1. Saya tidak mengguna mata wang crypto. Saya juga tidak galak orang mengguna tersebut. Saya pegang kepada fiat money atau mata wang fiat, atau wang fizikal.
2. Jika ada promosi dalam iklan atau laman web yang kononnya saya galak kegunaan mata wang crypto, ianya palsu.
3. Pejabat saya sebelum ini ada buat laporan terhadap iklan jenis ini yang kononnya saya melabur dan menggalak kegunaan crypto currency ini.
4. Iklan-iklan itu palsu. Saya difahamkan ada yang terpedaya. Sesetengah iklan itu seolah-olah disiar media tempatan.
5. Saya difahamkan media tempatan juga sudah dimaklum dan mereka sudah buat laporan kepada pihak berkuasa.
6. Pihak awam perlu maklum bahawa perkara seperti ini tidak mudah ditangani kerana pelbagai laman web dan iklan palsu dapat dibangun dengan cepat.
7. Tutup satu, timbul sepuluh.
8. Penipuan dan pemalsuan mengguna nama saya berlaku sebelum zaman media sosial dan internet lagi. Dari dulu juga ada yang terpedaya dengan promosi palsu peluang niaga yang kononnya libatkan diri saya.
9. Ada laporan dibuat dan tindakan diambil. Ada yang tidak. Sesiapa yang sangsi, boleh periksa dengan pejabat saya. Saya tidak pernah dan tak akan terlibat dengan apa-apa skim cepat kaya.
10. Selain itu ada yang percaya laporan palsu yang saya ada kekayaan berbilion.
11. Semasa dalam Kerajaan saya dah isytihar harta. Kalau ada yang masih nak percaya saya ada kekayaan berbilion, terpulanglah.
12. Yang nyata manusia bermacam ragam. Ada yang cerdik, ada yang kurang. Ada juga yang pandai tak terikut.
SECEBIS SEJARAH NEGERI-NEGERI MELAYU
1. Diantara negeri-negeri Melayu di Semenanjung Tanah Melayu, Empayar Johor adalah yang terbesar dan terkaya. Ia termasuk kepulauan di selatan Singapura, iaitu Riau, pulau-pulau Batam, Bentan dan beberapa yang lain.
2. Di zaman British peta Tanah Melayu tidak menunjuk pulau-pulau ini. Kesannya ialah penduduk Malaya tidak sedar adanya banyak pulau di selatan Singapura. Lebih-lebih lagi mereka tidak tahu yang pulau-pulau ini adalah milik negeri Johor.
3. Apa yang berlaku ialah di zaman kolonial tidak ada sesiapa yang bantah apabila Belanda menjadikan pulau-pulau ini sebagai sebahagian dari Dutch East Indies atau Hindia Timur Belanda.
4. Apabila Belanda diusir oleh tentera Indonesia, pulau-pulau ini pun jadi sebahagian dari Republik Indonesia.
5. Apabila merdeka, Malaya dan kemudian Malaysia tidak pernah tuntut pulau-pulau ini. Kita tidak pun sebut dalam sejarah bahawa pulau-pulau ini asalnya sebahagian dari Empayar Johor. Ahli Keluarga Hang Tuah, Hang Nadim meninggal di sana. Lapangan Terbang Hang Nadim di Batam dinamakan dengan nama beliau.
6. Sejarah mencerita berbagai kejadian yang kita lupakan dengan sengaja. Kemegahan Empayar Johor dan besarnya wilayah Johor tidak pun disebut dalam sejarah Johor. Sebaliknya Johor sudah jadi “hinterland” Singapura, yang bergantung kepada Singapura untuk kemajuannya. Demikian kita bantu untuk Singapura jadi lebih luas dengan tanah kita.
SINGAPURA ELEKTRIK
1. Akhbar lapor bahawa Singapura memerlukan bekalan elektrik dan akan beli dari Malaysia.
2. Mungkin kerana itu Kementerian Tenaga dan Sumber Asli mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa hanya bekalan dari punca yang non-renewable sahaja yang boleh dieksport ke Singapura. Juga eskport melalui saluran milik swasta tidak dibenar.
3. Tetapi umum tahu bahawa kita sedang eksport air ke Singapura dengan harga 3 sen seribu gelen. Kita juga tahu seludupan pasir laut dan darat sedang dilakukan.
