Pages

Search This Blog

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Abdullah Badawi - reformist or failed flip-flop leader?

Abdullah Badawi, current Prime Minister of Malaysia, a reformist who left a lasting legacy before he leave office.

Am I dreaming? Is it too good to be true? Would this flip-flop and lying Prime Minister eventually turned out to the the leader that all Malaysians are yearning for? I certainly hope that I am not dreaming and I will wake up tomorrow and found that it only occurred in my dream. All right thinking Malaysians are earnestly praying for a positive change after nightmare decades under dictator Dr. Mahathir and the five disappointing years under the very weak leadership in form of Abdullah Badawi who failed to initiate the reforms he promised us Malaysians before the 2004 General Election where he won a landslide victory but end up squandering the huge mandate handed to him by Malaysians fed up the the years of misrule under Dr. Mahathir.

Abdullah Badawi, a liar? Too strong a description? He denied that he was going to get remarried but actually did so soon after his denial. He also denied that the Parliament will be dissolved

According to Ronnie Liu, "PM Abdullah was telling lies when he claimed that the police has offered both BERSIH and Hindraf to hold gatherings in a stadium. IGP Musa Hassan has made similar claim last week but he could not answer BERSIH’s challenge i.e. to furnish us the details, such as the date of the offer of using stadium, the name of the stadium and the police officer who conveyed the offer to us or whether he has a letter or directive in black and white to back up his claim."

Matthias Chang, former Barrister and Political Secretary to the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad plus author of “Future FastForward”, “Brainwashed for War, Programmed to Kill”, and “The Shadow Money-Lenders and the Global Financial Tsunami”, also asked if Abdullah Badawi can be trusted after all the lies about the oil price hike:

"LIE NO. 1

The Star – 25th May 2008 Front Page

“There is more good news. There will be no hike in petrol prices at least until September, despite spiraling global crude oil prices. There were fears of a price increase, particularly after Indonesia raised fuel prices by 30% yesterday”.

LIE NO. 2

The Star – 6th June 2008 Page 8

“The decision to expedite the announcement of the increase in petrol and diesel prices was not an ‘afterthought’ but rather a need, said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad. Admitting that the ministry had assured consumers recently that there would be no increase in fuel prices until August, Shahrir explained that the Government could no longer delay the decision.”

Which is correct – September or August? Whatever, it was a lie!

LIE NO. 3

The Star – 6th June 2008 Page 6

“Petronas will go bust within ten years if all its profits are handed to the Government to continue subsidizing fuel, said its president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Hassan Merican”.

But no one has demanded that Petronas hand over all its profits to the Government and it is not true that all the profits have been utilized to subsidise the price of petrol and diesel. The critical issue is how the profits are utilized, not whether it is handed over to the government.

Is Tan Sri Hassan Merican implying that the Government cannot be trusted with the custody of Petronas profits?

LIE NO. 4

The New Straits Times – 9th June 2008 Page 6

“The current prices of petrol and diesel will be maintained until next March [2009] even if world oil prices touch US$200 (RM660) a barrel, said Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad”.

When crude price reached US$80, the Government announced an increase in petrol prices. When it hit US$137 per barrel, the Government announced a hefty 40% hike amounting to an increase of RM 78 sen per litre of petrol and RM1 for diesel. Does this idiotic Minister think we are so stupid and naïve to believe that when crude hits US$200 per barrel there will be no increase until March 2009?

LIE NO. 5

The Sun – 12th June 2008 Front Page

“The price of fuel will stay for the rest of the year, the Cabinet decided yesterday. This is to allow people time to adjust to the situation”

The New Straits Times – 12th June 2008 Front Page

“No more price hikes this year, assures PM.”

Once again, one idiot says March, 2009 the other idiot says the end of 2008. Who do you trust?

I HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR THE PRIME MINISTER TO STEP DOWN AS HE HAS NOT THE FAINTEST IDEA AS TO HOW TO RESOLVE THE GROWING FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS.

The prime minister has responded to the call by saying that he will hand over the reins of power to Datuk Najib in an orderly manner.

But can we trust him to do the right thing?

LIE NO. 6

New Sunday Times – 15th June 2008 Front Page

“Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the exact date for the leadership transition to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak had not been decided yet … The leadership change will definitely take place at the right time”.

