YOURSAY | Haris Ibrahim is a rare gem

YOURSAY | ‘We need voices like Haris - principled and resolute…’

We can’t build a nation on lies, says Haris Ibrahim

Haris is always Malaysian first, no thought of selling out

BobbyO: Activist Haris Ibrahim, nothing is hidden. Go to any politician's home and you will see a mansion and a fleet of luxury cars. They and their children travel to all four corners of the world. Perhaps except for these past two years.

You have tried your best to awaken Malaysians, together with many more who have continuously written and spoken about what is wrong with this nation.

It is all because the politicians have hijacked the nation. It is a common scenario in some African countries, but now that is exactly what’s happening in Malaysia.

The elites combined with the ruling politicians are living beyond their means, while the ordinary man scrounges for every penny.

Their private planes, their trips to mountain ski resorts and sunny beaches, and their shopping sprees at top branded outlets, all point to the fact that something is wrong in the way wealth is distributed.

Yet, when asked about their source of wealth, they have a lot of fairy tales to tell. Or they use the authorities to silence those who raised these so-called sensitive issues. So, the plunder of the nation goes on.

The sad fact is that Malaysians remain silent and every five years, they repeat the same mistake. They put the same robbers and thieves back into power.

Why is it so? Sixty years should have made the people wise up but 60 years of substandard education, pounding them about race and religion, keeping them in poverty and throwing them trinkets when the time comes, have blinded them.

In 2018, when enough people got fed up with being bullied, fed lies, and being made use of, we finally saw some light but only for a while. Betrayed by opportunistic and racial leaders, they handed the nation back to the hands of the same scoundrels.

Unless the people take their heads out of the ground and face the truth, there are many more disasters to face.

A trillion over ringgit in debt, the exchange rate of our country fast depreciating, and the people's savings drying up are all signs of danger.

The cost of goods will reach a level that will be out of reach for the ordinary man or woman. Then only will they wake up.

MS: "We can’t build a nation on lies," said Haris.

Well, the ketuanans and their hangers-on tried exactly that and today, as every meaningful indicator screams out, it has failed in every measurable way - in education, in governance, in citizenship, in unity, in financial management, in poverty eradication.

The lies, which every leading Malay politician and his non-Malay collaborator repeated and perpetuated, bred and nurtured a flourishing kleptocracy fuelled by bigotry.

Which is why the country, founded on racial and religious supremacy and which provided cover for continual malfeasance and misfeasance, will fail.

And, going by the most recent of scandals like Serba Dinamik, the Securities Commission, the MACC, Sapura Energy, etc, it will fail spectacularly… if it has not started doing so already.

Having met and conversed with Haris during the 2008 general election campaign and having known his brother ACR since our days in university including during his days in practice, I can truly attest to their qualities.

They represent the best of Malaysians - well-educated, inclusive, outspoken, and disarmingly witty with an active social conscience and guts to match.

The immense sadness I feel each time I see an article like this is balanced by the knowledge that he and others who walked with him have sown the seeds for what the change the country needs, and may get, sometime in the distant future.

Krisman: You are a true patriot and a selfless human being, Haris. In our motherland of Malaysia, politicians get into politics with the single aim of becoming rich and powerful with the exception of a few.

You, on the other hand, left your lucrative law practice to become an activist for the fair treatment of all Malaysian citizens. We need more people like you, Haris.

OrangeJaguar9341: What a breath of fresh air at a time when much of what is written and published reeks of self-centred opportunism and political expediency, or of despair and pessimism.

Haris, thank you for your service to our country and for speaking up. We need voices like yours to ring loud and clear - principled, resolute, incorruptible, wise, and holding on to the possibilities for this nation of ours.

We salute you, sir.

BlueShark1548: It’s great to hear Haris speak his thoughts which came from his heart, and which many also felt the same.

Haris is a rare gem among the Malays and in the legal profession. He is a true Malaysian and we hope his thoughts will inspire and encourage more young Malays to follow in his footsteps.

Our current leaders in both BN and the opposition are not fit to lead the nation with their race and/or religion-based mentality.

We need new and younger Malay leaders who emphasise strong institutions and who think of all Malaysians, implement needs-based policies and take resolute steps against corruption.

YellowKiwi4720: Surely, Haris deserves my respect and also the respect of all fair-minded citizens of this nation. His never-wavering conviction for a better nation surely puts a lot of politicians to shame.

I wish him a speedy recovery. Miracles do happen so hold on, Haris!

Dizzer: As a fellow Stage 4 cancer sufferer, I sympathise with Haris and hope he pulls through.

Malaysia needs to hear much more from people like him. But I fear he is a dying breed among the Malays - still clinging to the remnants of truth and decency shredded by 60 years of lies and a self-defeating form of social engineering that is unparalleled in modern history.

Hugo Igoe: Haris is a true towering Malaysian who has never shied away from fighting for what is just and fair.

Though you are fighting this dreadful disease alone, all fair-minded Malaysians who have seen your past sacrifices would want you to win this battle with the big C.

Our thoughts are with you and God bless and protect you all the way.

Koel: Thank you, Haris. Thank you for continuing to provide a moral compass to a lost nation filled with the most immoral leadership.

These are times of great despair for the nation when failed leadership and self-interested elites and crooks of all sorts are busy grabbing power and resources for themselves. And where pretend piety is becoming the norm.

Federal Bakery: As the nation and its institutions crumble around us, Haris’ message gives hope that we can overcome the corruption, deceit, and betrayal of certain leaders.

We must stand united in this country against the evil of men for it is our divisions that keep them in power.

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