NOVEMBER 24, 2022 will always remain etched as a historical day for all Malaysians.
It saw the end of the Perikatan Nasional government.
It was also the date that marked the people’s liberation from the preceding backdoor, illegitimate government with the establishment of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Lest we easily forget, Anwar struggled against all odds for almost three decades to finally be anointed as the people's choice – the 10th prime minister of Malaysia and at the age of 74.
Anwar throughout the 15th general election (GE15) campaign period constantly vowed to eradicate corruption which he claimed to have reached pandemic levels.
He vowed to curtail the various and systemic abuses of power especially by the political elites, and to institutionalise good governance in the public sector.
These last seventy over days since his leadership at the helm, Malaysians have been witnessing exposes of massive fraud, abuses of power of various degrees and corrupt dealings of monumental propositions.
These atrocious crimes against citizens, king and nation were perpetrated by several political juggernauts and their cronies.
It includes a mention of the son-in-law of a previous prime minister who had been awarded a government contract worth billions.
Such are the exposes that law abiding, patriotic citizens hope for a bold closure sooner.
Thanks to the 10th premier's courage and commitment for a better Malaysia, we now also know that some political parties received bribes worth millions from contractors who were certainly in benefit. Allegedly these bribes are political funding and to entice (bribe actually) voters in the GE15.
All such exposes of irregularities and questionable actions which involve prominent politicians are currently under investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Patriot applauds the quick action of the MACC to bring to justice all those who are involved in fraud, abuse and corruption.
And Anwar has reiterated on several occasions that he will not interfere in any ongoing investigation by any investigating agency
His public assurances are also likely to be seen as a threat by those named in the court cluster and are now parties within the unity government as well as holding key positions in Anwar's cabinet.
Patriot demands unreservedly that there must not be any compromises for those named in the court cluster that have been found guilty by the court, even though he/she holds an important position in government.
Further while Malaysians generally now feel more reassured of justice and a clean-up by the unity government there are still many other unresolved issues that need to be addressed.
In particular are the issues relating to the spiralling costs of living, need for job opportunities and the rise in numbers of the urban poor.
Malaysians welcomed with pride the special reception accorded to Anwar during his official visit to Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and most recently Thailand. This was quite unseen during the official visit of his past two predecessors.
Patriot believes that the red carpet welcome and recognition of hope registered by the Asean neighbourhood gives Malaysians the courage to dream big for their future.
It certainly signals better ties with the leadership of the countries Anwar visited and hopefully will pave the way for a resonating, revived mutual economic well-being and prosperity for Malaysians.
Patriot believes that Vietnam too would be an important country to visit and should be Anwar’s next port of call.
Vietnam is an economically vibrant nation and we veterans know too that it has many things to offer to Malaysia and in particular its dedicated and disciplined work force that Malaysians could emulate.
Let the PM’s visits also reform the Malaysian workforce mindset and work attitudes if we truly want to be successful like our neighbours.
If corruption and abuse of power is the bane to the Malaysian government and to PM Anwar in particular, he may want to find out how the Vietnamese government deals with these two plaguing issues.
Patriot is hopeful that the PH government will not fail the people this time but continue to be of absolute service to the nation.
We regard Anwar as the saviour of our deeply troubled nation. – The Vibes, February 13, 2022
Brig Gen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji is president of the National Patriots’ Association
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