4. Sebaliknya jika kita eksport tenaga dari cahaya matahari dan angin, Malaysia tidak kehilangan apa-apa.
5. Saya kurang faham dengan dasar Kerajaan hari ini. Dengan keputusan ini pelaburan yang tidak kecil dan peluang kerja terhalang.
Najib Razak
6. Najib Razak telah dihukum penjara dan denda kerana kesalahan money laundering.
7. Kononnya kerana ia membuat rayuan hukuman tidak dilaksana.
8. Tarikh kes rayuan ialah pada April 2021. Sepanjang masa ia bebas seperti orang yang tidak salah. Kes tidak didengar kerana bermacam alasan.
9. Dia boleh hadir ke Dewan walaupun tidak dapat ke mahkamah. Adakala kononnya sakit.
10. Mahkamah Rayuan mendengar rayuan Najib. Tetapi keputusan ditangguh. Sudah enam bulan berlalu. Mahkamah belum buat keputusan.
11. Sekarang banduan ini dibenar ke Singapura.
12. Peguam Negara tidak bantah
13. Najib ubah tarikh kerana dipilih oleh UMNO sebagai pengurus dalam pilihan raya Melaka. Ini juga dilulus.
14. Bilakah Najib akan dapat keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan. Jika didapati bersalah, Najib akan rayu kepada Mahkamah Persekutuan.
15. Ini juga akan ambil masa. PRU ke-15 pun sudah tiba. Najib belum disah oleh Mahkamah Persekutuan yang ia bersalah.
16. Tentu boleh bertanding dalam PRU-15.
17. Rakyat tentu berbangga. Curi 10-ringgit masuk penjara serta merta.
18. Curi satu billion-ringgit boleh lepas dari penjara.
19. Ramailah penyangak dan perasuah sekarang bebas menjelajah seluruh dunia sementara hukuman ditangguh atau pertuduhan dibatal.
20. Sekali lagi dunia kagum melihat Malaysia, contoh demokrasi yang liberal di mana yang menang kalah, yang kalah menang, yang curi sedikit dipenjara, yang curi bertimbun bebas.
21. Syabas Malaysia.
LANGKAWI vs PULAU BATU PUTEH
1. Tidak wajar kita banding Langkawi dengan Pulau Batu Puteh.
2. Langkawi adalah pulau yang diiktiraf sebagai pulau milik Malaysia sedangkan Pulau Batu Puteh ialah beting atau dengan izin sandbank yang dituntut oleh dua negara.
3. Langkawi tidak pernah dituntut oleh Siam dan pegawai Kerajaan negeri Kedah tidak pernah menyatakan kepada Siam bahawa Kedah tidak anggap Langkawi bukan milik Kedah.
4. Sebaliknya Kerajaan Johor melalui surat telah menyatakan bahawa Johor tidak menuntut Pulau Batu Puteh sebagai milik Kerajaan Johor.
5. Kemudian Malaysia mendakwa Pulau Batu Puteh adalah milik Malaysia. Maka ini dipertikai oleh Singapura. Dan berlakulah kontroversi.
6. Percubaan secara rundingan untuk Malaysia memiliki semula Pulau Batu Puteh bertahun-tahun tidak berjaya. Singapura masih mendakwa Pulau Batu Puteh adalah milik Singapura.
7. Apa pilihan kita?
8. Kita boleh berperang untuk rampas Pulau Batu Puteh. Tetapi kos dan korbanan jiwa amat tinggi. Ia tidak dapat diterima oleh kita. Lagi pun belum tentu kita menang.
9. Kita terus berunding tetapi tidak menghasil apa-apa keputusan.
10. Kita, dan juga Singapura bersetuju untuk rujuk kepada International Court of Justice (ICJ).
11. Tetapi untuk ini kedua-dua pihak perlu berjanji secara bertulis akan menerima apa sahaja keputusan yang dibuat oleh ICJ. Tidak ada rayuan terhadap keputusan ICJ. Keputusan ICJ adalah muktamad.
12. Rujukan kepada ICJ hanya akan diterima oleh ICJ jika perjanjian menerima tanpa soal dan keputusannya dihormati.
13. Negara yang bermaruah mesti hormati janji. Hanya negara yang tidak bermaruah yang akan mungkir janji.
14. Muktamad adalah muktamad. Jika sebuah negara tidak hormati janji, tidak ada negara lain yang akan buat perjanjian dengan negara berkenaan. Ia menjadi negara pariah.
