Right now the focus has to be the people and for the good of the country.
Prominent activist Ambiga Sreenevasan has reminded Pakatan Harapan leaders in the government they had “a deep moral duty” to preserve the people’s gains in putting them into power.
She said the politicians must ensure “that we don’t lose it just because some people are power mad. I don’t care if they are power mad, that’s their problem.”
Malaysia needed more statesmen, she said.
“As the saying goes, a politician thinks of the next election, but a statesman thinks of the next generation. We need statesmen. We don’t want them (those elected) to worry about whether they are going to win the next election. They will win it if they make the right moves,” she said.
Her remarks were made at the Jalur Gemilang and Aspirasi Rakyat forum today.
With the first anniversary of the 2018 general election victory fast approaching, Ambiga said that PH’s success represented merely the beginning of the hard work that needed to be done.
“The government must be ever vigilant to make sure that all the work the rakyat put into bringing change does not go to waste,” she said
“If I were the government I would look at Bersih videos every day to remind myself, how much the people worked to bring change. It didn’t happen overnight.
“For me it started in 2008 when we first managed to remove BN’s two-third majority. That’s when it first started,” she said.
Ambiga then recalled how the people pushed forward with street marches and rallies.
“All sorts of things were happening. The people pushed and pushed. Even the people in the government today were at the forefront of that movement. They must never forget the people and how much effort we put in to bring change.”
He said political leaders owed the people “a deep moral duty” to make sure that all their gains are preserved.
“Right now the focus has to be the people and for the good of the country,” said Ambiga.
She also reminded the people that there are things which needed continuous push.
“There some things that we, the people have to push forth. We cannot relax in the next few years until all our institutions are strengthened.
“I’m not worried about the personalities, I want the Parliament to be strong and the judiciary to be strong.
“Abide by the oath you (MPs) took in the constitution. You don’t have to go anywhere else to find what is your duty, it’s right there,” she said.
In February, Ambiga said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be credited for several “good” measures in his administration since coming to power last year but warns that his party PPBM is slowly turning into “Umno 2.0″.
She was quoted as saying: “As far as I am concerned, some good moves have been made where the prime minister is concerned. I think he is genuine about corruption to the extent he can be, with the rollout of the NACP (National Anti-Corruption Plan).
Ambiga today said, while there were some u-turns, she noted that the PH government has brought several changes such as the appointment of a new Parliament Speaker, a new Attorney-General and the abolishing of the Anti-Fake News Act 2018. – FMT