SALAM! Banyak juga peristiwa pahit manis menjelang akhir tahun ini. Kemalangan jalanraya yang meragut banyak nyawa seolah-olah sudah menjadi budaya kita. Tak kira samada yang terbunuh itu penumpang tempatan atau pelancong asing. Begitu juga dengan kes pembunuhan kejam seperti yang kita dimaklumkan di Johor - anak gadis belasan tahun dikelar leher dan dicampak dalam kebun kelapa sawit. Tak kurang juga berita yang memberangsangkan seperti tindakan membawa ke muka pengadilan terhadap beberapa kes tuduhan rasuah besar dan berprofil tinggi. Harap2 keadilan dapat dilihat seberapa segera.
Dalam pada itu, berita kemenangan 3-0 pasukan bolasepak negara keatas Indonesia memberi semangat kepada negara. Bukan saja pasukan bolasepak kita yang berpuas hati, seluruh negara juga bertepuk sorak meraikan kemenangan itu.Dahaga sungguh negara ku ini terhadap kemenangan pasukan bolasepaknya! Dan Hari Natal pula disambut dengan penuh meriah dan semangat muhibbah, sekaligus membantu memberi harapan kepada negara tercinta bahawa esok masih ada untuk kita hidup bersama dalam aman, damai dan sejahtera. Politik bagaimana? Pasti ada caci cerca, ada suka duka dan sepak terajang yang penuh "intrigue" atau muslihat. Ada orang buat kesimpulan: politik itu kotor! Saya teringat Allahyarham Dato Harun Idris, bekas MB Selangor yang pernah saya temui ketika mula2 bertugas sebagai wartawan 30-tahun lebih dulu: "Politik tak kotor. Tapi orang mengotorkannya."
Dan hari ini kita dapat lihat bagaimana tipu muslihat diguna untuk memesong pandangan rakyat, termasuk menggunakan parlimen untuk menegak benang yang basah. Hati2 wahai politikus "mee segera" dan "pejuang" tangkap muat! Rakyat akan mengadili mu tak lama lagi.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Quest for "winnable" candidates is on
Salam! I wrote a piece for my Sunday column which appeared in the New Sunday Times today. It carries the heading - where are the winnable candidates? It won't be easy to get them but I'm sure they are somewhere in the heap of service-minded individuals hidden behind their mountain of work and duties. The article:
MANY people, it seems, are looking for “winnable” candidates. These are individual whom political parties can put up as their candidates when the national election is called. The search for “winnable” candidates had intensified in the past week or so.
The search became a lot more urgent following speculation as to when the general election is going to be held. In Sarawak, talk of a state election is also widespread especially after Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud said that he has got the “inspiration” when that day would be.
Sarawak has until the middle of next year to hold its state election. When Taib said he has some ideas when it would be held, the search for suitable candidates went on high gear. This search has gathered momentum especially after the Prime Minister made it clear that he is also looking for “winnable” candidates.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak last mentioned this when he spoke to Barisan National leaders at the ruling coalition’s convention held at Wisma MCA last week.
This was not the first time Najib had spoken about his quest for such candidates, having stressed the same at the Umno annual assembly held in October. He has been consistent in his demand that coalition members produce such candidates.
Perhaps, the coalition members should look for such candidates not just among the known faces among them, but also among local grassroots leaders whom voters know and respect.
Quite often, there are gems hidden way behind the scenes, working like a bee minus all the flashlights and television cameras. These leaders are the ones who make things work at the lower end of the party hierarchy.
Come to think of it, what constitute winnable candidates? If we go by the Prime Minister’s advice, these leaders must be free from four major ailments – amnesia, inertia, delusion and arrogance. These four ills were identified as reasons why long-serving political parties fell from grace and were no longer relevant.
The Prime Minister must have made known his demands clearly and loud enough for everyone to remember. One MIC leader confided: “it’s impossible to forget. The PM drove his point across to us forcefully. I can still feel the fire in his voice when he made that speech.”
The MIC wakil rakyat went on say that everyone was fired up after listening to the speech. He said: “The PM told us that serving the people should always be uppermost in our mind. (Certainly, this is one quality a winnable candidate should have).