15. Sebab itu sebelum berjanji kajian sedalam-dalamnya perlu dibuat. Jika tidak yakin jangan buat janji.
16. Malaysia mempunyai dasar liberal dalam pemilikan tanah. Siapa sahaja boleh milik tanah. Bukan warganegara pun boleh milik tanah.
17. Ini mendedahkan negara pada kehilangan tanah yang sudah dimiliki oleh orang asing. Jika sebahagian yang besar tanah dimiliki oleh orang asing maka negara sudah tidak lagi secara fizikal, tanah milik warganegara.
18. Inilah yang berlaku di Singapura. Walaupun Singapura asalnya milik negeri Melayu, hari ini ia sudah jadi negara asing.
19. Hari ini walaupun negara ini dikenali sebagai Tanah Melayu, tetapi orang Melayu sendiri sudah kehilangan tanah mereka. Nasib baik yang memiliki tanah yang bernilai tinggi dan besar dimiliki oleh warga Malaysia.
20. Satu lagi cara untuk hilang negara ialah dengan menjual tanah yang digali dalam negara atau laut milik negara kepada negara lain. Secara langsung kita menjual sebahagian dari negara kepada negara lain. Jika tanah yang dijual adalah untuk menambak dan membesar negara lain, dia tidak berbeza dengan menjual bahagian-bahagian tertentu negara kepada negara lain.
21. Hari ini kita jual air dan tanah berlori-lori dan berkapal-kapal ke negara lain guna untuk membesar negara mereka.
22. Atau kita jual laut untuk ditambak dan dimiliki serta diduduki oleh orang lain, keadaannya tidak berbeza dari menjual bahagian-bahagian negara kepada negara asing.
23. Kita jual Singapura. Lazimnya apabila penjajah tidak lagi berminat, tanah yang dijual dikembalikan kepada negara asal. Itulah yang terjadi kepada Hong Kong, Goa, Pondicherry. Tetapi tidak Singapura. Tanah dan air yang kita jual ke Singapura untuk membesar pulau itu menjadi kawasan milik penduduk Singapura, dibangun di bawah kuasa Kerajaan Singapura.
24. Itulah sebabnya Kerajaan Malaysia melarang penjualan tanah kita dan mempertikai jualan air kepada negara asing. Malangnya beberapa pentadbiran Kerajaan Malaysia rela untuk dibayar 3 sen untuk 1000 gelen air mentah kepada negara asing kerana malas atau takut menuntut hak.
RACE-BASED PARTIES
1. Why is it that the political parties in Malaysia are race-based? The answer is that Malaysians insist on retaining their identification with their countries of origin.
2. This is not so in other multiracial countries. The migrants from other countries, upon accepting citizenship adopt the language, culture and loyalties to their adopted countries completely. They get fully assimilated after one or two generations.
3. But in Malaysia the migrants, despite being citizens insist not only on being recognised as of different origins from the indigenous people but are physically separated through their economic functions and their political affiliations.
4. Pejuang is race-based. It is a Malay party. It has to be because it expects to contest against UMNO, a Malay party. And it expects to do this in the rural areas where the population is largely Malay. These people would not support a multiracial party. In the absence of any other Malay party, the rural people will vote for UMNO. Besides UMNO is rich and rural Malays are poor. Money means a lot to them. Pejuang is the alternative.
5. There are issues but race and money are more important.
6. Pejuang has no money. It depends on race and its anti-corruption campaign.
7. As long as we retain our identification with our countries of origin, politics and political parties in Malaysia will remain racial.
THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
1. The public generally believes that all those who are in a position of power must be corrupt. You can do your best to reject corruption but no one will believe you.
2. Throughout my career I had rejected corruption. I did my best to show that I was not corrupt when I was the Prime Minister.
3. I did not live a lavish life. Yes, I built two houses but they were built with Government loans to which I was entitled and through borrowing from a bank. They were not expensive and I was able to pay the loans with my salary and allowance as Prime Minister. I don’t owe anything to anyone since then.
4. Actually my pay was more than sufficient to support me and my family. It was sufficient because the Government provides me with housing, pay my electricity and water bills, make available to me several motor vehicles, even airplanes for my use.
5. I get paid allowances for moving around the country to do my work or even when taking holidays abroad.
6. The only thing I had to pay for is the food I and my family consumed and my clothing. Even this was not much as I get invited to functions where food was served.
