“Being civil to the opposition is the right thing to do in a democracy because just like me, they are also elected by the people.”
MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz, in an open letter to Utusan Malaysia columnist Awang Selamat. Awang had accused Nazri in his column Alahai Nazri of being too civil with the opposition. Nazri defended his civility, saying it was part of democracy. He added that Awang was caught in a “time warp”, where government Members of Parliament (MP) do not engage with opposition parliamentarians.
Nazri’s open letter drew praise on online news sites and on Twitter. (Source: Nazri’s open letter to Awang Selamat, theSun, 20 Sept 2010)
“Duduk, duduk, duduk, duduk, duduk, duduk, duduk. Racist! Ini Ipoh Barat racist! Duduk, duduk, duduk. Duduk, perkauman! Duduk, perkauman! Duduk, perkauman! … Ipoh Barat perkauman! Bloody racist, racist!”
Nazri in Parliament in 2005, debating with Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran from the DAP. (Source: Parlimen Malaysia – Nazri: Racist!, YouTube, 9 May 2006)
“[Malaysia] boleh berjaya kalau orang macam ini tak ada dalam Dewan. Dia cakap semua benda yang pembohongan ja, tidak ada pertuduhan … ini otak benak tak ada otak … Otak dia bodoh, otak dia benak, orang macam ini pembohongan … Memanglah, pembohong … Bodohlah, bodoh!”
Nazri in Parliament on 21 June 2007, responding to DAP adviser and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang on a debate involving Malaysia’s falling rankings in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. (Source: Jawapan-jawapan lisan bagi pertanyaan-pertanyaan, Dewan Rakyat transcript, 21 June 2007)
“… memang kepala tak betul di sana. Dalam istilah orang muda sekarang ini wayar putus, kepala wayar putus … Jadi perkara ini, orang-orang pondan macam pembangkang, tak payah layan pandangan mereka ini. Kita percaya SPR adalah adil.”
Nazri, referring to the opposition as “pondan”, when responding to a question about allegations that the Election Commission was biased in carrying out its function. (Source: Jawapan-jawapan lisan bagi pertanyaan-pertanyaan, Dewan Rakyat transcript, 12 Nov 2007)
“To apologise to Fong is not on. I don’t agree.
“This is part of parliamentary debates. Both MPs uttered the words during the heat of their debate, and you cannot control people’s emotions.”
Nazri, saying there was no need for Barisan Nasional MPs Datuk Mohd Said Yusof (Jasin) and Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (Kinabatangan) to apologise to DAP MP Fong Po Kuan for their “bocor” remarks.
After she raised the issue of ceiling leaks in Parliament, Mohd Said and Bung Mokhtar had responded to Fong: “Mana bocor? Batu Gajah pun bocor setiap bulan.” (Source: Shahrizat to meet with MPs, The Star, 17 May 2007) 
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mnz says
Politicians will always be politicians. To survive in a democracy, they have to adapt to threats and opportunities. And I’m not referring to just BN politicians; its the same with PR politicians as well.
As Wong Chin Huat puts it: “…politicians are opportunists. It’s part of their job requirement.”
megabigBLUR says
I love how you guys manage to dig up what politicians used to say in complete contradiction to how they’d like to present themselves. Cakap tak serupa bikin.
jaas torres says
Ah Nazri. The PM’s barking dog no matter who the PM is. A matter of survival (for Nazri), I guess.
Pei Ling says
Disgusted by his behavior in the two videos.
TheOthers says
No integrity. Worse than a cock-fight or pigsty ramble! Horrid.
Confucius’ political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best government is one that rules through “rites” (lǐ) and people’s natural morality, rather than by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: “If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good” (translated by James Legge in The Great Learning). This “sense of shame” is an internalisation of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in Legalism.
So shameful (perhaps shameless is more appropriate word) are our elected members of Parliament, with zero respect and language exchange not befitting of any ethical, elected representative of the rakyat.
Hopefully we can come up with a Green Party that cuts through all this, and have a common benevolent role to shape the citizens, the environment and true peace.