YOURSAY | ‘If govt doesn’t act, antagonists will be emboldened to create more chaos.’

Rafidah: Flex muscles on divisive issues, world is watching

Headhunter: Well said former minister Rafidah Aziz. The whole nation and the government are being held for ransom by a small group of antagonists and bigots.

If the Madani government doesn’t act, the same group will be emboldened and create more chaos.

The Madani government is perceived to be weak because of these antagonists.

The majority of peaceful Malaysians have already spoken and want to see the problem nipped in the bud.

Where is Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail when we need him most?

Just a Malaysian: Rafidah, we miss your steadfastness in countering issues.

I hope such steadfastness and guts continue to be practised by our Malay leaders. This country is leaning towards theocracy away from pragmatism.

We need pragmatic management to face the incoming digital age and artificial intelligence.

Escaping religious doctrine is comforting but will do nothing to help improve the quality of life in the 70-odd years in this physical world.

As a leader promising reforms, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has failed to reboot our narrative and instead reinforced it to win the support of rightist religious voters.

Many level-headed Malaysians are worried about our future, but our beloved prime minister is still talking about ideals and philosophy.

We need real action, not feel-good speeches.

Luke Skywalker: Rafidah is a very good example of a capable and fearless leader our country sorely needs to stop our spiral into oblivion.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any good-quality political leaders around to manage the nation and the people’s well-being!

The lack of focus and firm decisions, especially on the 2R (race and religion), will have a dire effect on foreign direct investment and the economy as a whole and will push Malaysia back into third-world status, resulting in more youths leaving for job opportunities overseas.

Yes Sir: “Malaysia will be perceived as a rudderless nation, influenced by narrow-minded little Napoleons, who give the impression that they are holding the leaders in the coalition government to ransom.”

The issue here is that the government doesn’t seem to mind being held as long as they don’t want to be seen to take sides to do the right thing.

They are, in one word, “cowards”.

Dummies Dhimmi: I just think that Anwar feels he is not secure as the nation’s leader. The coalition government doesn’t seem to be tight.

Instead of throwing their lot into a common pool, each party, each individual, seems to want to hold their own.

This leads to unimportant issues being given prominence. The air of uncertainty prevails. Anwar is still trying to appease everyone but appears helpless.

MarioT: Rafidah, you contributed a lot to free trade and development when you were the international trade minister.

You had the respect of the international business community and leading trading partners.

Today, that kind of free trade has become infused with religion and race, which can keep investors away and also cause jitters in the local business community.

World trade has grown into an international basket with a potpourri of products, for whom the manufacturers can be your friend or those you may dislike.

It is utterly foolish to pick and choose when you have no control as to how international trade should operate or be conditioned.

Vietnam was ravaged by war but is now one of the preferred choices for foreign investors, while we create an atmosphere of unpleasantness and jitters to keep away any fresh foreign investments.

In the not-too-distant future, the effects will be felt in a not-too-progressive economy.

Be Fair Be Considerate: What do you expect when our leaders are myopic? There isn’t any clear vision to govern the country, yet we have time and resources for others in another conflict zone.

We were told to eat cassava, which costs RM4 per kg, and sweet potato at RM5 per kg, while local rice can be bought at RM3.

WhiteHawk2009: Rafidah, you were once at the helm of Umno and you did nothing but support former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s policies that have now engulfed this country for all the wrong reasons.

Many still have a great love for you, but I think your views matter little today.

IndigoKiwi9570: Well said. It’s time the prime minister, home minister and Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain took firm action against all instigators as well as vigilantes.

No investor would want to invest in a country which sees frequent boycotts, and firebombs but no real action taken by authorities.

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