7. I did not ask for scholarships for my children. I could afford to pay for their education. As Prime Minister, I earned more than ten times what I earned as a private medical practitioner.
8. I bought no shares except for 200 British American Tobacco shares which I bought before I became a member of Parliament. The only shares I bought after I joined the Government were those in Permodalan Nasional and other official funds when I launched those funds. But usually not more than 1,000 shares. The return was not big. I did not sell or buy these shares. They remain with the funds and they grow as I did not take dividends. I did not buy shares in the stock market.
9. My children were not allowed to do business with the Government. They were not even allowed to be involved in politics. Certainly not to join UMNO. Most of the business they did when I was Prime Minister were in foreign countries. I did not want to be accused of nepotism.
10. As President of UMNO I was often offered donations for the party. All those donations were given to UMNO. I kept nothing. In fact, I paid for all the campaigning for my own elections. In those days payments for party workers were small and affordable. The normal party allocation for the constituency during elections went to the division and was spent for its management and the conduct of the election. I paid for the cigarettes and nasi lemak occasionally.
11. As Prime Minister I received a lot of gifts. I did not regard them as given to me personally. I regarded them as gifts to the Office of Prime Minister. Accordingly, I registered them as properties of the Government, especially the motor cars. All these gifts are in the Galleria in Langkawi and in my old (Prime Minister’s official) residence in Kuala Lumpur.
12. All these things I did and more to avoid being accused of corruption. But still, I am accused of being corrupt. In fact, many people believe that I have huge amounts of money stashed abroad. No evidence has been revealed that I had this great wealth. But that does not mean that it is not true that I did not have this wealth. It is just that I am said to be clever at hiding my great wealth.
13. This refusal to admit that I am not corrupt affects my efforts to clean up the country of corruption. When I try to campaign against corruption people became cynical. They just cannot believe I am sincere because apparently, I myself am so corrupt.
14. Yet this anti-corruption campaign is very important as I see how corruption is destroying the country. It has come to the stage when Governments can be bought through corruption. And when such a Government is installed, Government funds would be stolen and the country just cannot develop. It will become poorer and poorer and would fail as a nation.
15. The people will suffer as the cost of dealing with the Government would become prohibitive and service would deteriorate. Investments would decline and job creation would not meet the demand of the unemployed workers.
16. So what, some would say. Many countries would be like us.
17. Well, if we are ready and willing to become a failed country it is okay.
18. But we would be looked down upon and would be begging from the rich. We cannot stand tall and be respected.
19. Because of this, I think it is important to elect Governments that are not corrupt.
20. Generally the people do not trust politicians. They believe all of them are corrupt. So, many people have decided not to vote in elections.
21. If people do not vote in elections, the corrupt politicians will win as they would bribe their corrupt supporters to vote for them. Then the Government of Malaysia would continue to be led by corrupt politicians.
22. But I believe most people do not want corruption to cause us to become a failed nation. We want to become a successful nation. For this to happen we have to fight against corruption.
23. How do we fight corruption. We can campaign to instill in the minds of people the rejection of corruption. We can explain the harm that corruption can do to us, to our society, and to our nation. We must make people be aware that corruption is not only about civil servants accepting bribes for the service they are expected to give, but corruption can result in crooks bribing to win elections and form Governments or members of Parliament being bribed to bring down an elected Government and replacing it with corrupt Government.
24. In Malaysia we have reached the stage where crooks can buy members of elected Governments so as to bring down the Government and replace it with corrupt members.
25. By this time the whole population will become corrupt as the corrupt Government will use Government funds to give citizens money to buy support. The cost of doing business would be high, few will invest and businesses will make little profits. With that taxes will not yield enough revenue for the Government. Pay for Government employees, would be reduced. Their purchases would decrease. Retail businesses would suffer, lose profit, pay less tax and Government funds would be unable to sustain the services for the people.
26. The country will become poorer and poorer and will be forced to borrow money or beg for aid. The decline of the country would be continuous and all the people would suffer.
27. Clearly, if we do not want these to happen. If we do not want to become beggars, we must reject and rid our country of corruption.
28. For this we must reject corrupt people from winning elections and forming Governments.
29. We must monitor closely the performance of Governments. There will be false accusation. These will only be accepted if materially proven. It is common for the corrupt to deflect accusations against them by accusing their accusers of being equally corrupt.
