It is time that Malaysians exercise good judgement and research those who offer themselves to the people, before deciding whether they serve the people or themselves, said Communication and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

Salleh said that in this day and age, information is readily available from the internet but people were becoming too judgmental on everything they see.

“Sometimes Malaysians are too engrossed in politics in that they sometimes see the trees but not the forest. And yet this is what happens on a daily basis; we get engrossed in the microscopic details and fail to consider the bigger picture.

“Politics should be a means to an end and not the end itself. Unfortunately, some Malaysians still do not understand this basic and fundamental rule,” he said in his latest posting titled “When Politics Come Before The People” on his blog today.

Salleh pointed out that politicians get involved in politics as a means to seek a better Malaysia and this means they need to put the people above politics.

"Some politicians, however, put their party interests above the interest of the people. In other words, they are in politics not to serve the people, but to attain power.

“Take one example where a certain US president accelerated the war in Vietnam because he needed to win the presidential election and that resulted in 58,220 American casualties,” he said.

Salleh, who is also Umno treasurer, said that politicians could sometimes be selfish and greedy for power.

"Even human life can be sacrificed in their pursuit for power, and slander and lies are considered trivial issues.

“We need to be wary of such politicians because the people are the last thing on their minds.

“They make promises to buy votes and once in power they offer a dozen excuses as to why they cannot deliver on their promises.

“That is why Malaysians need to be politically-mature and be wise to separate fact from fiction,” he added.

- Bernama