By Sofia Zulkarnain
It is not every day that we hear DAP leaders admitting openly their willingness to cooperate with Umno leaders. It is even more surprising that the call originated from the patriarch of the Opposition – the great Lim Kit Siang.
In his blog entry of February 14, 2016, Lim extended his hand to Muhyiddin Yassin to join him in his “Save Malaysia” campaign. A romantic gesture to perhaps coincide with Valentine’s Day, but it is indeed a peculiar move by the DAP patriarch.
Suddenly Lim is willing to rub shoulders with the deputy-president of Umno, the very man he said only last year, had lost his moral compass and was unfit to lead the country. How times have changed. Perhaps it is indeed true that an enemy’s enemy is a friend.
“Save Malaysia” is a catchy phrase that appeals to the current political sentiments on the ground. The campaign aims to rally Malaysians of all backgrounds to save Malaysia from being a rogue or failed state.
A noble cause by Lim indeed!
However has anyone ever wondered what constitutes a failed state or a rogue nation?
Lim has never explained any of this. He merely said that in order to save Malaysia, we must do the following:
• Establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate 1Malaysia Development Berhad and the political donation;
• Oppose the proposal by the Attorney-General to amend the Official Secrets Act so journalists and whistleblowers are punished;
• Insist the Attorney-General drop all sedition charges against Opposition leaders
Demands that at a glance, speak to the conscience of the people of Malaysia. But look deeper and you start to wonder if these are politically driven and selfishly political.
He is right. Malaysia has seen better days but it does not mean that we are heading down the path of a failed state. Far from it!
We are after all a work in progress, and having national leaders be it from the government or Opposition screaming Malaysia is a failed state and needs saving does nothing to help our progress.
Lim and his fellow Pakatan Harapan leaders need to be more constructive. If we really are a failed state, what are their plans to fix the situation? We have yet to hear any real suggestions from them.
I simply cannot see how dropping all sedition charges against Opposition leaders will magically save Malaysia’s economy or help the rakyat deal with the rising cost of living. In fact, such uncertainties could even drive our economy to become more fragile.
Let’s look at the reality of the situation and evaluate where we are as a nation:
• Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew from RM528 billion in 2009 to RM877 billion in 2015 through various initiatives under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP);
• Our economy expanded from 1.9 per cent in 2009 to 6 per cent in 2014 amid a global economic slowdown and other challenges;
• Malaysia was expected to register a growth of between 4.5 and 5.5 per cent in 2015;
• The unemployment rate declined from 4.5 to 3.0 per cent with 1.8 million new jobs created; and
• Per capita income increased from RM24,541 to RM33,572, while the fiscal deficit dropped from 6.7 to 3.2 per cent.
With the above indicators, it is safe to say that Lim is exaggerating his claims on Malaysia’s state of being.
A rogue state would not even bother to create 1.8 million new jobs and register a decline in unemployment. In fact, we are better off than our neighbours, making us very attractive to foreign investors.
Why would world economies like the United States, China and India even bother to engage us, if we really are a failed state or rogue nation as Lim claims?
Stop manipulating the rakyat, Lim Kit Siang!
Sofia Zulkarnain is an FMT reader.
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