30. The struggle against corruption is a holy struggle. In this struggle, we must all be willing to make sacrifices.
* This article first appeared in Astro Awani on Sept 30, 2021
SAMPAH
1. Saya ucap terima kasih kepada semua agensi Kerajaan dan pihak lain yang terlibat di dalam gotong royong pembersihan sampah terapung dari perairan Kuah ke Bukit Malut pada hari Selasa 21hb September.
2. Saya bangga kerana tindakan cepat diambil setelah isu ini diketengahkan pengguna media sosial.
3. Langkawi sudah dibuka kepada pelancong semula. Tidak lama lagi, pelancong asing dari luar negara juga akan mula berkunjung semula.
4. Mereka ke Langkawi untuk menikmati keindahan pulau setelah lebih dua tahun tersekat akibat COVID-19. Sudah tentu tidak ada sesiapa yang mahu lihat sampah sarap bertaburan di pulau ini.
5. Saya terbaca di Pulau Bali dan di beberapa pulau peranginan di Thailand, penduduk setempat bergotong-royong bersihkan pulau sementara ianya tertutup kepada pelancong.
6. Mungkin pentadbiran Langkawi juga boleh pertimbang usaha gotong royong bersama penduduk dan pengusaha industri pelancong. Saya pasti usaha ini juga akan dapat perhatian dan sokongan NGO yang bertapak di Langkawi.
7. Langkawi ini pulau bertuah dan telah menjadi tempat sumber rezeki bukan sahaja orang tempatan, tetapi ramai rakyat Malaysia yang berhijrah ke sini. Dan InsyaAllah jika kita berjaya kawal dan tangani masalah COVID-19 ini, Langkawi dapat kembali jadi destinasi pelancongan yang ulung dan ternama seperti dulu.
8. Tetapi, kita haruslah sama-sama pikul tanggungjawab. Saya harap penduduk Langkawi tidak bergantung kepada agensi Kerajaan semata-mata, tetapi bersama-sama jaga kebersihan persekitaran pulau kita ini.
9. Jika pulau ini kotor, pelancong di masa hadapan mungkin tidak minat untuk datang dan dengan itu kita akan hilang punca pendapatan yang kita nikmati hari ini.
WARS OF THE WORLDS
1. Many of us must have read or seen the film on the wars of the world. I believe it was based on fiction written by H.G. Wells.
2. In this story creatures from another planet rocketed on to this planet earth and attacked it. They intended to conquer the world.
3. Mankind set their armies to defend our world. There was no mention of any particular country.
4. Humanity was facing a common enemy. We had to be together to defend this planet. Fortunately the aliens were killed not by our defence forces but by germs which infected the aliens. They had no knowledge about infectious diseases and had no antibiotics. The disease killed the aliens and the world was saved.
5. The aliens from other planet were our common enemy and we fought against them as the people of this planet earth.
6. Today the peoples of this earth are being attacked by a common enemy; the coronary virus. We should be fighting this common enemy together. But we are not. Each country fights for itself alone. What happens to other countries is of no concern to other countries.
7. The richest country in the world actually reject the organisation dedicated to the management of the health of the world.
8. The United Nations (UN) had set up a World Health Organisation (WHO) obviously for the benefit of the whole world. It was funded by the countries of the world. But the richest country in the world decided to stop funding WHO.
9. Yet this common enemy is not only common for all the countries of the world but is so powerful that no one on their own can defend themselves. The economies of all countries have gone into recession.
10. When vaccines were developed, the rich countries secured practically all the supplies for themselves.
11. Since the World Health Organisation have been deprived of funds, it is in no position to supply vaccines to the poor countries. And no attempt is made to have a central command to deal with this common enemy.
12. As hundreds of thousands die from the attack by this common enemy, many saw only the financial gain to be derived from the vaccine manufacturing industry. Admittedly much money is needed to develop and produce the vaccines. But access should not be limited to those who can pay only. It is possible that some countries and some people will never be immune to the disease.
13. Mutations are a problem. In fact it is possible that the present strain had mutated from some harmless strain. If the poor people are not protected through vaccine, the researchers may develop new strains which can result in another pandemic.
14. The Central Command should be strongly financed and given power to control the distribution of the vaccine so that rich and poor could be protected. Research must be controlled by the central body because it is entirely possible for new lethal strains to emerge and accidentally let loose on the world.
15. What we all must realise is that a common enemy need not come from another planet. It has been shown that it is entirely possible for a common enemy for all the people in our planet to be produced here, in our backyard so to speak.
16. It is important that we have a common front to face this common enemy. The World Health Organisation must be given the authority to licence research and oversee their work. We face the danger of research producing another virus which may wipe out all living things in this world.
17. Don’t laugh. It has already happened. And look at the destruction COVID-19 has wrought.
GOVERNMENTS OF MALAYA
1. The Malay states were all absolute monarchies before the coming of the British. All taxes collected belong to the rulers. They then allocate funds for the various institutions of Government.
2. Quite naturally the ruler would spend most of the money on himself. There was not much left to finance the institutions of Government.
3. Frequently the ruler would borrow money for his own use. The classic case was the five million dollars borrowed from Siam by the Sultan of Kedah for the marriage of five of his sons.
4. Unable to pay the debt, Kedah had to accept a financial adviser appointed by Siam to ensure Government revenue would be used to pay the debt. The adviser was British.
5. Naturally the development of the state was neglected. Additionally, the tax collectors pocketed some of the taxes. It was in order to prevent this corruption that the ruler accepted the offer of the Kapitan China to collect the taxes and guarantee a much bigger amount would reach the ruler.
6. In Johor, the ruler was more astute. Seeing how the Chinese business people were able to enrich Singapore, the ruler invited them to open up land for agriculture along the rivers of Johor. Although all the revenue went to the ruler, there was enough for financing the different institutions of Government.
7. Other West Coast states benefited from their tin-rich land leased to Chinese miners.
8. The rulers of Kedah and Johor saw the development of Penang and Singapore and wanted their states to develop in the same way. They tried to copy the British administrative system. But it was Perak which first decided to bring in British advisers to improve the administrations.
9. Perak was rich in tin and had leased a lot of tin-mining land to Chinese Kongsis. Fighting broke out between the different Chinese mining companies. The ruler of Perak was unable to deal with this. He decided to get help from the British in Penang. The Sikh police force was brought from Penang to put a stop to the fights between the Chinese kongsis.
10. Subsequent to the incident the ruler decided to have the advice of the British in the administration of the state. Quickly Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang followed suit. Under the British these four states were federated.
11. As far as the people were concerned British rule was no different from the Governments of the rulers. There was more security and administration were better organised. The survey department marked the boundaries between the states and also the boundary between Siam and Malaya. Land holdings were also surveyed and marked with boundary stones.
12. The rakyat and the migrants from India and China were not allowed to be involved in politics. This was reserved for the rulers and senior members of the administration. When it came to dealing with the British, the rulers had the final say.
13. The Chinese migrants followed the politics of China. They were supportive of the uprising against the Emperor by Sun Yat-Sen They regarded themselves as citizens of China and they put up the Chinese flag during certain Chinese national days.
14. There was no citizenship in the Malay states but the Malays were regarded as the subjects (rakyat) of their Malay Rulers. Although all of them regard themselves as Malays but their loyalty was to their different Sultans. There were no political parties. They seem quite happy to be ruled by the British. In fact, they looked up to the British as superior people, able to govern their country well.
15. The British promoted the idea that Malaya was peaceful and stable because it had no history. This was of course nonsense. But in the schools the history of the country was not taught. In the English schools the students were taught the history of the British Empire and of Great Britain.
16. In the Fedrated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, the administration was headed by British officers. The few Malays in the administration held junior posts. But in the Non-Federated Malay States of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor, Malay officers were understudies to the British heads of departments. The district officers were all Malays whereas in the Federated states even district officers or Residents were British.
17. The stable and orderly societies during the time of the British were much liked by the Malays. The Chinese and Indians too found British rule to their liking.
18. In the Malay States of the Peninsula there was no talk of getting rid of the British. In fact, the rulers and the Malays felt that only the British could rule the country. That was why when the British came back after the defeat of the Japanese, the rulers, their subjects and the Indian and Chinese migrants welcomed them. They looked towards the reestablishment of the status quo ante. Only very few Malays who had gone to Indonesia to fight against the Dutch had any idea about terminating colonialism.
19. Unfortunately, the British had other ideas about relations with the Malay States. They felt that the system of Governments to be cumbersome and costly. There were actually seven different governmental system in the Peninsula.
