why if appointed as Najib’s public relations consultant, I would tell him to take the correct medicine, instead of trying to further whitewash the wrongs done.

Stepping down may be the only best thing to do for now. This is the best of advice that I can offer to him. It is, after all, constructive criticisms, as I have not left him without a solution.

The rakyat is basically saying: Show us the money NOW! Stop talking about the value of land assets, but the money that was borrowed by 1MDB and where it has been invested.

Open the books and let independent investigators check. Allow people like Tony Pua to have direct access to the 1MDB account if there is really nothing to hide. After all, 1MDB is an investment arm under the Finance Ministry.

As I say this, my tears roll down the cheeks as I think of future generations of Malaysians who have to pay the debts. Even a state assemblyperson has to fight off his bankruptcy because he had become a guarantor for the loan made by others. In short, Malaysians have to pay the debts incurred by the government of the day.

We are reminded that in the Philippines, although Ferdinand Marcos and his flamboyant wife Imelda ( photo ) are long gone, the Filipinos still have to pay the debts incurred by the first couple.

Imelda may still be enjoying the last days of her life with the wealth that the family had accumulated, but how many more years does Imelda have before she meets her maker? After she is gone, her people will continue to pay the debts. This is what I do not hope future generations of Malaysians to suffer.

Concerned, not confused

As far as 1MDB is concerned, as long as it is using public funds, the people will always be concerned. I repeat, concerned is spelt differently from ‘confused.’

I cannot care the heck if 1MDB had belonged to any tycoon, but it is the people’s piggy bank that we are talking about. And, RM42 billion is no small sum of money.

Where is the RM42 billion? Unless 1MDB or Najib can answer the question, any heavy-handed tactics used against the media or the whisteblowers will only suffer bigger backlash. Any good public relations person will be able to tell you this. This is especially true when it involves public money.

My appeal to Najib, therefore, is for him to take cognisance of this instead of allowing his minister or the Home Ministry to bulldoze ahead and using his authority which will only lead nowhere as far as Putrajaya is concerned. It is wiser to take a few steps back, and plan an open book campaign to win the people’s confidence.

That is, if there is any credibility left in our country’s leaders! Pray that we will at least be able to save Malaysia from going down the path of Spain, Mexico and Zimbabwe. We are very concerned about the latest political and economic development in the country.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.