PETALING JAYA (MAY 16): Newly-appointed Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysians who are unhappy with the country’s political system should leave the country, stressing that loyal citizens should respect the rule of law. In his first opinion piece printed in Utusan Malaysia since receiving the portfolio yesterday, Ahmad Zahid wrote that the illegal gatherings held across the country by Pakatan Rakyat was a form of escapism and the denial of the fact that it failed to take control of Putrajaya. The minister added that the opposition was overconfident with the support it received from voters. “Even if it is true that the opposition had claimed a greater majority, the measurement used by the opposition had been manipulated to follow the list system or the single transferable vote system,” he said in column entitled “Perhimpunan haram sebab tak terima hakikat gagal kuasai Putrajaya.” (Illegal gathering because refuses to accept failure in controlling Putrajaya) “Malaysia inherited the political system from the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries also use the first past the post system where political parties contesting in the election will only have one representative in each constituency with the principle of a simple majority of votes,” he added. He said opposition leaders, especially those from PKR and DAP, have been irresponsible in confusing young Chinese voters and their followers who are “politically blind” to dress in black to protest against the result of the 13th general election which they believe is for them due to the popular vote. “If these people wish to adopt the list system or the single transferable vote used by countires with the republic form of government, then they should migrate to these countries to practise their political beliefs. “Malaysia is not a country to translate their political beliefs, even if they are really loyal to this country, they should accept the political system and the existing system to form a government as enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” he said. He said PR must recognise and accept that the voters have rejected their rule in accordance to the first past the post system. “Illegal gatherings organised as roadshows are just an escapism by the opposition to run away from the fact that they have failed to capture Putrajaya. “The opposition was actually over confident) with the support of the voters and manipulated the various issues with false promises in its manifesto that they know will not be able to implement,” he said. He also pointed out that PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had already accepted the results and disagreed with the illegal gatherings by PKR and DAP. “People are getting fed up with the behaviour of a number of opposition leaders who are dragging in the young, especially those of Chinese descent, by fanning the flames of hatred and racism in a pluralistic society which has already fostered a sense of harmony. “The opposition is also questioning the authority of the Election Commission (EC) which had allegedly manipulated the votes. It is an outrageous accusation when the EC have observed most of their demands including the use of indelible ink that is only used by the third world countries,” he said.
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