“He also told us that no matter how busy we are with our work and other chores, we should, as we retreat into the night, think deeply how else we can make the peoples life better and more meaningful. I felt so touched by this,” he said.
His point was echoed by his MCA colleague, who said the BN chairman wanted each and every component member to undertake careful screening of potential candidates. This is important to ensure that the right person be chosen to contest.
The MCA man said: “The PM don’t want us to submit names of friends or individuals who are close to us but can’t deliver winning votes. It’s really a good advice and we should all take heed. He really wants winnable candidates.”
MANY people, it seems, are looking for “winnable” candidates. These are individual whom political parties can put up as their candidates when the national election is called. The search for “winnable” candidates had intensified in the past week or so.
The search became a lot more urgent following speculation as to when the general election is going to be held. In Sarawak, talk of a state election is also widespread especially after Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud said that he has got the “inspiration” when that day would be.
Sarawak has until the middle of next year to hold its state election. When Taib said he has some ideas when it would be held, the search for suitable candidates went on high gear. This search has gathered momentum especially after the Prime Minister made it clear that he is also looking for “winnable” candidates.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak last mentioned this when he spoke to Barisan National leaders at the ruling coalition’s convention held at Wisma MCA last week.
This was not the first time Najib had spoken about his quest for such candidates, having stressed the same at the Umno annual assembly held in October. He has been consistent in his demand that coalition members produce such candidates.
Perhaps, the coalition members should look for such candidates not just among the known faces among them, but also among local grassroots leaders whom voters know and respect.
Quite often, there are gems hidden way behind the scenes, working like a bee minus all the flashlights and television cameras. These leaders are the ones who make things work at the lower end of the party hierarchy.
Come to think of it, what constitute winnable candidates? If we go by the Prime Minister’s advice, these leaders must be free from four major ailments – amnesia, inertia, delusion and arrogance. These four ills were identified as reasons why long-serving political parties fell from grace and were no longer relevant.
The Prime Minister must have made known his demands clearly and loud enough for everyone to remember. One MIC leader confided: “it’s impossible to forget. The PM drove his point across to us forcefully. I can still feel the fire in his voice when he made that speech.”
The MIC wakil rakyat went on say that everyone was fired up after listening to the speech. He said: “The PM told us that serving the people should always be uppermost in our mind. (Certainly, this is one quality a winnable candidate should have).
“He also told us that no matter how busy we are with our work and other chores, we should, as we retreat into the night, think deeply how else we can make the peoples life better and more meaningful. I felt so touched by this,” he said.
His point was echoed by his MCA colleague, who said the BN chairman wanted each and every component member to undertake careful screening of potential candidates. This is important to ensure that the right person be chosen to contest.
The MCA man said: “The PM don’t want us to submit names of friends or individuals who are close to us but can’t deliver winning votes. It’s really a good advice and we should all take heed. He really wants winnable candidates.”
Friday, December 10, 2010
Ramai percaya usaha basmi rasuah MACC
SALAM! Seorang teman menalipon saya petang tadi memaklumkan bahawa usaha kerajaan menangani rasuah kini dilihat sebagai satu usaha yang sirius. Kajian yang dibuat oleh Transparency International itu juga memaklumkan bahawa 48 peratus dari 1,000 orang yang ditemubual percaya bahawa usaha Kerajaan itu benar2 bertujuan membasmi rasuah. Menurut kajian itu lagi, angka ini berbanding dengan hanya 28 peratus tahun lepas. Walaupun kajian itu hanya meliputi 1,000 orang, ianya dibuat dalam pertemuan depan mata (eye to eye) dan bukan melalui soalselidik jarah jauh (Internet) atau melalui edaran soalan tanpa mengetahu siapa yang disoal. Usaha ini amat menggalakkan walaupun perjalanan masih jauh. SPRM dan pengurusannya boleh merasa gembira atas keputusan kajiselidik ini walaupun mereka sendiri tahu bagaimana peritnya usaha2 membasmi rasuah. Laporan Transparency International itu diumum ketika pihak2 tertentu membuat kesimpulan bahawa usaha2 SPRM untuk menangani rasuah di peringkat tinggi adalah sandiwara politik belaka. Sama-sama kita fikirkan.
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