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No reforms as long as Dr M is around, says Zaid |
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Saturday, 11 October 2008 05:34pm |
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©The
Star (Used by permission)
by Shaila Koshy
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will not be able to institute any
crucial reform as Prime Minister as long as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is around,
claimed former de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
“The 2004 election manifesto is history,” said Zaid who had been appointed
minister specifically to work on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi’s promise to reform in stitutions of government, improve accountability
and transparency, and strengthen the Rule of Law and independence of the
Judiciary.
“Najib is smart and articulate but to change the course of Umno, he has to be
brave and why would he take such a risk.
“Second, even if he wanted to, he would not be able to do it with Dr Mahathir
around,” he said.
Asked whether that was because he thought Dr Mahathir was powerful or had a
strong influence on Najib, Zaid - who resigned from the Cabinet recently after
journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, Member of Parliament Teresa Kok and news portal
editor Raja Petra Kamarudin were arrested under the Internal Security Act -
said:
“He (Dr Mahathir) has a large group of friends, otherwise the Prime Minister
(Abdullah) would not have been ‘thrown out’ just like he wanted.”
“Mahathirism was all control, control, control. He has a strong influence on the
top Umno leaders who had to choose between doing his bidding or facing his
wrath.
“So many in Umno are bound to the old, making it difficult to abandon old values
and principles.
“Especially when if you allow for more democracy, you lose some control.
“I don’t see it (major reforms) happening but I hope that Najib will prove me
wrong, for himself and for the country’s sake.”
On his recent comment that Najib has never talked of reforms, when asked why a
deputy prime minister would need to do so when the agenda is set by the Prime
Minister, he replied: “Yes, but after the Prime Minister talks, shouldn’t the
deputy strengthen it with his own comments?”
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Circular No 304/2008
It is only necessary and proper that after the Prime Minister talks about the reforms, the deputy needs to back him up and echo on whatsoever he agrees with. Otherwise, the deputy is deemed not supportive of whatever reforms that had been initiated by the PM. The PM had even gone one step forward - to have assumed and said that his deputy would agree with the reforms. However, the deputy himself has not acknowledged his own agreement or disagreement.
Therefore, if the deputy has any reforms - which, to his mind, he agrees with Abdullah, or even those of his own initiatives, it will be assuring to allow us to hear of the reforms he has in mind now.
Tan Peek Guat