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Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Deputy President Dr Syed Husin Ali is a senator and founder of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) who has been engaged in politics for the last 50 years. The former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee (six years) was the President of Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), before it merged with Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) to form PKR.
Malaysian Digest recently caught up with Dr Syed Husin at PKR headquarter office to hear what he has to say about the recent exodus of PKR Members of Parliaments and the question on many peopls's mind of why he wasn't contested in the last General Election.
Malaysian Digest: What is your opinion on the latest issue with PKR MPs quitting the party?
Syed Husin Ali: I see it as a good cleansing process. So far those who left the party are known to have personal problems, which is either financial problems or problems arising from threats by MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency). They are weak in terms of discipline and commitment so they can easily be bought over. I always say, once the dirt is washed away, your skin will be cleaner and healthier. I also would like to remind that, at the beginning stage, almost all parties are faced with the same problem whether it’s PAS, DAP or even UMNO. After the departure of several presidents, secretary generals and other leaders, the party becomes stronger. I am confident that, after this episode of exodus is over, Keadilan will be even stronger.
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MD: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim earlier this year apologized for the mistake of choosing the wrong candidates for the last General Election. Does that include the mistake of not putting your name in the candidate list?
SHA: This matter arose because I myself had made the decision to not contest. Even though I was repeatedly asked to think it over I still stuck to my decision. I didn’t contest before that either. About the selection of candidates, there were some oversights. At that time a lot of members didn’t want to contest because they were not confident that the party was going to win. There were also some instances, these were very few cases, the party contested only those who were willing to.
I think the question that is in many people’s mind is: why weren’t you contesting at the last General Election?
Because of my age I feel I am not as able to carry the arduous duty of a wakil rakyat. I also want to focus on my writing. There’s plenty that needs to be done.
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What is the current development between you and your former party PRM (Party Rakyat Malaysia)?
There’s nothing. The PRM congress which I led has decided, with two-thirds representative votes, to merge with Parti Keadilan Nasional and to close up the party before setting up Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Every member was to abide to this decision. However, when the Registry people didn’t accept this decision, a small splinter group resumed efforts to bring the the party back to life. Since then, every ‘congress’ they organized were attended by only 30 to 40 people. Right now, objectively, they are helping the ruling party to create problems in Keadilan.
Do you have any regrets leaving PRM?
No.
How do feel about Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration since he became Prime Minister?
In the first few months he seemed to have a little bit of support. You know how it is with ‘new products’. Though now people can already estimate its genuine quality. The government under Najib’s leadership paid millions to a public relations firm called Apco Worlwide, which has close links to well-known Zionist figures, to improve his image. But it will fail.
Those who are corrupt and immoral can never be successful in eradicating corruption and fostering morality. Even though Najib displays that he is for 1Malaysia but we can see that his narrow-minded racial stance is insinuated via Utusan Malaysia and other media that are either owned by him or controlled by UMNO.
Do you feel there’s improvement in racial unity despite our diversity of cultures and religions in recent times or were we more cohesive in the past (e.g.: during our parent’s time)?
I feel that, at present time, the race and religious relation situation has become worse. This is the result of the ‘split and rule’ policy inherited from the colonists and being practised by the government under Najib’s leadership. To add to this, with the existence of certain groups and organizations brazenly voicing out on sensitive racial matters without even considering the long-term consequences, things will never improve.
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What’s your opinion with regards to race politics?
Race politics must be eradicated. It will only cause the country to fall and the people to suffer while there’s racial tension. Just look at what happened to a lot of countries that practise it like Sri Lanka, Fiji, South Africa during the Apartheid era and there are more. Race-based parties and political processes, particularly the bigoted ones should not be allowed in Malaysia. It is generally exploited by certain leaders to gain support and protect their personal interests, their families and their ruthless power.
What is your take on the issue of ‘Allah’ word usage by non-Muslim?
I wrote quite a long article on this. Basically, I believe this issue was conceived and exploited by UMNO to prod Malay-Muslims into supporting them. On the usage of ‘Allah’, I refer to the opinions of ulamas like Sheikh Yusuf Qardawi who says that non-Muslims can use it.
According to history, wasn’t prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) father, before Islam came about, named Abdullah which means ‘servant of Allah’? Many countries like Indonesia allows the usage of ‘Allah’. Whereas in Malaysia there’s an uproar just because the usage of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims are allowed in Sabah, Sarawak, the Federal Territories and Pulau Pinang. What kind of policy is this? ‘2Malaysia’?
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More and more people are criticizing our education system nowadays. If there is a need for a reform, what kind of an education reform are we talking about?
It’s true a lot of people are criticizing the present education system. It is neglected and facing a crisis. Each time its minister changes there will be adjustments made in the education system and teachers are getting more and more discontented. As a result, the state of it is in shambles and the quality of education is on a steady decline. This issue must be dealt with and taken care of.
It’s difficult to answer your question briefly but I will try. In fact, I have written quite a lot on the need for reform and democratization in the education system in this country. Most of these are in the book Merdeka, Rakyat and Keadilan.
A few things must be mentioned here. Firstly, the Malay language must be strengthened to rise to the fierce competitions especially against the English language and those who commend it.
Secondly, the learning and teaching of Malay and foreign languages should be encouraged and this won’t be a setback if the standard of Bahasa Malaysia is high.
Thirdly, the quality of primary and secondary public schools must be improved so that the people, including the Malays, have confidence in it.
Fourthly, learning and teaching methods must be improved while bolstering the teachings in subjects like literature, history, natural science and others as well as the strengthening of mathematics, science and technology.
Fifthly, activities such as reading and critical thinking must be encouraged among students at university level and commitment must be placed towards research and academic writings carried out by lecturers. These efforts should be accredited as their contributions to their respective fields as well as basis for promotions Restrictive rules like the University and College University Act (AUKU) and Akujanji should also be abolished. Staff, particularly vice-chancellors must be selected based on their credibility and be given and guaranteed autonomy by the respective universities.
Sixthly, a democratic process in the learning fields at every level should be warranted. In other words, greater opportunity should be given, especially to those who can’t afford to get good education, all the way to university level. There’s a lot more that can be done but there’s not enough time to mention all of them here.
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What is your take on the development of arts in Malaysia. We are behind compared to other South East Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. Why is this happening?
Compared to Indonesia and Thailand, specifically, Malaysia is definitely behind in the advancements of arts and literature and this is sad. Our society is driven by various factors, especially the government policy itself, to be more materialistic. Everybody is chasing after money in their pursuit to get rich and they don’t really care about attaining it by means of unethical acts. Furthermore, appreciation and support in the fields of arts and literature has been on the decline among those in power and the public.
For writers, there’s a lack of healthy competition to compel them to produce truly significant works that would take them to greater heights. A big fraction of the growing middle class group look up to the West. Lastly, our education system does not promote the creative and critical principles that would help in enhancing the quality of the arts and literature.
Do you think sex education should be implemented extensively in our schools?
When I was studying at a religious school in Johor there were already aspects of sex education that were introduced to students. It’s nothing new. Considering the growing social problems we have now that is becoming more alarming relating to sexual relations like having sex, teenage pregnancy, unwanted babies and even infanticide I think there’s a need for us to introduce sexual education as much as necessary. This is so that the youths are well-informed and have a sense of responsibility and morality in the area of sexuality.
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How do you feel about Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial so far?
The way things are going, the defamation on Anwar is a conspiracy that is a premeditated political assassination to ensure that the ruthless, greedy, corrupt and non-transparent ruling government remain in power.
It looks like every single institution be it the courts, police and media are exploited by the government to ensure Anwar will be chastised. The newspapers that are owned or controlled by the government continues to smear all kinds of slanders. The Inspector General of Police, Attorney General and certain judges are biased and even appear to be against Anwar . Anwar has been denied all sorts of things that are usually granted to the accused, like the witness list, physical evidences and other things. There are no signs that the ruling government has any intention to ensure Anwar attains true justice.
Any chance of you contesting at the next General Elections?
No. (laughs).
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