Mahathir gets rare Keadilan praise

Daily Express – 13 Dec.2005

Kota Kinabalu: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's call for people "to stick their necks out" and speak up if they see something wrong received rare praise - from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the party of archrival Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim 

Its Sabah Deputy Chairperson, Christina Liew, however, wished Dr Mahathir had made the call during his tenure as Prime Minister. She said in a statement Sunday that this is how a democratic society should function. 

"Apparently, the 'fear to speak up on issues' is a culture of Barisan Nasional (BN). Sad to say, it is Malaysia's political culture. Had the Prime Minister encouraged national leaders to speak up or expose 'the abuse of power', the political landscape might have changed and corruption may not be as rampant." 

On Saturday, Dr Mahathir expressed fears that if people failed to think and criticise that which was wrong, then society would rot. He said this during a question and answer session after a talk on "Current Issues in Malaysian Politics". 

He attributed the tendency not to criticise even when things went wrong to the BN's success in securing over 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats in last year's general election. In response, Liew observed that the same can also be said of the elected representatives of the various BN component parties in Sabah who choose not to criticise even when things are not right. 

"They have to toe the party line. They dare not speak up on pertinent issues affecting the State and the people for fear that heads may roll if the truth is made known." At the talk, Dr Mahathir expressed his belief that the country should have a strong government "but not too strong". A two-thirds majority like I enjoyed when I was Prime Minister is sufficient but a nine-tenth majority is too strong," he had said. Concurring, Liew said the people need an opposition to remind if mistakes are being made "because when you are not opposed you think everything that you do is right." 

"We need to expose abuse of power, malpractices, and excesses in spending, corruption, mismanagement or misappropriation of funds in the Government." 

Meanwhile, she queried as to what is being done by the present government to keep illegal immigrants at bay and to address the issue of 'street children' roaming our towns. 

"Former Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat did the right thing when he launched a massive blitz against illegal immigrants who have no rightful place in Sabah. Unfortunately, the successful exercise was short-lived (because he only served two years under the rotation). We need a long-term plan to address the issue, and not a piecemeal approach or ad hoc basis."

Source: Daily Express (Sabah) | www.dailyexpress.com.my