Zaid Ibrahim-the maverick in UMNO

In my mind, Kota Bharu MP Zaid Ibrahim is a maverick in UMNO. He was suspended as the division chief of UMNO Kota Bharu for an allegation he denied vehemently.

He first caught my attention when he took part in a roundtable organised by the Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang on the issue of freedom of religion immediately after the Moorthy "body snatch" tragedy.

He impressed me further when he took the challenge to speak in a forum on the same issue organised by Article 11 in Petaling Jaya. He spoke freely as a good Muslim in the forum, drawing much appreciation from the attentive crowd.

And recently, he spoke in the Parliament without fear on the need of political reform in the country, expressing his great disappointment with the Abdullah administration. He even warned the BN Government of the consequences of failing the rakyat.

He was interviewed by NST and here's the full story...

‘I speak because I believe in his vision’

New Straits Times

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim raised eyebrows recently when he stood in Parliament and said that the government’s reform agenda had slowed to a halt. KOH LAY CHIN speaks to him about his provocative view while Tangga Batu MP Datuk Idris Haron tells her why patience is a virtue.

Q: You have said publicly that the prime minister has yet to make real reforms. What do you mean?

A: The prime minister put forth a historic and paradigm moving manifesto in the 2004 elections. He promised difficult but urgently needed reforms in the government and judiciary. He promised to fight against corruption, restoring integrity in the government, transparency and accountability.He spoke the language of change the people had waited for so long. And he got the biggest mandate from the people to govern.

When I said he failed to push reforms, I was saying that he had failed to get his ministers, the Chief Ministers and the civil servants with him on these issues. That’s why I said in Parliament that he must be prepared to do radical things, including getting the right people to perform the tasks.

Q: It would seem that for you it’s more of a problem of the PM’s "executioners" or his "team".

A: The prime minister is only as good as the Cabinet he assembles. It’s quite common for the PM in other jurisdictions to reshuffle and change his Cabinet whenever he feels necessary for executing policies the government has undertaken.I get the impression that the reason our Cabinet is so large was because the PM wants to be nice to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad by retaining those appointed by Dr Mahathir.Did it appease Dr Mahathir? Not at all. Being nice in this way is not necessarily a good thing. Would Pak Lah cause political instability if he were to undertake radical Cabinet change? Not at all.

Q: In your speech in Parliament, you commented on the openness in the system under the PM.

A: In my speech, I said the openness that we have in our society today is entirely due to Pak Lah’s sense of trust and tolerance, a much desired trait in our leader.But openness must have purpose and if not managed properly will only fester discontent.

Openness in the government means we must be prepared to amend the Official Secrets Act so that people will not use the Act to hide acts of corruption or incompetence.

Openness means all contracts must be by open tender save for certain legitimate exceptions and not the other way around.

Openness means sensitive matters are dealt with intelligently and objectively and not to resort to the closed-door bargaining style of the past.

The prime minister cannot do all these alone, he needs a team. As to my suggestion for the undoing of the Dr Mahathir years, I did not mean to suggest that Dr Mahathir did nothing good. In fact he built Malaysia as a modern state with all the infrastructure and facilities.

The undoing of Mahathirism is the doing away with authoritarianism, with lack of accountability and the absence of the rule of law.

I believe the country will be better placed for the 21st century if the policies of human capital development, of transparency and accountability under the present PM are implemented. More so if the judiciary is fully empowered, and Parliament becomes a chamber fully accessible for the rakyat to see, watch and learn.

Q: Before Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over from Dr Mahathir, you said in an interview that you felt "reassured" because the person who was about to lead the country was a profound thinker and thought things through.

A: In an interview three years ago I said that I believed Pak Lah is man of integrity, and will be considerate in his dealings on all matters. Have I changed my mind about him? No. I want him to succeed for the sake of all. There are delicate issues that we face as a nation and we need a leader who is fair and considerate to all, which he is."

Am I disappointed with his leadership so far? Yes, maybe I was expecting too much but then again I don’t know what his constraints are. Still he himself said that failure is not an option, which suggests that he will fight.

Q: While other politicians have tread on these issues rather delicately, you are seen to have come out with guns blazing.

A: Was I not as discreet as others in my criticisms of the PM? I am a discreet person, but in matters of public interest you have to be open and forthright. It’s also because I want the prime minister to succeed. If not for him I would not be an MP today as I was not the first choice candidate for Kota Baru. But that will not deter me from telling him what I think is good for the country and his administration.

If you believe in the PM’s vision of integrity, of fairness and prosperity for all then you must help to realise his reforms, even if it means having to criticise him.

--Posted by Raja Petra Kamarudin to News & Commentaries at 9/24/2006 10:59:00