G25 PROMINENT MALAYS: Pawn in the evil chess game played by Umno power brokers?

The G25 is a grouping of retired top professionals who once excelled in their respective fields and helmed the top rungs of government positions in the country. Their intellect and wisdom placed them a head above their peers, and they went on to become natural leaders, graduating from rank and file.

Their prominence and eminence and their vast contribution to the nation cannot be dismissed by even the VVIP leaders in government today.

They comprise former high-ranking civil servants, including directors-general, secretaries-general, ambassadors and prominent individuals, all of whom are Malays. Malaysians look fondly on the G25 grouping as the dawn of a new era, a feel good factor, a breath of fresh air, a voice of reason, a wake up call and an infusion of new hope.

Their sudden appearance made headlines, causing jaw dropping reactions, setting of shockwaves that reverberated among the corridors of powers with open mouthed government leaders looking on in consternation and disbelief. Until today, the Najib administration has refused to comment on them.

Their open letter to the government had set tongues wagging and alarm bells ringing throughout the nation, while the faces of extremist NGOs like Perkasa and Isma, started to turn green in shock, judging from their frantic attempts to downsize the grouping.

Perhaps, the most affected were the Federal and State Religious authorities and the Ulama fraternity who nearly had a heart attack from what they perceive as the most outrageous understatement they have ever come across. How audacious of them (G25) to even question their religious authority?

Chiding the Government to come clean

PM Najib

In an open letter to the government, they decried the "lack of clarity and understanding" of Islam's place within Malaysia's constitutional democracy, as well as a "serious breakdown of federal-state division of powers, both in the areas of civil and criminal jurisdictions".

It had also expressed concern at how religious authorities were "asserting authority beyond their jurisdiction", and that fatwas issued had violated the Federal Constitution as well as the consultative process.

They also called on Najib to establish an inclusive consultative committee and called for dialogue on Islamic laws.

Instant public support and recognition

Since it was published on December 8, public support for the contents of the letter and for the G25 grouping gained momentum, with many writing to media organisations expressing their thanks and solidarity with the signatories, while an online petition called #iam26 has attracted massive support with thousands of signatures.

Recently, the grouping extended to 36members, much to the indignance of the BN government. Former ambassador to Holland, Dato' Noor Farida Ariffin is leader of the Group

Official Request for a dialogue with the Prime Minister.

The request by the G25 to meet Najib before this was thwarted after the Malay Consultative Council (MPM) claimed that the Prime Minister's Office had appointed it as an intermediary to meet the G25, but the claim was refuted by G25 spokesperson Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin who said that the PMO had informed her it did not appoint MPM as its representative.

MPM is a caucus of more than 200 Malay NGOs. Conservatives from within have grown more vocal about communal rights and privileges under the government's affirmative action policies for Malays and bumiputeras leading to polarising and inflammatory rhetoric in public.

The G25 held a meeting with representatives of the PMO, which included the JAKIM DG, on the instructions of the Prime Minister and to come up with suitable recommendations for his consideration regarding the issues that the G25 had raised in the open letter.

It was to be a preliminary meeting to discuss and agree on an agenda for the meeting between the Prime Minister and the G25.

However, there is the general feeling that it will be futile for the G25 to meet the PM, as the Najib administration is clearly not interested to entertain the group. Many believe G25 would be better off continuing the fight from a neutral platform, than to expect any miraculous concessions from the Najib administration.

However, should the G25 get their day with Najib, certain quarters have implored the G25 to ask the Prime Minister to withdraw his earlier statement that Malaysia is an Islamic state.

He must affirm that Malaysia is a democracy, the kind of democracy his father helped to establish at our independence. He must let our judges know the importance and sanctity of the Federal Constitution.

He must affirm his belief in the kind of democracy that helped Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia overcome many years of poverty and mediocrity to become the dynamic countries they are today.

An open letter addressed to Malaysians

Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin

One of the prominent Malays in the group have addressed Malaysians in an open letter, pointing out that we have lived and worked together with mutual respect for each other since the days of the Malacca Sultanate and our unique culture stems from the melting pot of Chinese, Indian, Arabic and Indonesian.

We were born in this country, lived here all our lives, so were our children and we will continue to live our lives out here and ultimately, die.

It is therefore in our personal interest that Malaysia should remain peaceful, free from ethnic tensions and prosper. We must realise that we are partners; brothers & sisters; and that we are all in the same boat together.

Our founding fathers and the Reid Commission were well aware of the dangers that the newly-born Malaya would self-destruct if we failed to unite and safeguards against this danger were hard-wired into our Constitution.

