MEGAT, YOU'RE A NICE CHAP BUT......

MACC advisory committee member Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas is also the President of of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance.

I have known Megat since the late 60s and he was a fun guy to be with. If I am asked to describe Megat, I would volunteer that Megat is a most affable bloke. When he broke into politics and stood as my Adun in Kelana Jaya, I was there for him and even offered my garden for his final ceremah. I would have voted for him but I was down to vote in Kepong Baru and voted for Tan Seng Giaw.

He however lasted one term as Adun but we occasionally met at Public Forums and the last meet was the day he won election as Subang Golf Club President for a second round. We clinked glasses and I wished him all the best.

I have not met him since but was ANNOYED when he advised our mutual friend RPK to come back to face court charges with assurance that he would vouch for his safety.

Before I get to the BUT part of this post let me prove to you why I say this bloke is a nice chap, despite being now a Tan Sri. Here are some excerpts of an interview he gave to the Nut Graph just last year:

TNG: You are aware of the constitutional amendments being proposed. What do you think of them so far? Will they bring about the reform you want?

Megat Najmuddin: To be honest, I am not that enamoured of the amendments to the constitution as I do not think that it is big or deep enough. Until and unless our total political makeup changes, I think nothing is going to change.

You don’t think widening the pool of voters to pick the leaders of the party is going to change things?

Well, I think that is good, but that is not my bone of contention. Widening the pool of voters is good, but the system and culture of self-interest and money politics have to change. There is this culture of focusing on material gains, and the question of “Apa yang ku dapat?” is being asked all the time.

I think that being in the party should be about sacrifice and perjuangan, and this is what we have lost sight of. It has been replaced by self-interest.

What is our ideology now? We have not spelt it out. What is our struggle? The whole old fight for Malay rights and interests, that is kaput. What is our new tagline now, and what is our thinking and our sense of purpose?

Currently, we have people who are in the party who view their positions in it as a means to achieve material success or power. But our forefathers started the party based on notions of sacrifice.

That’s interesting, that you are talking about Umno having no ideology. But if not [the struggle] for Malay rights, then what now?

It is time to fight for everybody, and that includes the non-Malay [Malaysians]. That mindset has not gone in yet, not even after [the general election of] 2008. On the ground we still have people spouting semi-racist or racist comments, and this is worrying to me. I think we should open up the party to the non-Malay [Malaysians].

And I think there should be an emphasis on quality rather than quantity when it comes to membership. We cannot have those who are clearly unsuitable becoming members in our ranks.

Surely there are many in Umno who would not agree with this at all, opening the party up to non-Malay [Malaysians]. Are there others like you, saying this?

There are. But perhaps it is just that I dare to say it openly. I don’t aspire for public office anyway, and I’ve always been consistent with my opinions. But well, what’s the worry anyway, opening it up? We have to be free of these ghettoes of the mind. Why do we need MCA and MIC, when it’s a waste of time? I’m sorry if I hurt the feelings of my friends in those parties, but truly, we don’t need them.

The system is broken and we have to mend and change it. Ask any Chinese or Indian [Malaysian] on the streets, and you would have 99 out of 100 saying they are not relevant. The thing is they are totally in self-denial, and it’s pathetic.

See I told you Megat is an OK guy.

+++++

and now the BUT part of this posting.

Today he called on political parties to stop using the issue of enforcement agencies for their own gain.

"Law and order should not be compromised. Enforcement agencies need to stay away from this," he said.

I stand by Megat on this. My 2 cents is that he should just stop there. Instead he said Balasubramaniam should come home and give the statement voluntarily to the authorities in relation to the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

How can he? He was sent away by you know who! Can you give the assurance that he will not be apprehended? Can you make a declaration that for the duration of his stay here you will ensure his safety by being handcuffed to him as and when he comes back. It is preposterous innit? Can you also provide this to Pete if you want him back? Both were FORCED out of the country. Leave them be until we get to Putrajaya. In the meantime, as member of MACC advisory board, you please do your darndest to ensure that they are not agents of UMNO.