The Amanah agenda (Part 2) — Sakmongkol AK47

July 25, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

JULY 25 — This is a gathering of concerned citizens. On the stage forming the committee members of Amanah were Kadir Sh Fadzir himself, Daniel Tajem, S. Subramaniam( a former MIC deputy president), Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as chairman, Ong Tee Keat, Bujang Ulis from Sarawak and a sitting MP from Sabah.

The audience was made up of mainly concerned citizens of all races, with Malays making the predominant number. I am sure not everyone in there in the hall that day will commit themselves to the rigors of field politics; but I was sure of one thing. Everyone were united in the revulsion and rejection of what is going on in the country — the politics, economy, the divisiveness in our society, the future of democracy, the future of this country.

Being present there is already an indication that attendees cannot accept the things that are happening in the country.

The feelings were adequately expressed by Kadir Sh Fadzir. What he said was exemplary; coming from a person who has had everything — wealth, power, service to the country, enjoyed the esteem and respect of his peers.

He would rather be enjoying his leisure days. So too would the others. Daniel Tajem, a sincere looking fellow who is committed to uplift the Sarawak people out of misery, Subramaniam (he may be motivated by his own pursuits), BUjang Ulis, Ong Tee Keat — the MCA man who wanted to do the right thing with regards to the PKFZ.

What the current Umno is, MCA is that to the Chinese. MCA cannot be a den of thieves and plunderers irrespective of how many truckloads of Class A durians the perpetrators of the PKFZ financial fiasco bring over to the bosses. A former MCA leader when he was a deputy minister would often treat his boss at TNB first class durians from Bentong!.

What the country has got itself into is no longer tolerable. These “has-beens” and veterans of Malaysian politics cannot endure the transgressions, the abuse, the bullying and the direction the country is travelling in. It’s made worse by a leadership who is more suited to become a poster boy, popular but incapable of managing this country properly.

Amanah is really, for now, a group of conscientious objectors. Our objection must therefore be well put.

And what do we object to?

Utusan Malaysia recently revealed the kind of warped thinking the leadership of this country has or even worse, they are unthinking at all. It writes that it’s a common outcome of those subjected to interrogation to commit suicide.

This kind of thinking is just another unfortunate and grossly stupid gloss of the general notion that the all ends justify all means. Hence the deaths of persons under the duty of care of the custodians are but collateral damages to the desired end of achieving the truth.

Except the truth in this case, as Colonel Jessup says in “A Few Good Men”, can’t be handled by the truth seekers.

So, it will be used as a general explanation — that all transgressions- corruption, cronyism, are all justifiable means because of our desired end. What is the desired end then? This is the basic objection to these totalitarian tendencies. For that is what these transgressions amount to, unchallenged they will serve the interest of totalitarian tendencies. The government wants to govern and rule unchallenged.

This country is teetering towards totalitarian tendencies which require objections from all fronts. The diversity of parties and NGOs pursuing the same objectives must be seen as the necessary repeat of struggles and fights to overcome wrong politics.

So don’t decry if Amanah emerges by saying “Ah, it’s just ‘another one of those bodies’”. It’s NOT just another, but is instead the sufficiently and necessarily required instrument in the pursuit of victory over evil that must be fought over and over again not just by one, but by as many as possible.

We must be clear what our general objection is. Very often we inure ourselves and accept the various transgressions and abuses as necessary evil or the ends justifying the means thinking. We must also be clear about this.

When we object to the idea that the means are not justifiable no matter what the ends are, we mean, really that the actual end is not the end itself but the means for achieving that end. Hence to elicit truth does not justify murdering someone.

To achieve development can be never justify the cronyism and corruption and the marginalisation of the whole people. Solving the traffic woes of people cannot justify building RM 50 billion worth of edifices. The list goes on and on.

This is our most fundamental objection: The means by which we achieve whatever ends must be correct and principled. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.