And it is this motivation behind the recent call by the 25 eminent Malays for discourse and clarity regarding the position of Shariah Law with regard to the Civil Law and the Constitution. It is a call for collective preservation in order that we may all live together harmoniously.

It is in this spirit that the author, Tariq Ismail: promises to defend the same right of every Malaysian to practice their own religion, within the bounds of the Federal Constitution and the Rule of Law.

And it is for this reason that he supports the Iam#26 Petition and why every Malaysian Muslim needs to do so.

G25 – a model for moderate Malaysians to emulate

There is something unique about the Eminent 25, and we will one day remember them as patriots who stood up for our country and its citizens. They will be respected for championing democracy and restoring common sense to this nation of ours. We must come out strongly to support them. Our younger generation needs guidance and these G25 seniors seem to be the guiding light.

They are a sharp contrast to the jaundiced, prejudiced and closed mindset of the extremists who are demanding to be given more rights and privileges while insensitively and provocatively saying and doing things that hurt the feelings and sensitivities of the minority races and religions.

Hopefully, G25 will not stop there but keep building the momentum, enticing and broadening the support base until it reaches such a crescendo to drown out completely the voices of the minority extremists such as Perkasa, Isma and their cohorts. And when non-Muslim Malaysians join the Eminent 25, the battle will soon be over for them and the war will be won by all right-thinking Malaysians.

The extremist NGOs

Keris waving, white ang pows, bible burning, copyrighting Allah, animal heads, chicken slaughter, May 13, threatening the minorities, hate speech and provocation perpetrated by these NGOs are extremely unhealthy for our nation's future.

Moderate and peace-loving Malaysians have a choice. Stand up against the minority (but loud) voices of the extremists like Perkasa, MAIS, JAIS and Rodent T and disallow these midgets from writing the agenda for our nation or hand victory over to them on a silver platter and allow them to turn Malaysia into another failed state ruled by the likes of the Talibans and ISIS!

Najib’s glaring failures

Clearly, Najib has not led the country for awhile...a long while. His pathetic absence both from the country and parliament has spawned many napoleons who take matters into their own hands that caused irreversible damage and embarrassment to our nation.

Najib seems so detached from reality that it is an embarrassment to Malaysians when he preaches moderation. His silence and his inability to control the extremists in his party who is under the false impression, that by creating an atmosphere of fear amongst the rakyat, it will perpetuate their rule forever.

Such tactics bring only great harm to the nation and if left unchecked, we will end up as an extension of Afghanistan or the ISIS (Islamic State).

Creating a new wave

Now that G25 has stepped out of the shadows and made known its stand; moderates from all ethnic and religious groups and NGOs should take the opportunity to speak up and be heard.

The seed planted by the Eminent 25 should nurture us to press on with courage, conviction and inspiration to call for open mass support by organising walks and ceramah to show our political leaders, that we have had enough of their lies, deceit and corrupt ways.

Professional groups like MICPA, MIA, the MMA, MMC, IEM and others should get off their sorry bums and take the lead, instead of letting the Bar Council do all the marching and standing up to these evil forces.

Let it be a clarion call to the Najib regime that we will no longer tolerate a small group of extremists that his government is silently supporting and encouraging.

What do Malaysians desire?

All we desire for is equality, fairness and unequivocal democratic right to pursue an honest living free of stifling intervention and intimidation - and that no one race should be discriminated against or marginalised.

Therefore, it is heartbreaking to see our children forsake this beautiful land of ours to migrate in search for a fairer system and better education for their children - our grandchildren. Oh Malaysia, I cry for you!

The time has come for moderate Malays to come out of their cocoons, lead the way and form a bulwark to join these '25 eminent Malays' in giving this nation of ours a dose of rejuvenation

They must step up to speak on behalf of all moderate Malaysians, against the rising tide of racial and religious bigots and stop these hired guns who are doing their master’s bidding to cling onto power at the cost of damaging national unity and harmony.

They cannot afford to stay silent, because when non-Malays like Ambiga or Kit Siang spoke up about related concerns, the ‘dalangs’ behind the street thugs ensured that they were painted as racists challenging the three 'R's (race, religion and royalty)

In closing, let us take a little time to reflect on the sentence below;

Every time, I read a statement from the ‘25 Eminent Malays', tears well up in my eyes. "I do not want my grandchildren to live in a Talibanised country," said former Foreign Ministry director-general Ahmad Kamil Jaafar.

Isn’t it the wish of all right-minded Malaysians to want the same? - MAILBAG