Revoke Tajuddin’s appointment; don’t embarrass the country and its citizens!

In whose interest was Tajuddin Rahman, the Pasir Salak MP, appointed as an ambassador to Indonesia? If it was in the interest of the nation, it is an embarrassment.

His appointment has been severely criticised by MPs and former ambassadors as an ill-conceived idea. He does not have the skills or the personality to represent Malaysia. He has not been an outstanding MP to warrant consideration.

He has a trail of incidents that condemn him as someone totally unfit to be a Malaysian ambassador!

He was a disaster when he was appointed the chairman of Prasarana. There was no display of any humanity in him when he failed to respond immediately after the light rail train collision in May 2021, which resulted in 213 passengers being injured in various degrees of seriousness. He turned up the next day and displayed his brilliant stupidity by stating two trains kissed each other. He was that uncaring and totally lacking in seriousness that he was heavily criticised for his callous attitude.

An online petition calling for his resignation as Prasarana chairperson back then received more than 130,000 signatures in just 24 hours. This showed how revolted Malaysians were that we have such leaders lording over us!

The government could no longer take the heat and Tajuddin was unceremoniously given the boot.

He has been notorious for silly comments and unbecoming behaviour, as reproduced below:

Tajuddin is someone who is prone to lie and concoct stories that are untrue. We witnessed this on 3 August 2018, on the eve of the Sungai Kandis by-election. Speaking to an all-Malay crowd of about 100 people in Kampung Jawa, he blatantly lied through his teeth. (See my article below: “Are you a good Muslim, Tajuddin?“)

His track record is a shameful one. In a well-chronicled article, “What ability does Pasir Salak reflect?”Andrew Sia enumerated his misdeeds:

• He was sacked from Umno in 1995 for lavish money politics, gaining his nickname as the “Six Million Dollar Man”
• In 2010 DAP MP M Kulasegaran told the Dewan Rakyat that Tajuddin had threatened to “send people” to beat him up. This was because Kulasegaran had called him “uncivilised” in his blog
• In 2013 PKR MP Rafizi Ramli accused him of vastly over-inflating (up to RM1.3bn) the cost of building the UiTM Tapah campus, using a company with no record of doing construction
• In 2016 he sniggered that DAP MP Teresa Kok is the only woman in Parliament with a “Kok”
• MP Khalid Samad called him sial (cursed) in Parliament for the “Kok” stunt. As revenge, a few days later, Tajuddin’s son Firdaus and other ruffians tried to attack Khalid at the Parliament car park while shouting “Hidup Pasir Salak!”

This is not the only litany of abuses that Tajuddin had been guilty of. There is much more, as exposed by Ashman Adam in his article, “A man of much controversy”. Here’s a list of the times Tajuddin made headlines for all the wrong reasons:

• He had threatened “to slap” ethnic Chinese who take their complaints outside Malaysia to seek help for their grouses
• Tajuddin had called Kulasegaran a “b*****d” and a “bloody b*****d” in Parliament, challenging the then Teluk Intan MP to “settle outside the House”
• Tajuddin, in responding to an article by the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report claiming that Najib and his family had spent US$15m on holidays, shopping and jewellery, retorted, “The way they go on holidays is just normal,” he said.
• On 1 December heated arguments arose in the Dewan Rakyat after Tajuddin disrespectfully called Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman “budak”, which translates to “kid” in Malay. “Sit down, sit down first, child. Sit down, learn more, many more need to learn. Wasting your time, my time,” he said before snickering
• Insisting that nothing was wrong with his remark as he was older than Syed Saddiq, he stood his ground, stating, “What do I need to explain? I’m 72, how old is he?” Tajuddin said
• In 2018 while campaigning at the Sungai Kandis by-election, Tajuddin warned voters that Christians in Pakatan “have taken over Putrajaya” and would eventually “abolish the monarchy”
• He likened the Hindu holy ash on DAP MP RSN Rayer’s forehead to the cremated ashes of communist leader Chin Peng in 2019
• In January 2021 17 contractors and consulting firms in the LRT3 project publicly appealed to the government because over RM700m in payments had been held back by Prasarana even though work had already been done. This was allegedly because Tajuddin wanted to “influence” the selection of subcontractors

(For the above details, see my article “Tajuddin sacked: Good riddance to bad rubbish?“)

With this kind of track record, who in his proper mind will ever even touch him with a ten-foot pole?

