After 1MDB, a change in government is a must, says Ambiga

Low Han Shaun Low Han Shaun Updated 6 years ago · Published on 21 Jan 2018 5:05PM · 3 Comments

Ambiga Sreenevasan says she is not ashamed to say people have questioned her for her stance. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Kamal Ariffin, January 21, 2018.

AFTER the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, the only future Malaysia has is if there is a change in government, said Ambiga Sreenevasan.

The lawyer-cum activist pulled no punches when speaking at a forum this afternoon, stressing repeatedly the Najib administration has to go for change to take place.

“We can have a great future if we change the government, there is no two ways about that,” she said.

“I am not ashamed to say people have questioned me and said I am not supposed to take sides.”

Ambiga, however, stressed she was not taking sides and was merely stating 60 years (of Barisan Nasional rule) was more than enough.

“It is in the interest of the people to change the government.

“If you look at any other country, where they had the same number of years (of rule), the same predictable things have happened (which are all the problems we have now),” Ambiga said at the “Post 1MDB and Malaysia: what future can we have”, forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

Ambiga also said the corruption in Malaysia is an “endemic” and it would be “a very tough task” to “unravel the extent of corruption”.

“But it must start this time. Otherwise the country is in big trouble.

“What happened after 1MDB was the Felda scam, and it is going to carry on and on, we are going to have scam after scam if we don’t make a change,” she said.

The Felda land in Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur was believed to have been transferred via a dubious transaction in 2015.

Berita Harian first revealed the 66,000 sq m of land estimated to be worth RM270 million had been sold, but Felda did not receive any money.

Ambiga also said “people who are in the system” are now passive in voicing out because they are “tainted by the system”.

Citing an example in India, Ambiga said it only takes a few people to stand up against the injustice they are facing to make a difference.

“Recently in India, the judges of the supreme court said they cannot continue working with a chief justice because there are serious problems.

“This is unprecedented. They couldn’t stomach the corruption of the chief justice and gave several examples of cases being fixed.

“Two-three people and honestly, that is all it takes. The problem we have is that no one in the system is brave enough to stand up,” she said.

The former Bersih chairperson also urged the Election Commission (EC) commissioners to make a difference as with the situation in India.

She also referred to the non-voters and fence-sitters urging them to vote and said this is not an election where them choosing not to vote will send a message.

“Boycotting your vote in a country where elections are free and fair, can send a message. People will know you are important,

“But in a country where elections are not free and fair, you are giving the other side a walkover, you are giving those in power a walkover,” she said.

She added the 1MDB scandal had affected the psyche of the Malaysian society said that it was caused by a paranoid government.

“The sacking of the AG, the new AG clearing the PM, sedition laws being enforced more strictly, fear of cartoonists, fear of clowns, we have become a society that is so frightened of all these people, frightened of us (civil societies).

“Utter paranoia. You cannot have people who are paranoid governing, paranoid people who govern create uncomfortable situations.

“They can never govern with the interest of the people at heart because they are governing with only their interest.

“For me 80% of our problems is because of corruption, and unless you get rid of this government, nothing will change,” she said. – January 21, 2018.

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Comments

  • Najib actually do not have a clue what is the difference between his stealing and Mahathir's. And if that is not bad enough, he does not understand why his abuse of power and using Islamisation is any that different. That is why UMNO has to go because Mahathir himself who started it all do know.

    Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • I don't disgree with Ambiga, but what are my problems with Ambiga ? Well it is simply this : i think she is just doing what she is doing because maybe her kids are grown up and she is retired and therefore she has nothing to do - in other words i don't think you can count on her - i think if i listen to her and actually vote against BN and BN is toppled and the opposition takes power and it turns out that the opposition is no better than BN, if i go to Ambiga and say "hey ambiga, you said things would get better", ambiga is not going to be ashamed that she failed to deliver what she promised and say something like "sorry nehru i failed you, i am leaving the country and never coming back ".

    Nope, she doesn't strike me like she is that sort of person.

    I think people like Ambiga will always find a way to live. I am not saying that there is anything particularly wrong with being a person who always finds a way to live. I just think that you shouldn't put your trust in them when it comes to the future. They say 1MDB is no good, it is theft from the country's coffers, that you can listen to if you are satisfied with their reasoning. But when they say "“We can have a great future if we change the government, there is no two ways about that,” you should take it with a pinch of salt. I think the word of people like ambiga is only good enough to do things like trade the things you have with the things that got, but they are not good enough when it comes to things that are only going to happen in the future. You should remember that words coming from the tongue of mere anybodies about things that have yet not come to be has no weight . I honestly don’t believe for a second that a person like Ambiga is the sort of person who will stand and fall with their word.

    I need angels, not just a devil in another garb. If my choice is limited between two devils, i will just go with the devil i know. Wise men, whose words have survived through out the ages, advice a person who only has devils to choose from, to go with the known devil . Why i would i go against wise men ?

    Posted 6 years ago by Nehru Sathiamoorthy · Reply

    • Kalaulah semua rakyat berfikir seperti begini, maka kita akan adalagi 60 tahun pemerintahan BN. Siapa peduli? Tak tukar, macam mana nak tahu bagus ke busuk.

      Posted 6 years ago by Malaysia Forward · Reply