DAMNED IF IT’S NAJIB, DAMNED IF IT’S MOHD NAJIB

The article below was extracted from an email send to me, and posted in this blog with the permission of the author i.e. Datuk Mat Zain bin Ibrahim


I have been asked by several people to clarify a couple of my remarks in particular, what I meant by “The Prime Minister is in a blind following his affidavits in support and in reply dated Sept 21st and Sept 23rd respectively”, as reported by Malaysiakini on 5 December 2011.

Quite simply, it means that our Prime Minister who is 58 years old and going 59 is still uncertain and unsure of his own name.

If he now declares his name as just “Najib” with no “Mohd” (pronounced as Muhammad) before the name Najib, then some of the following can happen;

1. He can be accused as having lied or misled the Agong and all Malaysians when he affirmed his name a Muhammad Najib during his swearing-in-ceremony as the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia on 3 April 2009. He should know that the people are also mindful of the fact that he affirmed his oath in the name of Allah and which has been put on official records.

2. The validity of his oath can be challenged as well as whether he is legally our Prime Minister or otherwise and the various other issues that could be raised as a result of it.

3. It can also be taken to mean that PM formally denounced the name “Muhammad” from his name. Personally, being a Muslim I can’t help feeling sad and sorry over what the PM did for whatever the reasons.

If now he declares his name as “Mohd Najib” instead, then some of the following can and should happen;

1. That both his affidavits affirmed before a Commissioner of Oath on 21st and 23rd Sept, and that of his wife affirmed on 21st Sept 2011 can be declared not only as null and void, but as false affidavits as well, based on the issue of his name alone without having to touch on the other averments in question.

2. The PM is liable to be charged for making false declarations and knowingly uses the said false declarations in a judicial proceeding. In line with the actions taken by the AG against Sharma Kumari Shukla who subsequently was handed a three years jail sentence for each one of the two offences.

That being the case, can we expect the AG to charge PM Najib then? The answer is absolutely NO. For so long as Gani Patail is still the AG, the chosen few can get away with murder or rape or daylight robbery or all three put together.

If this AG has been a fair person, the he would have charged Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik for making a false Statutory Declaration during the same time he took actions on Sharma Kumari. After all, he was the one who endorsed the proposed charges against Rahim, but later twisted the evidence instead.

What are the rakyat’s opinion then? My view is still, taking to the streets at this juncture is not the option. Some people may get hurt and many would be arrested. You cannot fight fire with fire. What the rakyat can do in the meantime is to be composed and wait for the nomination day which is just around the corner, amongst them.

When PM Najib files his nomination papers, ost likely in Pekan, he is expected to state his name as Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak as in previous elections. If he does that this time, then he faces the risks of being disqualified for filing his nomination form using a name which is not his name. For all intent and purpose, he has formally denounced the name Muhammad as his name by way of two affidavits. The Returning Officer (RO) shall take the affidavits as evidence to that effect.

Say, this time around PM Najib states his name as Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak to neutralized the setbacks of the affidavits, still he can be disqualified for not using his full name in the nomination form. The recordings of the oath taking ceremony of 3rd April 2009 where PM affirmed in the name of Allah before YDP Agong that his full name is Mohd Najib can be produced to the RO as evidence.

So, whichever name he chooses, whether Najib or Mohd Najib, it is still contentious and the RO can disqualify him from contesting, although everybody knows, is unlikely to happen. But God works in mysterious ways they say. It has happened many years before, in one little state up north, where the future MB was disqualified on nomination day and an unknown took the seat uncontested.

What I am trying to highlight here is that the issue of PM’s name is not just a minor problem that can be easily fixed. At least one ordinary citizen, a women have gone to jail for this. We cannot take this matter lightly, just because this time the person involved is the Prime Minister. No one is above the law. We are equal before the law which our PM is very fond of saying.

Had he got confused with some technical or medical terms or legal jargons, the rakyat can understand. But for the Prime Minister to be confused or forgets his own name, something must be very wrong somewhere and the rakyat ought to be concerned. For that matter, it is incumbent upon the Cabinet members to view this matter with utmost urgency.

The PM cannot say that it was due to some typo errors or that someone else prepared his notes and he just read or signed it. If he says that, then he must also be prepared to admit publicly that he knows nothing of the 2012 Budget; he merely signed and presented them. That he too is not aware what’s inside the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011; he simply approved and read them in Parliament.

When the PM is uncertain and unsure of his name, then he has no right to claim to be certain or sure what is good or what is bad for the rakyat. Let alone to lead our beloved country going forward.

The PM cannot keep on maintaining a deafening silence on matter such as this. He must come clean on the confusion and fast. He must be made aware that there’s no expiry date for any affidavits once filed and there’s no such thing as time-barred for any criminal proceedings. No amount of pledges or gatherings of loyalist to show the so called undivided support can indemnify the PM of his culpabilities.

He should be accountable to some of his own misjudgments. He cannot continuously throw the burden for others to shoulder or make the rakyat pay for his and his ministers’ blunders.

He must also realized that should he be fortunate enough to be allowed to contest and wins this time, he will be invited to take his oath of office as Prime Minister again before the new Yang Di-Pertian Agong. When the Agong himself is bound by the Constitution to state his full name when the King takes his oath of office soon, so which name will PM Najib use then? Damned if he chooses Najib; damned if he chose Mohd Najib.

Unless, if the UMNO President says he takes precedence over the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, then I rest my case.

Salam sejahtera.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION