KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali is no stranger to controversy and is used by now to being called a racist, an extremist and a frog.
Never one to keep quiet, the Kelantan native says he dares to be outspoken because of his “clean” track record as a politician who lives a “below moderate” lifestyle.
Appearing to have a knack for political survival and viewing himself as a thinker with good strategies, Ibrahim’s founding of the Malay right-wing group Perkasa after the 2008 elections has helped keep him in the public eye.
Ibrahim claims Perkasa now has an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 members, adding that the group already has branches or “Perkasa Clubs” in the UK, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, with requests for similar clubs from those living in Russia, Europe, Perth and Melbourne.
Ibrahim Ali on his life and Perkasa in his own words:
There is this thing that people don’t know about me… but (it’s a) blessing in disguise… I like to help people, my character, those who know me will say I am very, very generous, so if many know I am generous, there will be more people coming (to me).
Compared to others who joined politics just 10 years, not yet become MP or state assemblyman, only party post, but already with big bungalow… you can go and see my house in Taman Melawati, semi-detached house which belonged to my father-in-law who gave the house to my wife, so I got the house free and renovated it, until now I stay there, the price of the house is about RM60,000 in 1978, so until now I stay there and when I bought a car, (for) 25 years the same car I am using. So I don’t live with luxury life, I don’t have swimming pool, but when I went to the house of my friends who are very junior to me or same as me, I see swimming pool, big cars, six, seven cars. But me, I live with the same style, I eat at warung until today, I like to spend my time at kedai warung and then travelling with economy class, I like to take taxis anywhere I go, so my cost is low… I don’t have a swimming pool, I don’t have a garden, I pay electricity it’s only RM150 a month, that’s all. The TV is also small, even my house’s furniture my wife always buys from garage sale, you can come to my house, I renovate a little bit (so) in front it looks like bungalow, but when people go inside, they know, very small.
If you ask me what is the moment that you are happy in my life, I am happy even though people accuse me a lot of things, sometimes with unbecoming words, whereas I struggle for the people, for the country. If you check my record in Parliament, I spoke for everybody, not only for the Malays; the Chinese, Indians, I fought for good governance, anti-corruption. And within 40 years of my life in politics, I want to ask you, definitely you will hear viral in Whatsapp, blogger, ‘wah this leader is corrupt, this leader has scandal; you see Ibrahim Ali wah Malay Ultra racist, Ibrahim Ali frog, like to change party,’ but do you ever hear ‘Ibrahim Ali corrupt, do you ever hear ‘Ibrahim Ali bad moral, scandal?’ Don’t have.
Thanks to God I am clean, that is why I manage to be outspoken. If you are not clean, live in a big house, people see that you are corrupt, you have bad record, you (won’t) dare to talk, am I right? Because you talk more, people will expose. Now what can they expose bad thing about me, it’s only Ibrahim Ali is a frog, that’s all, that’s the only bad title they can blame me. If they want to attack me, they don’t have much bullets, because I am free of all this. I think these are beautiful moments in my life, because not even I am not being charged for abuse of power, corruption when I was in government, even to the extent people won’t say that. There are people who are not charged in court because of corruption, but the public perception is that this is a corrupted leader, so I am not in that category, so I am very very happy, meaning to say I passed the test, I have passed a critical assessment as a politician where I am clean.
Dr Mahathir I’m very close until now, Dr Mahathir akui sayang (admits loving) Ibrahim Ali, and why I put that newspaper cutting , that is his statement in Parliament. Tengku Razaleigh is my mentor, also like father and son. Actually I’m close to four leaders, number one is Tengku Razaleigh, Mahathir, the late Tun Ghafar and Anwar Ibrahim, so these four, I can understand them, I can read their minds in and out.
When I was arrested under ISA for the second time, Ops Lalang, he (Najib) is the (Umno) Youth leader, I am the exco… I have never been at loggerheads with Najib, the only thing is I’m not in his personal team, he has his own team, because he knows I am close with Tengku Razaleigh, Mahathir, so he don’t treat me as his team lah, but I never loggerhead with him, not yet. But he knows me lah, I am not the kind of man he can ill-treat. Honestly, most of the Umno leaders are scared of me, they don’t want to quarrel with me, ‘No benefit, quarrel with Ibrahim Ali will not benefit us, so if we hate him, we just keep quiet’, I heard that.
I will not retire from politics because politics has become my blood, you just imagine after I came out from detention camp — I was arrested twice under ISA, 1974 to 1976 and Operasi Lalang 1987, twice — so when I was released in 1976 during my first ISA, I never worked with the government, I started a private school and after that I go into politics until now, so it become thick in my blood, so meaning to say I will continue with my political struggle... If you ask me are you going to contest in the next election, the 14th elections which supposed to be held 2018 or might be next year, I can tell you if my health permits, I can walk, my mind still ok, I will contest the election. But if you ask me under what party, I don’t care what party, I will go to the election, either I go under party banner of any party that prefers to work with me like PAS in [2008] elections, it can be any party or I might go as independent, but the point is I will not retire, I will retire politics when God takes my life.
No, I don’t want to consider myself a statesman, no, because if I said I am a statesman, then I cannot be noisy, then I cannot be outspoken, because people said statesman is soft spoken, you cannot be too outspoken. So I don’t want to be a statesman at the moment, but if I live longer, by the year I am aged 80, then I want to be a statesman… when you are on the wheelchair, you don’t call yourself activist anymore, you call yourself a statesman.
Well in the beginning, our policy, our struggle is focusing on Malay agenda, Bumiputera agenda, with a focus on economic issues and education. But last year we were dragged into religious issues, you remember the Kalimah Allah... no more, even we have met all the Christian community group, we have good relations now with Christians (for) Peace (and) Harmony (Malaysia) organisation. Then end of last year and this year, we were dragged into this political issue, because of 1MDB, RM2.6 (billion), everybody take side, all these other issues, so it distract our focus on economy, education, because of this particular issue, so it’s quite difficult to move now until this thing is resolved, because you cannot be seen with this group (or) this group, whereas Perkasa I would like to engage with everybody... It never go wrong, our struggle still focusing on economic agenda and education agenda and national unity agenda, but according to our beliefs and views, because everything that we struggle is within the framework of our Constitution, we will never go beyond what is said in the Constitution.
We (Perkasa) don’t make any official stand (on hudud), the only thing is that we say we want to see Islamic system flourish, Islamic system being implemented, because to us, we adopt Islam is a way of life… So as far as hudud, we only observe, don’t get involved, because this is a very complicated issue, we need to have scholar, you have to have knowledge, so we are not prepared to be dragged in deeply, the only thing is we always say respect as far as what Islam say, follow through, because Islam is a way of life.
