A historic moment was recorded for Malaysia on 04/03/2016 when the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad signed a joint declaration with former senior leaders of the country, leaders from the opposition parties, political activists and heads of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to remove the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The message, known as the “Citizens’ Declaration” is meant to remove the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who is seen as destroying the country with his strings of scandals, misappropriations and abuse of power. The declaration also called for the removal of all of those who have acted in concert with Najib; repeal of all recent laws and agreements that violate the fundamental rights guaranteed by the federal constitution and undermine policy choices; a restoration of the integrity of the institutions that have been undermined, such as the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Central Bank and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

58 high-profile public figures who have signed the declaration stated that they acted as Malaysians and do not represent any party or their respective organizations and this has been emphasized repeatedly by Mahathir and was unanimously agreed by the rest. This is really an irony, considering the fact that most of the figures, who participated in the signing of the declaration are from the highest executive echelon of their respective parties/organizations, and all this while they have been actively striving to uphold their parties or organizations’ interests and aspirations! They tried to give the impression that they were acting on their capacity as individuals and not act on behalf of their parties/organisations. This is despite the fact that they received the invitation to participate in the declaration by virtue of being the leaders of their respective parties/organisations!!! What is the point of being in a party/organization if their stands differ from that of the party/organisations? And the fact of the matter is that, none of the citizens from ordinary factory workers, mechanics, students nor hawkers (who are not members of any party or organization) was invited to sign the said Declaration! What is clear is that, this declaration is just another Machiavellian scheme where interests and ends justify means. It is very disheartening to see the involvement of several members of Islamic party in this Machiavellian plot. Although certain quarters are delighted to see encouraging numbers of high-profile leaders who are known to be rivals united in this declaration, all these reflect nothing but the practice of nauseating and temporary ‘politics of interest’, with no clear direction towards salvation of the country.

Hizb ut Tahrir / Malaysia would like to affirm that:

1. The said declaration which is known as the Citizens’ Declaration is portrayed as if it was signed on behalf of the Malaysian people, instead of representing an individual’s demand, or the demands of specific party/organization. In reality, it does not represent the people, especially the Muslims, since none of the individuals who signed the declaration is given the mandate by the people nor appointed to represent the people to sign the Declaration. In this context, it is more appropriate to call the declaration as the ‘Declaration of 58 Individuals’, instead of the Citizens’ Declaration.
2. Damage to the country and its people is not solely due to a certain leader or individual, rather, it is the implemented system that bears the true responsibility. This damage has not only taken place recently but has happened since the country achieved its independence. UMNO-BN which holds the majority in parliamentary seats and has been ruling the country since independence, is mainly responsible for implementing the secular system and enacting the country’s laws, rules, regulations and policies which bring damage to the country. There are these system and laws which are against Islam that have brought about much dissatisfaction and misery to the people. The ruling party is also responsible for appointing enforcement agencies to protect these falsehood system and laws, and obstruct the da’wah carriers, whose wish is to bring about the implementation of Islam in its totality, from working towards this. The ruling party is also responsible for creating variety of religious departments and appointing a number of Muslim scholars to defend and issue decrees to justify permissibility of their evils deeds. Thus, removal of a country’s leader while maintaining the existing secular system and laws do not at all guarantee the betterment of the country’s condition.
3. Based on the response by Mahathir, all parties who have signed the declaration do not focus on who will be the next Prime Minister if their quest for Najib’s removal is successful. Their focus is solely to remove Najib from office. Indeed, this is just a “play-safe” scheme to satisfy the declaration’s demands, not to address the root cause of the nation’s problems. Whosoever intends to take the government’s place in ruling must be well-prepared and qualified to bear the heavy responsibility of ruling a state, in the event that this is possible. Ruling a country is a serious matter which cannot be taken lightly and can simply be given to anyone. It is of paramount importance that there be a holistic preparation and readiness based on Haqq (truth). It is obligatory for the country to be led by eligible person and the eligibility must be based on Islam and Islam alone, not based on mind consideration, popularity, experience, influence of majority’s rule. Similarly, the system which will be implemented must be the Islamic System and it is forbidden to implement any other systems except Islam. Thus, be it leader or system to be changed, serious consideration based on Islam must be given as each decision, will be held accountable by Allah سبحانه وتعالى. It will be a fruitless effort of removing Najib if his successor is not elected based on Islam, which will only create another Najib, or worst.

Finally, we would like to affirm that indeed, there is no other mechanism to save the country and other Muslim countries, except by replacing the democratic system inherited from the colonial imperialist with the implementation of the Shariah laws in its totality (kaffah) within the framework of the Righteous Khilafah State upon the method of the Prophethood, under the leadership of a pious Caliph (Khalifah). Hence, it is obligatory for all Muslims to be united and effort must be spent to materialize this noble objective, instead of putting effort to be united with the intention of only removing Najib!

Abdul Hakim Othman

Spokesperson of Hizb ut Tahrir in Malaysia

Sunday, 26th Jumada I 1437 AH

06/03/2016 CE

Ref: HTM/PR/02/16