Newly-minted minister Salleh Said Keruak has called on the opposition to learn from their British counterparts and not instigate people to take to the streets.
The communication and multimedia minister also warned that street rallies and violence invite peril.
In a blog posting, Salleh noted how the British government sold 5.4 percent of the shares that it owned in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at £3.30 per share, which it bought seven years earlier at £5 per share.
He recalled how the British government was forced to bail out RBS in 2008 at a cost of £45 billion, and give it access to cheap funds to keep it afloat. However, after seven years the bank has still not turned around.
Salleh said the latest move attracted criticism from the opposition, which felt the bank should be nationalised instead of being privatised.
The opposition, he added, also questioned the government’s decision to lose £1 billion in the sell-off.
‘Opposition has to be more responsible’
“The reason I am raising this is to bring to your attention that such things do happen, even in so-called more advanced and transparent countries such as Britain. And actually, it was not the first multi-billion pound loss that the British government had to suffer.
“But the British opposition, while it objects to the move, does not ask the people to take to the streets and riot so that the government can be brought down through violent means.
“It disagrees with the government action but it still can look at the whole thing with maturity,” he added.
Salleh said it is time that the Malaysian opposition, too, became more mature and not treat any disagreement with government decisions as a reason to take to the streets and ri
This new boy minister, who owes his job to an effective coup d’etat by the Prime Minister against his own party ought not to attempt to give lectures on democracy.
Far less should he dare attempt to mislead the people of Malaysia by claiming that the political opposition and members of civil society are too “mature” in the UK to encourage peaceful protest against government measures.
Peaceful protest is the life-blood of Britain’s democracy.
So much so that people who are not allowed to protest in their own oppressive countries often perform marches and protests through the streets of London to make their points back home.
It’s a nuisance and costly in terms of police protection (in the UK police are engaged to PROTECT the protestors). However, generally the British are understanding and put up with it.
Major marches on the streets of London in recent times have included the anti-austerity march in June, when tens of thousands protested through the streets of London.
And late last year tens of thousands of students protested against cuts in Parliament Square, whilst the Occupy Wall Street movement camped for months in the City of London before that.
Allowing ordinary folk to have their say and make their point is what “mature democracies” actually do.
Lecturing people in a patronising way about the “dangers” of speaking out or blaming such dissent on ‘irresponsible opposition forces’ is the hallmark of tinpot dictatorships.
As for attempting to compare the criminal disappearance of billions from 1MDB with the sale of RBH Bank (rescued during the 2008 financial crash to prevent a world economic melt-down), this minister must think Malaysians are really stupid.
They should prove him wrong.