COMMENT PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli has made a challenge to both Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) to enter the electoral ring to prove their strength.

A salute to Rafizi, but I think he is just wasting his precious time dealing with some worthless people in our society.

I have been following some of these clowns in our political arena since 2008. They only surface after Umno-BN lost its electoral support. They continue to enjoy the support, whether directly or indirectly from the ruling party; therefore, we know who their political masters are.

They are also in constant praise of their political masters. Occasionally, it is in praise of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak but as of now, they are supporting former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

While Rafizi and others like Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar ( right ), social activist Marina Mahathir - and even now, Selangor MB Azmin Ali - deserve my respect (Azmin for the things he did within his first 100 days), both Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali and his former deputy Zulkifli Noordin, and Isma’s Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman lack the credibility as leaders.

Although they can claim to champion both race and religion, they are more of an embarrassment to the cause that they represent. Just mention Ibrahim Ali’s latest claim that he is also a moderate, and see how many people will laugh over it at the coffeeshop.

It would be too harsh if I were to say that these individuals are mentally challenged and need some conditioning to stop them from further mental rot. They talk for the sake of cheap publicity.

Rafizi would have realised by now that both ‘clowns’ in Perkasa were fielded in the last general election by Umno. Ibrahim lost to a much younger man - who is none other than the son of Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat - in Pasir Mas, while Zulkifli was kicked out of Shah Alam, who chose Khalid Samad instead.

Centre of controversy

In fact, every time Zulkifli comes out in the news, it is with negative publicity. He became the centre of controversy over the statue of the Hindu deity in Batu Caves, yet he had the cheek to claim that he had uttered such words when he was with PAS, a claim which had been dispelled immediately.

In both constituencies (Shah Alam and Pasir Mas), the Malays are a majority. If both Ibrahim and Zulkifli think that they have the Malay support, they should have won in the last general election with Umno’s help, but what kind of support did they receive from the Malays, despite Dr Mahathir going down to the ground and throwing his arms around them?

I won’t even bother to comment about Abdullah Zaik ( left ) or Redzuan Tee Abdullah. Abdullah Zaik is hardly a known figure in the political arena, and is a newcomer by all means with all his controversies, while to me, Redzuan is a more like ‘a monk in the monastery’ who talks into the wind. There is also another man, whose name I do not even bother to remember, but he is one who is always hiding behind his dark glasses and forever talking nonsense.

Abdullah Zaik would not even reveal his own background, but continued to claim that he is championing race and religion. Well, if such a character is championing his race and religion, I am not impressed at all. However, if Nik Aziz were to talk about his religious beliefs, I would at least listen out of respect for the former menteri besar of Kelantan.

The reason why online portals are giving these court jesters coverage is probably because the editors have a different agenda. In every palace, there are always court jesters anyway. Giving them coverage is as good as telling the whole world who these people are, and the political masters that they represent.

After 22 years of ruling Malaysia with an iron grip, Dr Mahathir should just retire and go for a golf game or two. People would have respected him as the Father of Modernisation, and when he kicks the bucket, many people would still shed tears.

Reputed to be one of the biggest waster of our natural resources (in hundreds of billions), Dr Mahathir should be regretting what he has done during his tenure as the country’s premier and try to make amends to all the government infrastructure that he has destroyed.

In a country, when the people have lost faith in the judiciary, the police, and the education system, you have literally nothing left, but the country as a whole will just go to the dogs, proverbially speaking. Unless the system is put into place again, the people’s confidence in the present government will not be restored.

Unfortunately, the big mouth will remain be a big mouth, and despite being a nonagenarian, he continues to spew out venom. Much of the woes faced by the country today are his doings.

Look at PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim ( right ). He had been the upcoming deputy prime minister who would have helmed the nation after Dr Mahathir retired. However, because he had challenged Mahathir, we suddenly saw all sorts of court cases thrown against him.

Anwar suddenly became the target of many false accusations (fitnah) in his own country! The people behind these fitnahs were also very likely to be the ones seen championing religion and race, yet they seem to not fear Allah, who hates false witnesses and fitnahs.

Where are we heading to, by 2020?

Within the span of 15 years since 1998, Anwar has been in jail for six years, and is now gearing himself to be thrown into prison once more. The world has seen Sodomy I and then Sodomy II. Anwar was also accused of being a secret agent of the United States and Israel, portrayed as a homosexual, as well as allegedly caught in a video having sex with a China doll. This is a man in his mid-60s and with a slipped disc, what would you expect Anwar is - Superman or Iron Man?

But isn’t this what we have been seeing since Mahathir threw Anwar into prison? Despite the latter being bashed up by the former inspector-general of police, Dr Mahathir chose not to accept any responsibility to protect his nemesis’ safety. The top police officer basically appeared to be a thug in uniform! Where are we heading to, by 2020? A civilised nation, or one that has worse track records than some other Third World countries?

When Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ( left ) was made prime minister by Mahathir, he, too, suffered from the onslaught - all because of Mahathir’s persistence in pursuing his crooked bridge across the Straits of Johor. Even Abdullah Badawi had to step down because of that old man.

Dr Mahathir, I believe, is the man behind the right wing extremists. He is patron to at least one of the organisations, and if he were a moderate leader, he would have advised Ibrahim and his gang to review their modus operandi.

Instead, he is again playing the ‘Tok Dalang’ (shadowmaster) trying to remove Najib. Most of us have reasons to believe that Dr Mahathir was involved in the May 13 coup d'état, which was played up to destabilise the country and to oust Tunku Abdul Rahman.

During Tunku’s era, it was Mahathir’s open letter that had led to Tunku becoming unpopular and Mahathir’s subsequent dismissal from the old Umno. Recently, another such letter has cropped up to pressure Najib to step down.

I think it is about time that we move on and ignore these court jesters, and take the bull by the horns! I foresee that next year will be a tough year for Malaysians.

With subsidies cut, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) being introduced, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) signed, and rise in prices of food and imported stuff due to the devaluation of the Ringgit, we are bracing for tough times.

The next general election is drawing very near, especially for Sarawak. It is time for Malaysians - especially our Sarawakian brothers and sisters - to rise and be counted. If we want to see change, now is the time.

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