By Karamjit Gill

First and foremost, I would like to applaud you, PKR and DAP on your brave and bold action calling for the Citizens’ Declaration for a better Malaysia. The future of Malaysia is definitely bleak unless something drastic is done.

Unfortunately, despite gargantuan efforts, the number of people who have signed the Citizens’ Declaration petition online is shameful. As of the time of writing this piece, 48,319 people have pledged their support of the Citizens’ Declaration on change.org. Comparatively, about 49,633 people signed the declaration by the Malaysian Organisation of Vape Entity (MOVE) petitioning the Ministry of Health to lift the ban on the vaping industry. Judging by the numbers, there seems to be more people in Malaysia wanting to legalise vaping than “saving” Malaysia. Vape supporters have probably not even spent 1/10th the amount the Opposition has in convincing others to sign their declaration.

Let’s not go so far. I, myself have refused to sign the Citizens’ Declaration for the simple reason that former Premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is part of this petition. I listened carefully to all speakers in the recent event in Shah Alam on Sunday and couldn’t help but scoff at the level of hypocrisy displayed. Mahathir spoke about oppressiveness under the current regime. He spoke about how to judiciary is being influenced by the legislative. He spoke about suppression of freedom of speech. He cracked jokes about numerous issues. While those in attendance laughed and clapped, nobody had the audacity to ask the simple question: “Why is there such oppressiveness in the country today? Why isn’t the judiciary an independent body?”

The answer is pretty simple. The same man who is making these statements is the reason the country is rotten today. You scream Save Malaysia but it only looks like ‘Save Mahathir’ in the eyes of those who are neutral. You may display a smokescreen that Mahathir is repenting and wants change, but there is no sign of remorse at all in Mahathir’s words. Mahathir is only interested in removing the current prime minister. He has said it time and time again. He went as far as saying that upon the removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak, the next in line must be from the party with the most majority in the Dewan Rakyat, and it does not have to be the current deputy prime minister. He still insists indirectly that Barisan Nasional leads the country. After his son gets the sack from Umno, I can assure you his tune will change again. Mahathir is only about his son and nothing else.

The majority of Malaysians have had enough with these knee-jerk reactions. You cannot convince us by saying, “Let’s remove Najib first, and then see what happens.” Let me tell you what will happen once Najib is removed. Mahathir will shamelessly go back to Umno and continue fighting till his son becomes prime minister. All the Opposition can do then will be to make noise and strike. Knowing the evil ways of Mahathir, Ops Lalang Part 2 will commence and anyone who opposes it will sit in jail. Then the Opposition will join Najib, forgive him, and replay this whole soap opera once again.

If you really want change, I propose the following:

1) An independent royal commission to investigate Mahathir and his family over the 22 years he ruined the country. If there is any evidence of malpractice, Mahathir should face the law of the land.

2) An independent royal commission to investigate the sitting prime minister and 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

3) The judiciary should be completely independent and not answer to the legislative at all.

4) The anti-corruption agency should also be an independent body that does not report to the prime minister.

5) All politicians from both sides of the divide have to declare their assets on an annual basis.

6) There should be unbiased and free media reporting in accordance to proper journalism ethics.

There should be no forgiving or forgetting the past because the past sets the precedence for today and tomorrow. For a start, the above six pointers will definitely show the people that you are serious in calling for change. Currently, most of us only see Mahathir attempting to save his own skin. He wants to show the world that he still commands who becomes the prime minister. He wants his crooked bridge back. He only wants to rebuild his battered ego.

If you want the support of Malaysians, boot Mahathir from the Citizens’ Declaration and witness for yourself how many more people will join you in calling for a change. Till then, all your efforts will be futile. The choice is yours. If you really want to make a change, revamp the entire system and change completely. We have had enough of this silly trial and error policy of yours.

Karamjit Gill is an FMT reader.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.