tunku |
- Post GE 13- Interview with Hamid Awaludin
- PM Najib announces special committee to oversee EC
- Anwar’s Excuses for Refusing to Accept GE13 Results Are Demolished
Post GE 13- Interview with Hamid Awaludin Posted: 01 Jun 2013 02:01 AM PDT Hamid Awaludin was Indonesian minister of law and human rights from 2004-2007 when Jusuf Kalla was vice president, and was Indonesian ambassador to Russia and Belarus from 2008-2011. 1. Anwar Ibrahim claims it was Jusuf Kalla who approached him whereas Jusuf Kalla said he was approached by Anwar. Which is true? Hamid Awaludin: I was present during Jusuf Kalla's discussions with both Anwar and Najib. It was Jusuf Kalla who accepted Anwar's request to mediate. He did not take the initiative and approach Anwar. Jusuf Kalla does not have any political and economic interests in Malaysia. He is busy with his affairs in Indonesia. So why would he take the initiative and approach Anwar? It isn't logical. Jusuf Kalla considers both Anwar and Najib as good friends. He wanted to help because they were competing fiercely with one another. That is how he saw this. 2. Anwar claims there were several "preconditions" in the agreement eg. free elections, fair media, etc. Can you outline any preconditions? Hamid Awaludin: I am very sure that there were no preconditions discussed between Jusuf Kalla and Anwar. For me, a deal is a deal. And there was a deal that both parties – Anwar and Najib – agreed to. Some people always try and find a loophole after the event, or an excuse not to deliver on their promise. Some people are different in character to others. 3. Anwar now claims PM Najib didn't sign the agreement and it was therefore not valid. Jusuf Kalla says the PM did give his verbal agreement and therefore the deal was agreed by both parties, and was valid. Is Anwar correct or is Jusuf Kalla? Hamid Awaludin: Anwar knew that Najib did not sign the agreement. Najib had very reasonable, political reasons for not signing the agreement and Anwar understood and accepted it. But Najib gave his word that he would honour the agreement. He consented to the agreement. Basic morality teaches us that a man's word is more important than his signature. And deeds are more important than any declaration. Najib delivered on his promise. He called for national reconciliation during his election result acceptance speech. Najib's deeds matched his word. 4. On Election Day, do you feel that the agreement was still in place? Had anything happened before Election Day to invalidate the agreement? Hamid Awaludin: I am very sure that nothing jeopardized the agreement in the run up to the election or on Election Day. The agreement still stood. Things changed after Najib was declared the winner. Even the day after Najib's victory, I was personally optimistic that a deal is deal, and both sides would abide by the deal. But Anwar broke the deal. Perhaps he was unable to manage his followers, especially because the DAP had won more seats than Anwar's own party. Anwar found himself in a difficult position. But a leader must lead, not be led. 5. Do you and Jusuf Kalla feel Anwar broke the deal? If so, how? Hamid Awaludin: I feel that Anwar still does not accept political reality. Perhaps he has things he will not say because he doesn't want to hurt people. I don't know. 6. Do you feel Anwar was/is sincere in wanting national reconciliation in Malaysia? Hamid Awaludin: I believed that Anwar had sincerity and I still hope he has. 7. Why do you think Anwar is behaving in the manner in which he is – denying the agreement, refusing to cede defeat and organising protests across Malaysia? Hamid Awaludin: From the beginning, Anwar convinced himself that he would win the election. He had struggled for so long and he thought that this was the end of the struggle. He thought he would win the battle and defeat Barisan Nasional. His belief was strengthened by opinion polls that were often in his favour. And each rally Anwar held during the campaign attracted massive crowds. But in the end, the people's choice is the ultimate factor in a democracy. Anwar believed he would win the election but he was afraid Najib would resist and not hand over power. So Anwar wanted insurance against this scenario. That is why he came up with the idea of the deal. |
PM Najib announces special committee to oversee EC Posted: 01 Jun 2013 12:51 AM PDT The government will set up a special committee comprising members of Parliament from Barisan Nasional and the opposition to oversee the Election Commission in order to allay concerns over the impartiality of the country's election management body Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who announced this during his speech Saturday at the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Yang Dipertuan's birthday celebration at Istana Negara, said the government would extend its full co-operation to the commission in order to further improve the credibility of elections in the country. "With this move, it is hoped that the impartiality of the Election Commission is no longer questioned and that the confidence of the people towards the Commission can be strengthened," Najib was quoted as saying by Bernama. Najib urged all quarters not to damage the trustworthiness of the commission by making all sorts of wild allegations that are driven merely by self-interest. He said the commission was not a government agency or department but was a special body set up based in accordance with provisions under the Federal Constitution. |
