POLITICIANS have been in ‘resignation mode’ lately, with the most recent being political secretary Hasbie Satar, an aide to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
To the average man in the street, it does not really matter who goes out of office today, tomorrow or the next day.
Most politicians are seen as no smaller than bugs and just as irritating and annoying.
So what if another one resigns? They’ll continue to be bugs, or leeches or blood-sucking bats or ..worse, jackasses.
Nobody can name any politician now who is interested in running the country. Everyone of them is just keen on looking out for another scapegoat to make their day or to pursue some personal glory.
The young holds the future
Perhaps, the country’s best hopes to help rectify the situation are those currently in the 18 to 21 age group who would be voting for the first time at the next election, scheduled in 2013.
Maybe they can make a wiser choice of leaders who would truly be willing to break their backs to serve the people who put them in office.
Forget the politicians with the rhetoric, the slogans and the expensive chandeliers in their offices and homes or the sleek and spanking imported cars in their garage and porch. They would be better off in the corporate or business field , and so will we.
Can we just have representatives in the state assemblies or Parliament who will work hard, show leadership skills and inspire others to also serve the masses, including the dirty unwashed and hungry people in the streets, in the slumps and the remote ramshakle huts and long houses?
Just think what you can do for these people if you have RM2mil in your hands at this moment!
The voters should not give any chance to politicians who make excessive promises as they are the ones that are likley to turn their backs on you once they have your votes.
And neither should we give any opportunity to those who are likely to quit later on over petty party quarrels, personal grudges, incompetency, selfishness, greed, power struggle and stupid ambitions.
Reasons to resign
Politicians can use any reason. logic and justifications when they quit their post or party. Resignations in recent times, it can be seen, had been due to one (or a combination of) of the following reasons:
- a disgraceful or discreditable action
- an offence or breach of discipline caused by a fault, misdeed or misdemeanour
- damage to reputation or public disgrace
- defamatory talk or malicious gossip
- conduct or behaviour that has brought disrepute to the office, team or organisation
Shades of Watergate
In Hasbie's case, Nor’s office issued just a single paragraph statement to say the political aide had quit his job.
The statement did not say anything else but it seemed to be connected to the news a day earlier that a political secretary to a senior minister had been caught – with stacks of money - by anti-corruption officers at an apartment block near Butterworth.
The case has shades of a political scandal in the United States in the 1970s that rocked a popular administration.
There was a break-in at the Democratic Party’s headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington DC and the effects of the scandal ultimately led to Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
It also resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of his officials.
Facing near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and a strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency.
I was a rookie reporter in Penang at that time but I remember how the issue inspired many young jurnos to probe further behind the headlines, leading to the emergence of investigative reporting in local journalism.
Like Watergate, the Sri Molek case could lead to someone ‘higher up’ to also resign, my gut feelings tell.
Election HQ and transit home
The apartment was used as an election campaign headquarters for Nor’s election team before the March 2008 general polls. Later, it was used as a transit home for his ministry staff.
The block is located on the fringes of the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary constituency, where Nor is the MP.
In the PM’s Department, he is in charge of the Ecomomic Planning Unit. During the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, he was said to be the man advising then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the country’s capital controls.
In that raid on the apartment, a team from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission seized RM2mil in cold cash that was stashed at the unit where the political aide was staying.
The MACC men also seized a 4WD vehicle registered under the name of a Pulau Tikus-based company and a BMW registered in the name of a person from Sarawak.
Deputy minister and PM's aide
Prior to taking in Hasbie, Nor had Federal Territory Umno Youth chief Norza Zakaria as his political secretary.
Norza, an ally of Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, was implicated in money politics ahead of the party elections in March last year. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail pending
Earlier this month the PM’s Department had issued a similarly brief statement to say that former Pulai Sebatang state assemblyman Nasir Safar was resigning as a special officer to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
This follows a furore over his alleged racist remarks during a recent solidarity seminar in Malacca.
Just befiore Chiristmas last year, deputy Tourism minister Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib resigned from the post, citing personal reasons following the death of his mother, Laila Taib, about six months ago.
The speculation, however, is that he had been summoned back to Sarawak by his father, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, to be groomed as the CM’s successor after the next state polls, scheduled to be held in May next year.
Mambong MP Dr James Dawos Mamit was sworn in on Jan 13 as the new deputy miister in Sulaiman’s place.
Troubles in the PKR
In the PKR, Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has taken over as PKR secretary-general, replacing Salehuddin Hashim, who resigned to purportedly give younger people a chance at the leadership.
An ally of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim , he was expelled as Umno Youth assistant secretary in1999 and defected to the party in which Anwar is now the de facto leader
This month also saw the resignation of PKR Federal Territory treasurer Norsaidi Salim from the party, citing ‘loss in faith in the PKR’s ability to serve the people.'
He has joined Umno, together with several senior leaders, including FT information chief Ishak Hamzah and Putrajaya division deputy chief Azmi Hassan.
In Pahang, Indera Mahkota MP Azan Ismail resigned as the PKR’s state deputy chairman, also citing differences with state leaders.
He boasted later that former Cabinet member Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis and Penang-based Parti Cinta Malaysia had made overtures for him to leave the PKR and join them.
In Kuala Selangor, 13 PKR division committee members quit en bloc on Jan 20.
The most famous resignations
The most celebrated resignations in recent times, however, involved that of three Perak state assemblymen - Hee Yit Foong (DAP - Jelapang), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (PKR - Behrang) and Mohd. Osman Jailu (PKR - Changkat Jering).
Their decision to leave the ruling Pakatan Rakyat coalition and support the Barisan Nasional persuaded the Sultan of Perak to decide that Pakatan no longer enjoyed majority support and, thus, the state government was tilted to the Barisan side.
Sultan Azlan Shah refused to dissolve the assembly for fresh elections, as requested by the Pakatan and a lengthy fight in the courts ensued.
The court endorsed the Barisan as the legitimate state government just before the Chinese New Year.
The most amusing case of resignations can be seen in the MCA, where 13 sulking leaders led by vice-president Liow Tiong Lai had submitted their resignation to force a fresh party election.
So far, however, they have chickened out from putting the date of when the resignation would take effect.
In the meantime, Liow has called his followers to boycott all official functions and events organised by the current leadership led by Ong Tee Keat.
He, however, had put the deicion on ‘hold’ during the recent Chinese New Year open house event at Wisma MCA.
Crisis in Penang
Recently, Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim quit the PKR, giving the reason that he was frustrated with the DAP leadership in Penang and loss of confidence in Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He alleged the state government led by Lim had disregarded the principles of justice, human rights and natural justice when they initiated attempts to sack him from the post of Island Golf Properties Sdn Bhd chairman.
His move came a week ahead of a planned meeting by the party to decide on his fate in the Pakatan following his harsh critcisms against Lim.
The PKR is expected to meet in the next few days to also discuss the alleged breach of discipline by three members - Kulim-Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin, Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng and senior PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim. - Malaysian Mirror