If Badawi can lie so blatantly about the petrol price hike, how can anyone trust him that he will step down so that the country will not have to suffer further from his failures and inefficiencies? If not now, when the country is falling apart, when will it be the right time?"


But this time our hope for positive changes for Malaysia will finally be realized for below, from Malaysialini is the press statement released by our flip-flop Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi today:

'I fully intend to see through my mission'
Oct 8, 08 6:21pm
Press statement by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to announce his decision to step down next March.

I have been in public service for over 45 years. I have served this country as a civil servant, and as an elected representative of the people. I have served as a member of government and feel blessed to serve in the highest office in the land.

I have seen this country grow from a small, poor nation into the modern, prosperous Malaysia that we live in today.

Despite our successful track record, for the past few years I have firmly believed that our nation is standing at an historic crossroads. We must reform some elements of our nation, we must evolve and mature, or we risk losing all that we have gained in over 50 years.

Throughout this time of reform and transformation, we Malaysians need to be united now more than ever before.

In all my years of service, I have always been guided by my conscience. I have always placed the interests of the nation above all else. It is with this in mind that I announce I will not stand for the presidency of Umno.

I do not want a divided party and governing coalition, but one that is united and harmonious. A united Barisan Nasional is vital in order for the country to face the global challenges ahead and for Malaysia to become a fully developed nation, with prosperity and fairness for all.

My current term as president of Umno ends in March next year. There are several initiatives I intend to see through before I leave office. These initiatives are important because they are necessary to move our country forward.

These initiatives are needed to regain our country's competitiveness. They are necessary to enable our nation and our society to face the challenges that the world has in store for us.

I ask all Malaysians to unite and join me in working towards making Malaysia a better place.

Reforming the judiciary, police force

First, our institutions need to be reformed and strengthened.

The judiciary needs to enhance its stature and credibility in the eyes of the public. Before I end my term, I will table a Parliamentary Bill to establish a Judicial Appointments Commission.

Such a commission will propose judicial appointments in a transparent and merit-based manner.

We also need a strong and effective anti-corruption body that can combat the cancer of corruption without fear or favour. Before the end of the year, I will table a Parliamentary Bill to establish the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, with greater powers of investigation and enforcement.

The commission's oversight structure has been modelled after the successful ICAC in Hong Kong.

I also intend to complete the establishment of a Special Complaints Commission to enhance the integrity and effectiveness of enforcement agencies.

Second, I have long spoken about the need to ensure that the fruits of growth are more equitably distributed.

In the recent budget, I explained the government's commitment to strengthening and enlarging the social safety net. We will speed up work on this front to help poor and disadvantaged Malaysians, regardless of background, race or religion.

I will also work to ensure that tangible results can begin to be enjoyed in Iskandar, as well as the development corridor initiatives around the country.

Third, I would like to see the government and BN renew their commitment towards building a united and harmonious nation. Society has seen an alarming decline in inter-racial and inter-religious relations.

BN convention

Various issues have cropped up which threaten to tear the very fabric of Malaysian life.

We need to tackle these issues head-on, through dialogue; deal with the issues constructively and even-handedly; ensure greater clarity and certainty for the people; and focus on the points that unite us, rather than the points that divide us.

For this reason, I will convene a BN convention early next year. This is a long-term effort that I hope to kick-start and continue to contribute towards.

I fully intend to see through my mission, and I am sure that my successor will carry on this agenda. I want to hand over to my successor a Malaysia that is capable of weathering the challenges of a dangerous global economy, a Malaysia not of rich and poor, of young and old or of the city or the kampong, not of south and north, and not of one religion or another but of unity and harmony.

This is not the time for infighting and narrow politics but for greatness, unity and cooperation.




Copyright Notice: This post may contains copyrighted materials the use of which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. These materials are so critical to the understanding of the present and the future problems and challenges that we are facing, that we feel that everyone should be aware of these materials. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in the relevant copyright laws of the jurisdiction from which it is taken. If you happened to be the copyright owner of any part of this post and you wish to contact the author regarding your copyright material, there is a "contact me" link" at the bottom of the sidebar.

No comments: