The opposition is at fault

comment It has been hotter than usual in Malaysia this past month.  The temperature has soared to 38 degrees Celsius and most of us are cowering in our air-conditioned offices, going out only when we absolutely have to.

Surprisingly, foreign direct investors do not think of Malaysia as a hot spot for business. The reason is because of the bad image Malaysia is getting internationally and we all know that the opposition is responsible for all the bad press.

Take for example the on-going sodomy trial of Anwar Ibrahim. We are not suppose to comment about the trial itself but the fact that there is a trial at all is not doing Malaysia any good. In the West, sodomy is not a criminal offence. Westerners therefore cannot understand why it is such a big deal.

Even after all our commercials about ‘Asian values’ they still do not understand that ‘Malaysia is truly Asia’. We may like ‘Indo-mee’ but not ‘So-do-mee’. Anyway, are we to blame for their ignorance and lack of moral rectitude?

The real culprit behind this particular piece of bad press is Anwar Ibrahim himself. If he had not organised the anti-government student movement of the 1970s, become leader of Abim and then joined the BN - where he rose to become deputy premier - he would not be the charismatic leader that he is today.

So, the fault lies squarely on Anwar’s shoulders or rather his bad back. Now, if he was more fit then the sodomy charge would be more believable. Moreover, his bad back was caused by injuries he inflicted on himself during the first sodomy trial.

No wonder he was hand-picked and then fast-tracked to the pinnacle of Umno in the 1980s and 1990s! A man who can beat himself unconscious and then lead the opposition deny the BN its traditional two-thirds victory is really a marvel. So the fault for the bad press owing to Sodomy II lies squarely on his back.

There is another piece of bad news that does not endear Malaysia to foreign investors. Apparently, some very unpatriotic Malaysians have  been spreading rumours that the government does not honour its word to its own states. The oil royalty issue is really not that complicated. The government is right and the opposition is wrong. There is no grey area here. Everything is black and white.

So, the Terengganu government which received oil royalties from 1978-1990 must thank the federal government for its act of kindness. Kelantan should also similarly thank the federal government for its generosity.

In fact, to make sure that all potential foreign investors really understand the true picture, both Terengganu and Kelantan should issue thank-you notes to every Peninsular Malaysian state because the ‘oil royalty’ payments established at 5 percent in the case of Terengganu came at the expense of these states.

Foreign investors have nothing to fear. In fact, the federal government is so kind that it has  provided all sorts of tax incentives, free trade zones and has kept wages very low to help bring in foreign investment.

In this case, both the opposition and even a few misguided individuals like the founder-director of Petronas and the former Lord President of the Judiciary have all contributed to this negative image of the Malaysian government.

In fact, the reverse is true - the government is so kind and generous that it has re-allocated funds destined for its federal coffers to these two poor states. This is responsible government personified. If only the Nobel Prize committee were better informed, the next recipient of the Peace Prize would be the Malaysian government.

Tolerant society

Caning is another major issue that the opposition has created to give a bad image of Malaysia. Yes, the caning of Muslim women for having sex out of wedlock and one for drinking an alcoholic beverage has been exploited by the opposition to paint a most negative image of Malaysia.

In reality, we are a most tolerant society. We tolerate all sorts of crimes like snatch-thefts, governmental corruption on a vast scale as indicated by our very own auditor-general, and the death of witnesses who defy gravity from 14 floor windows.

None of our religious leaders talk about these ‘crimes’ and in fact, on the whole, foreign investors can do business here in any way they like. Corruption, a former leader once said, “is a necessary lubricant for development”. Now, why therefore is the opposition creating such a ruckus over the caning of these women? They should instead worry about their own backyards.

One reason Penang has received a clean bill of health from the auditor-general is that the state government is not creating a good enough environment for ‘business’. How can we conduct
‘business’ whilst being transparent? The state government said we now only need a computer cable to get a contract. But what about the middlemen whose skills for securing deals will now become redundant? All the years of training and skills-development going to waste! This is what foreign investors do not want to hear.

The reality is that the government has been working very hard to create a positive image for Malaysia. But the opposition is not doing its part to strengthen the country’s image overseas. Anwar should just admit what he did and explain how he managed to do what he did without any form of ‘penetration’.

The opposition should explain to the people that it has been wrong in its assessment of the oil royalty issue and apologise to the rakyat for misleading them. This will be followed by a nationwide thank-you convoy by the Kelantan and Terengganu governments to all the capital cities in the peninsula, expressing gratitude that those states have so generously given up their share of the ‘oil royalty’ in favour of poverty eradication in the east coast.

Lastly, it is wonderful that after being caned, the three women are now much better Muslims. Non-Muslims should be petition the federal government to extend this caning service to them. Surely, we will all become better citizens if we are caned for immoral activities but foreigners should not be worried. We will continue to turn a blind eye to about everything else and if one is caught on video having oral sex, just own up and all will be forgiven.

Oh, yes…the weather…it’s the opposition’s fault. Apparently, they have been so bad that God is penalising us with all this torrid weather to remind us to vote BN in the next general election.

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NEIL KHOR recently completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge. He is co-author of ‘Non-Sectarian Politics in Malaysia: The Case of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia’ (2008).