KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Zaid Ibrahim yesterday said he is sticking to his decision to resign from cabinet despite being asked by the prime minister to take a two-week leave to think about it.
Speaking at a press conference a day after tendering his resignation, Zaid said he had come to the conclusion that it would be futile to carry on.
He said despite the fact that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was generally supportive of his attempts to reform the judiciary, he faced resistance and outright criticisms from certain Umno cabinet colleagues.
“When I accepted this offer (to join the cabinet), I based it on principles and also the desire to want to help the PM, my party and BN to change,” Zaid said.
“I was upfront when I accepted the post, especially in matters pertaining to laws, the government’s role in carrying out fair justice and to reduce the elements that would cause the misuse of powers. The PM was agreeable.”
Over the last six months, he said he had put forward proposals for a more transparent judiciary, to set up a judicial appointment commission, to reform the police and review the Internal Security Act (ISA).
“What I have succeeded in the past six months is (only) to give some compensation or ex gratia to the sacked judges,” he said. “I admit my failure (in the other areas as) I faced a lot of opposition from my own party and certain cabinet members.
“ I was accused of not being a defender of my race and (Culture and Tourism Minister Datuk) Azalina (Othman) said I was not a true defender of my religion,” he added. “It is as though I am less a Malay (than her). I have gone through a lot and there were suggestions in parliament that I be sacked.”
He said his attempts to tackle issues pertaining to Islam also came under fire from Umno colleagues.
“I know the conflict of laws that arise when one of the spouses convert to Islam which brings on the issue of child custody and courts jurisdiction,” he said. “This is a human problem and not a religious problem.”
“I faced a brick wall. I could not make them understand,” he said. “We respect all people and races, we have the same rights as spelled out by the Constitution.”
He said the recent ISA detentions were the last straw.
“I did not expect that the government would find a journalist to be a threat to the country. As I said before, how can a journalist be a threat to security. How can an MP be a threat? I just cannot understand.”
Following are excerpts from the press conference.
Q: You said you have failed. How have you failed?
A: I have failed to convince those in authority, those in positions of power to effect the changes about how this government should move forward. I failed to convince them.
As I told you this country respects all rights, all people, all citizens.
This country is for all. There is no room for discrimination. This country is about rule of law. This country is about transparent processes. If you don’t subscribe to these principles or if you just pay lip service, it is difficult to translate them into a policy.
Q: You are adamant about resigning?
A: I have made up my mind but I thank PM for asking me to think about it.
Q: Why did you give up so easily?
A: This is not giving up. This is paving the way for a transformation in a way that I hope will wake people up and will result in some change. My hope is that by (resigning) it would trigger something positive.
Q: What happens to the judicial reforms now?
A: I think all these you have to ask after December (Umno elections). You have to ask the PM.
Maybe the PM will re-organise the cabinet. Maybe the supreme council at that time would have different people. Maybe they would be more supportive. It depends on so many things, so I cannot answer the question.
Q: The judicial reform hinges on the Umno elections?
A: No, it hinges on the PM. It so happens that the Umno president usually is the PM. So, yes in that sense.
Q: Are you saying that Umno members are not for it?
A: I am not saying that. I am saying that I have failed.
Q: Are you disappointed with the PM?
A: He is a nice man.
Q: But?
A: There is no but. He has other things to deal with that I may not know of. Remember he is the president of the party. He has to deal with many party matters. I am just an ordinary guy. I don’t have to worry about too many things but he may have other things to worry about. You have to ask him that.
I think the PM, within the constraints that he faced, yes he would support reform. But he faced severe constraints. That is how I sense it.
Q: Would you leave Umno and join PKR?
A: Well, it is a difficult question because Umno has not treated me so well, as you know, over the years. I got suspended for things that I didn’t do. My own nomination (to contest as division chief) in Kota Bharu has gotten into trouble.
There are a lot of people who have criticised me. Remember this reform that I talked about? Many who criticised are actually from Umno. Sometimes I feel that I should change like them instead of me trying to change them, you know what I mean? So I do have problems there. But at the same time I also don’t know PKR well. I don’t know the leaders. So it is too early to say but I have an open mind. I am not in a hurry to make any decisions.
Q: Will you stay on as senator?
A: Yes, because it would be nice to talk sometime, to give my views on public issues. I love this country very much, like you all. I care about this country and I would do what I can. I believe this country was founded on very simple principles but very strong principles. Fairness to all, justice, freedom. All those good things that we want in a society. I will work towards that and I will not disappear if that is what you mean.
Q: If there is an offer to come back, will you accept?
A: I told the PM yesterday, I said: “Sir, you handle your December (elections), whatever transition or whatever issues. And then if after all that is settled, and if you feel that you still want me to be of service to the country, yes, I am not ruling out anything but of course I must also be satisfied then that I do not have the same problem, that there are enough people in the cabinet who would support us. That there are enough people in the Umno supreme council who support reform. So it’s just not me but it’s the government. As you said it is just a hypothetical question, so that is my hypothetical answer.
Q: If Anwar Ibrahim forms the government and brings about reforms to the judiciary?
A: If he forms the government? That is also a hypothetical question because he has not formed a government. I just hope that anyone who forms the government whether it’s PM, Najib if he is PM, or Tengku Razaleigh if he is PM, or Muhyiddin if he is PM, or Anwar Ibrahim if he is PM, I don’t care who. I just want all those things done, my wish list.
Q: Was it a mistake to have accepted Pak Lah’s invitation to join the government?
A: No, it was not a mistake. I am grateful to him. I would not know what it is like unless I joined.
Q: Datuk, you have been viewed as a hero, can you comment?
A: I am not a hero. If I am a hero, I would be successful in transforming this country. I am not a hero. I happen to say what what I feel, do what I think is right. That is all. There are many like me.
Q: What is the most important thing that the PM should do to bring positive change?
A: The one single thing I think is to trust the people of this country. All races. If you feel you can’t bring yourself to that level of trust and acceptance of certain principles, you would always worry whether a particular policy would benefit this group or not this group. You would worry whether it upsets certain benefits or privileges that you have. So long as you think along sectarian lines or claim to be the true defender of your race like Azalina, if you have that sort of thinking, too much of it, it will be difficult to have a policy that reaches out to everybody. We have to trust that we are one people. We want to build one country. We want to have laws that apply to all. We want to be open.
Q: In that sense, is it time for race-based parties to go?
A: That is a difficult question. I said before you can be a race-based party. It is very difficult to tell the Dayak, don’t have the Dayak party. It is as much difficult to tell the Malays or Umno members that. You can be pejuang bangsa (champion of your race) but you can still think of the country. You can still think of common principles. What is it that binds us? What is it that brings us together? We can do many positive things. We don’t have to be narrow minded, ethnocentric or racial bigots. We don’t have to be that to help our people.
Q: Anything you want to say to your cabinet colleagues?
A: To my cabinet colleagues, I say no hard feelings. Some of them are very fine gentlemen. I have close rapport with them. We have differences of views but that is not a problem.
Sharon Tan
The Edge
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