theSun | WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 24 2008
speak up!
Umno must rid itself of corruption
IT IS heartening to hear that Umno
is stepping up its war on “money
politics”, the party’s euphemism for
vote buying. Vote buying, so the party
has acknowledged, is especially ram-
pant during party elections, whether
at branch, division or national levels.
The dominant partner of the ruling
Barisan Nasional coalition has also
acknowledged that money had been
used during elections for a long time
even before the landmark elections of
1981 when Tun Musa Hitam defeated
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the fight
for the deputy presidency.
IN “Roots of racism” (Dec 18), K.K. Tan
packed a powerful case for the prosecu-
tion. Although it is true that colonial pow-
ers often treated natives brutally, this was
not due to the colonisers being particularly
cruel but to the fact that the locals were
weak and unorganised.
When the first freighter from America
landed on the African coast in the seven-
teenth century, these so called colonists
had an organised and well-maintained
army, and guns which gave them an
indisputable advantage.
The occupiers also had a clear strategy,
they knew what they were looking for and
they believed that God would help them in
their struggle. This faith in God was not the
same as that implied in the statement by
Tan that “...it was also their God given right
to force black people to be slaves...”.
Since all humans are derived from a
To show that there is no let up in
the effort to root out corruption and
discipline those involved in it, party
disciplinary board chairman Tan Sri
Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Ismail,
said the board is being strengthened
with new members so that it could
go about its business effectively. He is
sad but not discouraged by allegations
that the board is not doing enough to
confront and investigate those against
whom reports of vote buying have
been lodged. Despite the commitment
and determination of Rithauddeen and
other members of the board, who say
Stand up for the truth
single stock and homo sapiens originated
in Africa itself, we may wonder why people
in the West achieved much greater devel-
opment than the descendants of homo
sapiens who continued to reside in Africa.
If it had been the other way around, the
Africans would have colonised Europe and
America and the white people would have
ended up being oppressed. This possibility
weakens the stand of the proponents of
racism.
The slave trade had no other motivation
than the need for labour, and it succeeded
because the oppressed were willing to
put up with the oppression. Slavery lasted
two hundred years before the advent of
the Civil War. Although the Union wanted
slavery abolished in the South, this was
they can investigate the hundreds of
complaints it receives, it is, however,
generally agreed that the agency is
swamped beyond its capability of in-
vestigating thoroughly. Thus the board
should be happy that the Anti-Corrup-
tion Agency is now allowed to help.
Already the agency has announced that
the outcome of several cases that it is
investigating would be known soon.
There is no doubt about it the party
disciplinary board and the ACA or its
successor, the MACC, must step up
efforts to clean up Umno of money
politics, especially when it is still an
not out of compassion but because the
Unionists knew that slavery was incom-
patible with the notions of capitalism and
free enterprise.
In 1865, after the Civil War, slavery was
abolished in America, but the blacks were
not really free. Their oppression continued
for almost another hundred years and
specifically until one day in 1955 when a
black woman named Rosa Parks refused
to give up her seat to a white passenger
on a public bus. This gesture of simply
standing up for the truth ignited the spirit
of the black Civil Rights Movement and
in the relatively short space of fifty years
made a black the president of the country
that was once the oppressor of his race.
Millions of blacks were living in
important component of the ruling
coalition.
It should be done quickly before
more people begin to ask about the rul-
ing coalition’s credibility in its professed
commitment to root out corruption
when its dominant member is riddled
with corrupt practices and its leaders
involved in money politics. Questions
like “how can you rid the country of
corruption when the government
members are corrupt” and “how can
you say you want to rid the country
of corruption when you are corrupt”
should not be asked. It is thus very
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America, most of whom were unhappy,
but none of them thought of doing what
Rosa Parks did. She employed no army,
nor did she lead a demonstration or carry
out any act of terrorism. What she did
was to present the truth in a manner so
clear and evident that it could neither be
disputed nor trampled upon.
Gandhi achieved independence for
India because of his ability to stand for the
truth, and Tunku Abdul Rahman was also
able to free Malaya because he believed
in the power of the truth.
If one person, by standing for the truth,
can achieve so much, how infinitely more
could be accomplished if everyone else
was capable of doing the same?
I strongly disagree that racism is
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thesun says
important for Umno and its partners
as well as other political parties in the
country to cleanse themselves of cor-
rupt practices.
Surely we do not want to be like a
neighbouring country where its MPs
top the charts when it comes to corrup-
tion. The media refer to them as kucing
garong, or tomcats, as their habit is to
prowl their constituencies and the
country looking for something to steal
and opportunities to make money.
We may not have that many tomcats
of that kind yet but we should reject
parties that allow them to breed.
still embedded in the white society. The
statement has no foundation in the truth.
Blacks and other coloured people are
equally capable of cruelty.
Even a cursory look at history will show
that individuals and nations saw their
fortunes soar or plummet according to
how far they were willing to stand for the
truth. The truth is similar to the law only
more complete. There are gaps no law can
fill and which can only be successfully and
effectively closed by the affirmation of the
truth.
Malaysians have already had all the
necessary tuition on race relations they
will ever need. All they need to do now,
if they want to see their country move
forward, is to stand, or sit, for the truth.
Marisa Demori
Ipoh