Anwar’s Excuses for Refusing to Accept GE13 Results Are Demolished Posted: 31 May 2013 11:42 PM PDT It has been widely reported that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reneged on a brokered, pre-election deal to accept the results of GE13. The agreement, between Anwar and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and brokered by Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia's former Vice President, required the loser to accept the results and work toward national reconciliation. It was Anwar's idea. Anwar, of course, immediately claimed the results were fraudulent and began a series of illegal rallies and protests, claiming that the Government is illegitimate. Jusuf Kalla instead revealed the way Anwar broke his own deal. The Wall Street Journal was very clear. Once news of the deal broke, Anwar deployed an evolving series of excuses for his violation of the agreement. Najib had said cruel things about him, Anwar said, and this was a condition of the agreement Najib violated. Najib committed fraud. Najib never signed the document. And, he added, Kalla had reached out to him to enter the agreement in the first place. It was certainly never Anwar's idea. (That last is especially important inside of Pakatan Rakyat, as it has been reported that Anwar never bothered to share the fact of the deal with his coalition partners, leaving Lim Guan Eng in particular furious about finding out about it along with the rest of the country.) One by one, Anwar's excuses have been demolished. Kalla made clear in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that it was indeed Anwar who had reached out to him, and added his displeasure at Anwar's violation of the clear terms of the deal. "On Monday (May 6), I asked Anwar to accept it and look at reality. But they said, 'No, no, no, no.' " Now, all of Anwar's excuses have been authoritatively demolished by the very man who broke the news of the deal in the first place. It was reported some weeks ago that Hamid Awaludin, the former Indonesian minister of law and human rights, wrote a scathing editorial in Koran Tempo, the Indonesian newspaper, in which he first outlined the deal and Anwar's breach. Hamid was a witness to all of the dealings related to the agreement, and he has personally and authoritatively rubbished each of Anwar's excuses. "It was Jusuf Kalla who accepted Anwar's request to mediate. He (Jusuf) did not take the initiative and approach Anwar," Hamid has said in an interview, explaining that Anwar had "convinced himself that he would win the election" because of favourable polling and large ceramah turnout. Yet it gets worse for Anwar. On the so-called preconditions that Najib allegedly violated: "I am very sure that there were no preconditions discussed between Jusuf Kalla and Anwar. For me, a deal is a deal. And there was a deal that both parties – Anwar and Najib – agreed to. Some people always try and find a loophole after the event, or an excuse not to deliver on their promise. Some people are different in character to others." This had been, for a time, Anwar's first excuse. It is now clear that there were no preconditions. There was simply a straightforward agreement to accept the election results. It does not end there. Anwar has of late alleged that Najib refused to sign the deal, so there was no deal on which Anwar could be said to have reneged. (This of course contradicts his earlier assertion that there was a deal, but Najib violated it. Anwar has never been overly attached to consistency.) Hamid here is brutal. "Anwar knew that Najib did not sign the agreement. Najib had very reasonable political reasons for not signing the agreement and Anwar understood and accepted it. "But Najib gave his word that he would honour the agreement. He consented to the agreement. Basic morality teaches us that a man's word is more important than his signature. And deeds are more important than any declaration. Najib delivered on his promise. He called for national reconciliation during his election result acceptance speech. Najib's deeds matched his word." In other words, Anwar accepted Najib's word in place of his signature – and only fell back on this excuse when his own poor election planning failed to yield him Putrajaya. Hamid offers some consoling thoughts about Anwar's sincerity and belief in national reconciliation, but the overall thrust is clear: Anwar is a man not of his word, but of expedience and a determination to have power. When he thought he would win, he was willing to agree to accept the election results. As soon as he lost, his word was without value. Malaysia dodged a disaster by avoiding putting this man in Putrajaya. Hamid deserves the rakyat's thanks. |
You are subscribed to email updates from tunku To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 |