Recent remarks by Raja Petra Kamarudin have prompted two of his key allies in the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) to distance themselves from him.
Activist and human rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar – who claims to have never been a member of MCLM but has had a strong association with the organisation – announced today that he was disassociating himself from MCLM in light of Raja Petra’s comments.
“I will not delve into the matters spoken of save to say that they cast a less than positive light on the MCLM in so far as its commitment to principle is concerned,” he said. “Furthermore, I do not share his views.”
“As I understand things,” he continued, “those views were entirely personal to him and are not the views of the MCLM. Raja Petra had however allowed the impression that he spoke on behalf of MCLM and in his capacity as the chairman of the movement. That is regrettable as it is an impression that has undermined the credibility of the MCLM and its efforts.”
“It has also undermined the tremendous efforts of a number of highly committed and selfless individuals in their untiring efforts to develop various civil society initiatives under the banner of MCLM,” he wrote.
He said that while Raja Petra may have made his remarks with good intentions, he “has seriously undermined the cause.”
“It is my belief that no one person is larger than the cause,” he added.
The announcement by Malik Imtiaz comes a day after MCLM president Haris Ibrahim resigned, saying Raja Petra’s comments “greatly undermine efforts I am making, albeit through MLCM, in the ABU (Anything But Umno) initiative”.
“It also saddens me,” Haris said, “that even as initiatives like SABM (Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia) and so many others continue daily to undo the ill-effects of UMNO /BN’s 40 over years of race-based, divide-and-rule, my friend should continue to see us as Malays, Chinese, Indians, dll.”
“In the circumstances, I find it impossible to continue to serve MCLM as its president,” he said.
In the wake of a slew of comments criticising Raja Petra, however, Haris said today he’s not giving up on his friend just yet.
“Many of you appear to be of the view that RPK has betrayed us, and has sold out,” he wrote.
“I do not share this view.”
“Mine is premised on the man…that I believe I have come to know,” he said, adding, “We cannot both be right.”
“Let us all hope and pray that the error is yours and not mine,” he said.
“You have my word, though,” he added, “that should I discover the error to be mine, I will not hesitate to disclose all that I know to you.”
Activist and human rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar – who claims to have never been a member of MCLM but has had a strong association with the organisation – announced today that he was disassociating himself from MCLM in light of Raja Petra’s comments.
“I will not delve into the matters spoken of save to say that they cast a less than positive light on the MCLM in so far as its commitment to principle is concerned,” he said. “Furthermore, I do not share his views.”
“As I understand things,” he continued, “those views were entirely personal to him and are not the views of the MCLM. Raja Petra had however allowed the impression that he spoke on behalf of MCLM and in his capacity as the chairman of the movement. That is regrettable as it is an impression that has undermined the credibility of the MCLM and its efforts.”
“It has also undermined the tremendous efforts of a number of highly committed and selfless individuals in their untiring efforts to develop various civil society initiatives under the banner of MCLM,” he wrote.
He said that while Raja Petra may have made his remarks with good intentions, he “has seriously undermined the cause.”
“It is my belief that no one person is larger than the cause,” he added.
The announcement by Malik Imtiaz comes a day after MCLM president Haris Ibrahim resigned, saying Raja Petra’s comments “greatly undermine efforts I am making, albeit through MLCM, in the ABU (Anything But Umno) initiative”.
“It also saddens me,” Haris said, “that even as initiatives like SABM (Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia) and so many others continue daily to undo the ill-effects of UMNO /BN’s 40 over years of race-based, divide-and-rule, my friend should continue to see us as Malays, Chinese, Indians, dll.”
“In the circumstances, I find it impossible to continue to serve MCLM as its president,” he said.
In the wake of a slew of comments criticising Raja Petra, however, Haris said today he’s not giving up on his friend just yet.
“Many of you appear to be of the view that RPK has betrayed us, and has sold out,” he wrote.
“I do not share this view.”
“Mine is premised on the man…that I believe I have come to know,” he said, adding, “We cannot both be right.”
“Let us all hope and pray that the error is yours and not mine,” he said.
“You have my word, though,” he added, “that should I discover the error to be mine, I will not hesitate to disclose all that I know to you.”
Source: The Mole