20. There were firstly the colonies of Singapore, Malacca and Penang ruled directly by the British.
21. Then there were the Federated Malay States ruled as a federation with Kuala Lumpur as the capital. Finally, there were the Non-Federated states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor, each having their own Governments, where the British had to work with Malay administrators. They were less willing to accept British officers.
22. The British felt that there should be only one Government formed by a Union of all the states as well as the colonies. Singapore was excluded from this union. It was to be retained as a British colony, as it was principal base for British military in Southeast Asia.
23. The plan was drawn up in London by the Colonial Office. No consultation was made with the Malay States. It was assumed that the Malay rulers would give their consent. If they did not than the British would simply refuse to recognise them as the rulers of their states. Another prince would be found who would be recognised as Sultan when he signed the surrender of the state to the British.
24. Although there could be a titular Sultan but he would have no role to play in the administration. He would confine himself to matters pertaining to the religious (Islamic) affairs and Malay custom.
25. The Malayan Union plan was kept a secret, but Malaysians began to hear about it through leakages. At once the Malays became agitated. They believed their rulers would not be able to counter the British proposal especially when there was to be a threat of non-recognition.
26. The Malay subjects of the rulers were not allowed to be involved in politics. But the threat was so great that they decided to register their disagreement some how.
27. The Malay newspapers played up the issue. The Majlis of Kuala Lumpur suggested that the Malays should hold a congress and discuss the issue.
28. Some prominent Malays in Kuala Lumpur took the initiative to organise a gathering of Malay organisations to discuss the Malayan Union. There was enthusiastic response. More than a hundred Malay organisations, all non-political attended.
29. The meeting was held in a shabby club in Kampung Baru, the Malay Agricultural Settlement in Kuala Lumpur. This meeting succeeded in identifying some of the unknown Malay leaders. Very quickly they became prominent as for the first time they were accepted as leaders of peninsular Malays. Before that the Malays only knew their Sultan and the prominent personalities in their own states.
30. Of these leaders, Dato Onn Jaafar of Johor was immediately recognised as a national leader. He was well known for his willingness to stand up against his Sultan and to resign from the Johor civil service. He preferred to become a journalist in Singapore. No other Malay had dared to disobey his Sultan. It was considered to be a treason.
31. Dato Onn was successful in the opposition to the Malayan Union. Considering that the Malays at that time were very poor, had little education and had never indulged in politics, the success of Dato Onn and the Malay activists was remarkable.
32. But Dato Onn himself, in a speech at an UMNO Assembly in Kedah, made it clear that the Malays were not capable of ruling their own country. Onn was not campaigning for independence. He merely wanted to prevent the British from turning the Malay states, which were British protectorates from becoming British colonies.
33. After defeating the Malayan Union, Onn was willing to work with the British on plans for unifying the multiracial population. He accepted membership of the Communities Liaison Committee set up by Malcolm MacDonald, the Commissioner for Southeast Asia. Such was Onn’s acceptance of the ideas of MacDonald that he proposed the Malay based UMNO should accept other races and become multiracial. His idea was rejected by UMNO leaders and he resigned.
PERDANA MENTERI JUTAWAN
1. Biasanya Perdana Menteri tidak kaya. Jika dia kaya maka tentulah dia isytihar di waktu dilantik yang dianya memiliki kekayaan. Bahkan awal-awal lagi dia di kenal sebagai orang kaya, sebagai jutawan. Jika dia tidak dikenali sebagai orang kaya maka ini juga akan diketahui oleh masyarakat.
2. Tetapi apabila Perdana Menteri selepas menjadi PM menjadi jutawan, rakyat berhak mendakwa dia telah dapat wang itu secara haram.
3. Sebenarnya PM tidak boleh ada duit banyak. Penerimaan derma pun salah walaupun dengan ikhlas. Jika ada duit diterima, ianya untuk parti. Tetapi jika di masuk akaun peribadi, itu salah.
4. Jika di dakwa bahawa tokoh negara asing yang menderma untuk apa tujuan pun ia tetap salah. Ahli politik dalam negeri tidak boleh terima hadiah atau derma dari negara asing kerana ini memberi peluang kepada negara asing untuk campurtangan dalam politik dalam negeri.
5. Oleh sebab itu segala kekayaan Perdana Menteri yang didapati selepas ia menjadi PM hendaklah dianggap sebagai haram dan boleh dirampas oleh pihak yang berkuasa.