But when there is no more respect for decency and what is good and ethical, you can expect the worst from those who wield power.

When the norm is decency, other virtues can thrive: integrity, honesty, compassion, kindness and trust. – Raja Krishnamoorthy

This is totally lacking, and that is the reason we are in this mess!

19 May 2022

My earlier piece:

Are you a good Muslim, Tajuddin?

22 September 2018

‘Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.” – so said Lord Byron.

Pasir Salak MP, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman seems to fit all three descriptions! He is all rolled into one: three in one: a bigot, a fool and a slave.

On the eve of the Sungai Kandis by-election, Tajuddin had urged the voters not to support a “Christian-led” Pakatan government.

He is not only a bigot for saying this but a fool as well to label the Pakatan Harapan government as “Christian-led”. Only a fool would say foolish things without adducing any evidence to support his claim.

Speaking to an all-Malay crowd of about 100 people in Kampung Jawa on the eve of the Sungai Kandis by-election, he referred to an apparent viral video featuring Christian pastors celebrating Pakatan Harapan’s victory during the 9 May general election.

In the so-called viral video, the pastors were purported to have said, “Christians have taken over Putrajaya and other states.”

To emphasise this atrocious claim, he reiterated, “Memang betul!” (This is true.)

This liar did not produce the non-existent video to convince his listeners. How could he? Like the rest of his brainless brethren in Umno who like to shoot off their mouths without thinking, Tajuddin recklessly lied.

Lim Kit Siang, the MP for Iskandar Puteri, in responding to this preposterous claim, stated. “I am not aware that there is such a video.”

He further questioned, “Did Tajuddin concoct such an irresponsible story out of thin air?

“I challenge Tajuddin to produce such a video, or he must be condemned and repudiated by all Malaysians, including all Umno-BN leaders, as utterly irresponsible and disreputable.”

The trouble with liars is that they are not content with one lie. They go on a lying spree. Tajuddin is no different.

He further added, “Look at our ministers now – Lim Guan Eng is Christian, Anthony Loke is Christian, Tony Pua is Christian, Hannah Yeoh is Christian.”

A responsible MP would ensure that he had got his facts correct before stating a point. Not Tajuddin!

Again, Kit Siang exposed his blatant lie: “… let me educate Tajuddin that although Pua and Loke have Christian first names, they are not Christians.”

What else did this liar say?

“These names which I have mentioned are people spreading Christianity.

“We need to be wary, they will use their politics as a platform to spread Christianity,” he said.

This blabbermouth seems to speak with authority and in full knowledge when he stated, “These names which I have mentioned are people spreading Christianity.”

Tajuddin states this as a matter of fact. He doesn’t speculate or postulate. He states it as if it is a proven fact.

Spreading Christianity among the Malays, as we all know, is against the Constitution. That being the case, would the so-called spreading of Christianity have taken place right under the nose of Jawi, unknown and unpunished in a Malaysia that is controlled by the authorities who are gung-ho in these matters? Did he make a police report against these MPs? If not, why not? As a good Muslim wasn’t he obliged to make a report and alert the authorities?

Like an Umno slave, he repeats the worn out Umno lie that the DAP is out to abolish the monarchy. If that was the DAP’s declared intention, why was no action taken against them? There is a simple answer to it. There has to be a basis for taking action without which you will make a fool of yourself.

“In the long term, ladies and gentlemen, if they can, they will abolish the monarchy system,” he lied.

Tajuddin’s preposterous claims

The DAP has been around for 53 years. Has there been any evidence that they wanted to get rid of the monarchy? If such a call was made, they would have been deregistered and buried for good – something the Barisan Nasional would love to do. But the DAP never gave them any excuse simply because they respect and honour the Constitution.

In view of his atrocious lies and preposterous claims, we are obliged to ask Tajuddin, “Are you a good Muslim?”

As far as we are concerned, a pious Muslim will not lie. He will not distort facts. He will not wilfully incite hatred against fellow Malaysians. His conduct will be beyond reproach. He will be a shining example of integrity. These are the attributes of a good Muslim.

We ask once again, “Are you a good Muslim, Tajuddin?”

8 August 2018

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

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