KUALA LUMPUR: Money politics in Umno has now become too deeply rooted for the party to completely deal with it.The problem began about two decades ago, worsened over the years and was now showing no sign of getting any better, Umno disciplinary board chairman Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen said. "It seems to be getting worse with every party election," the former party vice-president told the New Straits Times when contacted yesterday.
The party machinery, in particular the board that he heads, is trying to do everything it can to help eradicate the problem.
"We are trying our best, but it seems we can't deal with it completely. It is now rooted to the core," he admitted.
Tengku Rithauddeen feared that if the scourge of money politics were to take a further hold in the party, there would be no avenues left to turn back.
"It would eventually destroy the party for good."
Tengku Rithauddeen said money politics was becoming a norm in the party as all those who indulged normally benefited from it.
"It is not something that is easy to deal with these days simply because it is being practised even at the lowest levels, something that was unheard of in the past. "It is now up to the party leadership to devise effective strategies to root out the problem."
Supreme council member Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad also echoed the same sentiments and felt that money politics could only be curbed if there was strong will to rehabilitate the party from within.
"You will see less of it only after there is proper internal cleansing of such practices," he said.
He believes that while there seems to be much talk about money politics in Umno of late, no one seems to be seriously doing anything about it.
"The complaints are endless, you read it in the newspapers, but is anything really being done (about it)?"
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister also questioned if party officials who were supposed to be looking after such matters had the clout to effectively deal with the problem.
"Perhaps, what they (need) is to be given more bite."
On the other hand, Shahrir said the job entrusted to these party "disciplinary guardians" was sometimes being made more difficult by the party members themselves.
He took some of them to task, citing examples of complainants who either were afraid to come forward or failed to back their allegations with substantial evidence.
Prof Mohammad Agus Yusoff, lecturer at the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, however, has an entirely different understanding of the matter.
Agus believes the whole money politics issue has been blown out of proportion.
"Everyone seems to be getting confused with money politics and political money. There is a difference between the two."
Agus said Umno had imposed much restrictions of late that everything that involved money was perceived to be a form of bribery.
He felt that to a certain extent, this was stifling democracy in the party.
"If a leader wants to meet delegates to explain his or her vision for the party, and treats them to meals or so on, it somehow ends up being perceived as a form of money politics."
The fact remained that politicians do have to spend money, and like it or not, there would be recipients, he added.
Agus agreed that vote buying was bribery, but said that unless it could be proven that the recipients had taken money to specifically vote for a certain person, the transaction was considered political money.
tunku : umno new leadership must take fast action and steps to curb or at least minimize the involvement of money politics in umno. eventually it will destroy umno one day if left as it is.rakyat will get fed up as it is getting fed up now.so the new leadership must take appropriate steps and actions to curb/minimize it. as for the campaign, making "kenduri" should be allowed as it is part of campaign. the candidates needs to go from one place to another to explain his/her mission and vision.they need some function for it and of course when there is a function, there must be some"kenduri".giving out cash/gifts as donation/bribes is strictly prohibited.
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8 comments:
Benda ni boleh dikawal sebenarnya. Masing2 kena ambil bahagian banteras benda ni.
sama2 kita banteras!
Kalau ahli-ahli masih sayang dengan UMNO, sekarang adalah masa untuk berbuat sesuatu demi menghapuskan gejala politik wang ni. Kalau memang dah tak sayang, bubarkan sahajala, daripada UMNO hancur dimakan dan diratah dek kerakusan mereka sendiri.
"The problem began about two decades ago,..."
so that's how long the problem has exists.the problem need to be solved right away.
i agree though on what Prof Mohammad Agus Yusoff, lecturer at the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, says regarding politics money and money politics money.
there's nothing illegal for any candidates to hold an occassion to let the members know about his/her planning and the vision for the party.what is wrong when a candidate tries for vote rigging.that's illegal.that's the one that should ceased.
saya percaya masih ramai lagi yang sayangkan UMNO.takkanlah nak biarkan parti yang dah berpuluh tahun wujud untuk berkubur begitu sahaja.
buat sesuatu tentang masalah politik wang ini jika tak mahu UMNO lenyap sebelum tiba masanya.
Yang jadi masalahnya, ada dua pihak yang terlibat dalam hal ni. Yang memberi dan yang menerima. Kalau salah satu taknak sedar dan cuba buang amalan tu, memang susah lah. Yang menerima pun sama, patut kalau betul nak keadaan parti lebih baik, mereka tidak patut menerima langsung.
Nak tambah sikit lagi, yang menerima tu pun satu juga, kalau tak dapat, takda orang bagi, dia bantai mintak pulak. Yang bawah ni pun kena sama tolong, tu je cara untuk selesai masalah ni. sama2 tolong jangan bagi amalan macam ni beterusan.
Selagi ada politik wang ni, selagi tu kita bermasalah untuk mendapatkan pemimpin yang berkemampuan. Ini kerana kedudukan mereka ditentukan dengan wang dan bukan kebolehan. Semua harus sedar dengan keadaan ini dan harus berubah jika ingin UMNO kembali kuat.
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