Malaysia - esok masih ada bagi mu!

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.

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.”

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.

Ucapan DS Wan Azizah jadi bualan

SALAM! Ucapan DS Wan Azizah, presiden PKR, di Kongres parti itu pada 27 Nov lalu menarik perhatian ramai. DS Wan Azizah mempertahankan suaminya, DS Anwar Ibrahim, dengan kata2 berikut:

"Apa yang tidak pernah dialami oleh Sdra Anwar? Ditangkap, diISAkan,dipukul, disiksa, diaibkan dan dihumban ke dalam penjara. Sejak merdeka, tidak pernah ada tokoh negara lain yang difitnah, dihina dan disiksa secara berterusan seperti yang dialami Saudara Anwar. Namun, beliau tetap gagah dan tabah meneruskan perjuangan bersama kita. Apakah rahsia sebenar hingga beliau tetap kental sehingga ke hari ini? Jawapan saya adalah Saudara Anwar Ibrahim adalah seorang insan yang hebat yang memang dianugerahkan Tuhan untuk kita semua untuk menjadi pemimpin rakyat. Jika beliau insan biasa seperti kita, sudah lama mengundur dan tenggelam di celah segala cabaran dan gelora yang berlalu."

PKR fracas continues, gain momentum

SALAM! The ongoing fracas in PKR has caught the attention of so many people. The street protests appear to have gained momentum. The various party elections too have attracted much protests and counter protests. Last Friday, top PKR leader Datuk Zaid Ibrahim decided to leave the party. His actual date of departure is set for Dec 16. I wrote about the recent goings-on in PKR in my newspaper column which appeared in the New Sunday Times Nov 21.


Zaid, Leha, – PKR not for us anymore!

LEHA is way down in the PKR food chain. For many years, this young mother held on to her hope that the party would form the next Government. Jaafar, her husband, had harboured the same hope too.

The couple has a small flat in Kondo Rakyat in Kg Kerinchi in Lembah Pantai. During the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri and last week’s Hari Raya Aidiladha, the couple sold lemang to supplement their income.

They make excellent lemang. At RM8 per stick, it’s a good buy. But events in the PKR in last few months have made Leha and Jaafar frustrated, angry, disappointed and disillusioned. Leha has made enquiries about joining Umno, and is anxious to sign up as soon as possible.

While Leha and Jaafar are at the lower end of the PKR hierarchy, top leader Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is just as frustrated. He couldn’t take any more of the squabbles within the party and announced his departure on Friday.

Lawyer Zaid is not likely going to join any other party, having burned his bridges with Umno when he jumped onto the PKR bandwagon. He harbours a different ambition – that of forming his own political party.

Leha and Jaafar are not following Zaid in his new venture. Zaid, as far as the couple is concerned, is but one of the many reasons for the internal squabbles in the party. The PKR crisis shows no sign of easing off, which leaves the likes of Leha and Jaafar seething.

Leha said:”The PKR leaders are ungrateful. In the last general action, I worked liked a dog to help Nurul Izzah, Anwar’s daughter, beat then incumbent MP Datuk Seri Sharizat Abd Jalil in Lembah Pantai.

“Nurul would call me very often. If no calls, there’s always SMS. As a grassroot leader, I have my own circle of friends. With very little sleep but plenty of sweat, we helped sent Nurul Izzah to Parliament.

“Today, I hardly get calls from her. No SMS too.”

For the record, Nurul Izzah garnered 21,728 votes compared with 18,883 for Sharizat. The likes of Leha and Jaafar helped gave Nurul Izzah the 2,895-vote majority.

Leha has some very unsavoury words about her MP but I chose not to share them with everyone. Her husband was a bit more dramatic. At a press conference last week, Jaafar brought along a pair of tombstones to show everyone that they were meant for PKR’s grave when the time comes.

I later found out that the tombstones were actually meant as replacement tombstones for his late sister-in-law who died many years ago. Asked to explain why he brought out the tombstones, Jaafar said:

“Saya benci PKR. Saya dah tak tahan lagi. Cakap tak serupa bikin. Penuh dengan janji-janji manis tetapi kosong. Parti ini tiada perinsip, tiada maruah.” (I hate PKR. I can’t stand it anymore. No action, talk only. They make empty promises. They have no principles, no dignity).

Zaid, too, have had enough of the PKR squabbles. Political observers had concluded much earlier that Zaid would leave the party sooner or later for the simple reason that he won’t fit into the PKR framework.

Zaid’s entry into PKR was met with a massive drumroll and warm greetings. Many had high hopes that Zaid’s entry would strengthen the party. But as Leha, Jaafar and senior party leaders later found out – this was not to be.

Zaid was seen as a troublemaker, of trying to subvert and challenge the leadership of Anwar. Battle lines were drawn and it was only a matter of time before matters came to a boil. Zaid didn’t do all that well in PKR too, having lost to Barisan Nasional’s P Kamalanathan in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election earlier this year.

Zaid was beaten by the friendly Kamalanathan with a majority of 1,725 votes. If PKR had hoped that Zaid would strengthen the party, this defeat was certainly not the way to go. Zaid’s critics said this was the start of Zaid’s problems in the party.

Zaid’s departure from the PKR may not be the last, at least from the top end of the hierarchy. Others may follow. At the lower end of the scale, a leader like Leha is already making their way to join Umno. This is really a testing time for members who are still in the party.

Moga2 diberkati dunia akhirat

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha kepada semua Muslimin Muslimat. Moga2 diberkati dunia akhirat. Maaf zahir batin. Pada hari yang baik ini, sama-samalah kita renungi melalui jendela hati kita akan kelakuan kita, zahir dan batin. Sama2 kita berdoa agar esok hari akan membawa perubahan yang baik atas peribadi kita.

Bikin jadi 13 Mei Hari Perpaduan

SALAM! saya terpanggil untuk menulis cadangan yang dibuat oleh beberapa kawan bahawa 13 Mei diiktiraf sebagai Hari Muhibbah. Ya, memang 13 Mei 1969 satu hari yang berdarah. Satu hari yang menjadi titik hitam untuk negara kita. Saya melaluinya. Ketika itu saya dibangku sekolah. Saya melihat sendiri perarakan politik yang bersorak di jalanan. Saya melihat sendiri kereta yang dibakar di tepi jalan. Dan saya nampak asap berkepol akibat pembakaran yang menjadi-jadi. Tetapi saya sekeluarga terselamat dari malapetaka itu. Kami tinggal di quarters yang berbilang bangsa. Semasa perintah berkurung berkuatkuasa, saya dan kawan-kawan main bola di padang. Ada Melayu, Cina, India. Kami berkawan. Maka, apabila 13 Mei dicadang supaya diwartakan sebagai Hari Muhibbah, saya sokong. Saya melaluinya.