LETTER | Tell Ku Li that Umno is as much a thief as Bersatu

LETTER | A thief is a thief. There is no such thing as a moral thief or an immoral thief. There are no Robin Hood-kind of thieves who rob the rich to help the poor. Our thieves rob for their own benefit to safeguard their power and consolidate their positions.

In an article, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah claimed that “Bersatu was a party that stole many Umno members and this is not something that can be forgiven easily.”

The Kelantan prince is being absurd in stating that Bersatu “stole many Umno members and this is not something that can be forgiven easily.”

Is it only Bersatu that stole? Didn’t Umno do the same thing? Didn’t Umno buy support to topple certain state governments? How did the Perak state government collapse in 2009? Didn’t three opposition lawmakers sell their souls so that Umno could take over the state government?

Ku Li has no qualms about Umno colluding with others to steal the people’s mandate given democratically to Pakatan Harapan – thus frustrating the voters. Going by your logic, Kelantan prince, can the voters forgive you and Umno that easily?

If you think that Bersatu’s theft cannot be forgiven, what about Umno’s theft – can it be forgiven?

Another confusing statement from Ku Li reads: "(We) cannot equate BN with Bersatu. Bersatu exists because it stole people from Umno. This is not something we can forgive. Morally, Bersatu is not right.” Does the writ of the moral imperative stop at Bersatu, or does it extend to Umno as well?

Yet another nonsensical statement from Ku Li: “Bersatu exists because it stole people from Umno.”

Didn’t Umno play a role in the continued existence of Bersatu? The fact is that Umno and PAS colluded with Bersatu to highjack a duly elected people’s government in February 2020 in order to enable the Bersatu president to be the prime minister of Malaysia.

Ku Li asserts. “Morally, Bersatu is not right.” Can Umno be morally right in abetting Bersatu to steal the people’s government?

It is a well-known fact that without Umno’s support, there could be no Perikatan Nasional. Umno’s collusion with Bersatu gave birth to that immoral being that can never have the hallmark of a divine blessing for this country. This fact is affirmed in one of the resolutions adopted by the Gua Musang Umno division, of which Ku Li is the leader, on Saturday:

“We are thankful that Umno and BN have played a major role in overthrowing the Pakatan Harapan government ...”

So, what is Ku Li griping about? According to Ku Li, “the members realise the question that Umno is facing now is the question of life and death, the question of the future and survival of the party.”

Life and death? Where does the threat come from? In what way is the future of Umno in peril? Is Bersatu threatening to dump Umno from the government? The truth of the matter seems to be that Bersatu is facing a life-and-death question. Aren’t the knives out to do in Bersatu if Umno doesn’t get all that it is demanding?

Another resolution passed last Saturday states, “The next general election should be held in the first quarter of 2021 to hand over the mandate to the people …”.

What nonsense are the Umno members talking about! They want “to hand over the mandate to the people!” Can they tell us why then did Umno help to steal the people’s mandate? If the Umno members in Gua Musang recognise the fact that the mandate belonged to the people, why didn’t they protest the illegal take-over when the people’s mandate was stolen? They are speaking without thinking – which is the forte of politicians.

It will be more in keeping with the truth if they honestly admitted that they wanted to take over the government simply to rule – not to “hand over the mandate to the people”. They wanted to lord over the people once again.

Come what, come may, they demand “the next general election should be held in the first quarter of 2021”. Aren’t they aware that the pandemic makes it impossible to hold elections during this period, especially when it is not ebbing but spiking? It is imprudent for elections to be held now. It poses a very grave danger to the lives of the people.

Have they so easily forgotten how the Sabah state election helped to spread Covid-19 so rapidly in Sabah? Lives were exposed to danger because of greed for power. Without being reasonable or responsible, a discredited politician plotted to return to power. He bought up unscrupulous politicians with the wealth at his command and forced the state elections to be held upon the assembly being dissolved.

These politicians are not bothered about the people or anxious to return the people’s mandate, they just want to capture power, irrespective of the impact that the pandemic will have on the people. They don’t care if people have to suffer in order for them to return to power.

Caring Malaysians must remember what Charles de Gaulle once said: “Politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians."

The writer is a former president of Aliran.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.