A Letter About The Future Of Malaysia, Written In Prison By Anwar Ibrahim
"We must steer clear of the danger of falling into the games of the power elites and their skillful trickery to maintain an outdated system."
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 17 May 2016, 07:42 PM
On 4 March, former premier Dr Mahathir and prominent members of the ruling government and the opposition parties signed the controversial Citizens Declaration aimed to oust PM Najib Razak
The Citizens' Declaration was also signed by ex-DPM and UMNO vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin, Bersih's Maria Chin and Ambiga Sreenevasan, former Kedah menteri besar, Mukhriz Mahathir, DAP's Lim Kit Siang, PKR's Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli, among many local activits and prominent members of Malaysian politics.
Dr Mahathir signed the declaration calling for PM Najib Razak's removal, with support from about 58 politicians, including those from Barisan Nasional (BN), PKR, DAP, PAS and Bersih.
More than a million people have reportedly signed the petition so far, but it has failed to gain the desired momentum that could lead to achieving the declaration's main aim.
In line with that, incarcerated former Pakatan de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim has written a letter talking about the declaration and its flaws.
In other words, the letter states that the declaration, which seeks to remove Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, remains, in principle, Mahathir’s document.
The letter also warned PKR leaders about the pitfalls and dangers of working with the former prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, and expressed concern that PKR leaders and party apparatuses might be used to serve their agenda.
malaysiakini.com
Here are the highlights from Anwar's open letter about the newly penned Citizens' Declaration:
The letter was originally hand-written in Bahasa Malaysia. The excerpts below are taken from the English translation of the letter published on online news portal, Malaysiakini.
1. Anwar's biggest concern comes in the form of the unification of opposition leaders with Dr Mahathir. Anwar believes that the declaration may just be a facade to strengthen Tun M's old ways.
"My view might be in contradiction with the stand of the majority of leaders. I am apprehensive, assuming that this strategy is a little overboard and threatens our struggle."
"We must steer clear of the danger of falling into the games of the power elites and their skillful trickery to maintain an outdated system."
"Even so, many of our friends believe the new strategy is more rewarding and is the best way to go. They say it can give us a new boost, as we will be combining our strengths to topple Najib Abdul Razak as prime minister, and bring about change."
malaysiakini.com
2. The former DPM stressed that the differences between the opposition parties' policies and Tun M's is not addressed in the declaration
"I am more inclined not to be seen to be uniting with the Citizens' Declaration group, and to start to set a distance."
"Instead, we must strengthen and advance our campaign for change, to defend the people who are oppressed due to economic mismanagement, in keeping with the principles that we have carried with us all this while."
"The Citizens’ Declaration group, including Mahathir, can be part of our struggle, but our agenda must be for change, not to advance the Citizens’ Declaration," read the translated version of the letter on Malaysiakini.
3. He said the Citizens' Declaration was one sided. It only talks about the removal of PM Najib Razak and not doing away with corruption and abuse of power.
"It only focuses on Najib’s resignation as prime minister, as a result of the 1MDB scandal. It clearly strayed far from the raison d’etre, or the basis of our struggle - for freedom and justice, for supremacy of the law, to combat abuse of power and corruption, and justice for all!"
"The leaders appeared to have been taken in and were satisfied with the guarantee that all the demands included in the declaration will be fulfilled after Najib resigns."
"This reminds us of the complot of the ruling elite which I had explained before. It clearly benefits the rich and powerful while the people remain sidelined," wrote Anwar, in the letter that was first published on Penang PKR Youth's Facebook page.
4. Anwar mentioned that Dr Mahathir has moved from "denying his faults to erasing it", referring to the alleged "destruction" during Dr M's tenure as prime minister
"He seems to have changed tack from denying his faults to erasing his faults completely. (PKR president and Anwar’s wife Dr Wan) Azizah (Wan Ismail) and I feel there is a need to oppose on principle, in order to defend our dignity."
"Our statement refers to the autocratic rule, and the need for a more holistic discourse - not a dictatorial approach like Mahathir’s."
malaysiakini.com
5. "We forget that there is no governance in this country, and more worrying, no regret or drive to support reform."
"I raised doubts in my previous letter to the PKR political bureau - I said the Citizens’ Declaration and the new approach went against solid change, or actual reform."
"We say we are rising above it, and doing it for the interest of the country. This unbridled rapacity (kerakusan) during their rule had caused destruction which we feel to this day." read the excerpt published in an article on Malaysiakini.
6. "I'm sorry – but I can’t help but be shocked with the shallow view that Najib’s fall will be enough to bring change towards democratic accountability."
"After Reformasi 1998, I feel that the idealism with regard to fighting for a cause started to erode, tested by the lustre of power and funds."
"My strength is spurring the awareness towards change. And so we struggled for nearly two decades facing life’s cruelty. We destroyed the walls of fear, communalism; rigid religious definition to rahmatan lil alamin (blessings for the whole world)," read the letter.
malaysiakini.com