Two weeks ago, Pekan Umno-Baru division chief Zamri Ramly said none of the convicted felon Najib Abdul Razak’s children would be nominated to stand for the Pekan seat in GE15.

Nevertheless, the successful MP would merely act as a seat warmer and hand over the seat back to Najib once he is pardoned.

On October 24, Pekan Umno-Baru made a spectacular U-turn.

Unnamed sources told Malaysiakini that Nizar would most probably be fielded as a candidate in GE15.

Why did the local party change its mind? What happened behind the scenes? Did Najib wield extreme pressure from behind bars in Kajang and instruct Pekan Umno-Baru to field his son as a candidate in GE15?

It matters little if Najib had a say or no say in the Pekan candidacy. The party should field the right man to represent them.

If you were seriously ill, you would want the most competent doctor or surgeon to treat your sickness. That medical professional would have a proven track record, would be qualified, have a good bedside manner and more importantly, did not purchase his medical degree.

You’d be risking your life to have someone who bought his qualification to operate on you.

So, for Pekan or any constituency in Malaysia, the people should nominate an MP based on his competency, his track record, his skills, and that includes people skills, his qualifications and his mental and physical health.

Age is also an important criteria. Look at the old guards in the Malaysian political scene who refuse to retire and allow younger people to develop their skills at leading.

Background checks should be made to see if the finances of the potential candidate are dodgy, and to check if he has a criminal record or any dirty secrets. Career politicians should be rejected.

Why should Pekan be like a mini North Korea where grandfather Kim, his son, and grandson are the only ones who rule there?

The Pekan folk should ask themselves about the quality of the candidate they will field in GE15.

There must be several more suitable candidates other than Nizar. The person they nominate must be someone who has greater potential, more vision, better qualifications and charisma than Nizar.

Don’t the people of Pekan deserve a candidate not related to Najib? Don’t they realize they will be tainted with yet another label which is nepotism?

Nizar’s father’s reputation is terrible. His father stole the people’s money. To this day, Najib will not admit that he is guilty of theft. Najib’s family live in denial. They refuse to accept that Najib is guilty.

If Umno-Baru Pekan fears appointing another person as candidate, then why don’t they just declare that the Pekan seat is reserved for Abdul Razak’s family and his descendants?

Why does Najib’s family refuse to give others with ambition and potential a chance to become the MP for Pekan? Is the Najib clan so greedy that they refuse to sanction someone else for the post? They just want access to taxpayers’ money for doing absolutely nothing useful whilst destroying the nation.

The tactic of fielding Najib’s son Nizar is to receive a vote of sympathy.

When Najib’s father, Abdul Razak, died during his tenure as the second PM of Malaysia, Najib was in his final year at the university. He was immediately whisked away to be groomed as the replacement candidate. This is a lack of creativity and is simply lazy politics.

So, what is wrong with the people of Pekan? Have voters in Pekan become blind and deaf? Are they not aware or realize the huge dangers of the 1MDB scandal to the country? Don’t they recognize Najib’s role in this scandal? Is everyone in Pekan related to Najib?

If the Malaysian population had not been brainwashed into accepting “cash is king,” it is doubtful that Najib or anyone who practices money politics will win.

If a candidate was judged on qualities like his solutions to reduce the rakyat’s burden and suffering in this cost of living crisis, it is doubtful that Najib, Nizar, or any of the Umno-Baru, Bersatu and PAS candidates would be selected.

If people like Najib had no access to money, which is then used to influence the people’s votes, does anyone think they will win?

Why should Pekan be like a mini North Korea where grandfather Kim, his son, and grandson are the only ones who rule there?

Give other people a chance, Nizar. Pekan deserves better.

Source:

Malaysiakini: Najib’s son looks set to be BN Pekan candidate

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)