FROM MANCHESTER TO PULAU MANIS. THE CHRONICLES OF A ONE TERM ADUN. Part 2
When I began to write this book, I was uncertain whether any one wants to read material written by an unknown ex-ADUN[1] from Pekan. The Latin term for this is QUIS LEGET HAEC- who will read this. I hope there will enough people who wants to read something written by an AXED ADUN.
Readers may infer that this writing stems from frustration. I would urge readers to suspend their judgment first. People write from a variety of motives. I am very much in agreement with what De Gaulle said that politics is too important to be left to politicians. Was it not Plato who said those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber?.
Do we reject writers whose writings stemmed from motives that do not correspond with ours? People may write because they are angry about something or because of love. Do we reject these also because we have our own different moral standards? Furthermore, even if the motive of writing is questionable, if that piece of writing has some message , we would benefit from it. The story contained in the following passages is not solely a story about me. It is about UMNO relived through my personal experience. I hope it will generate some interest.
The facts about me are as follows. My name is that of an ordinary person. Or maybe it sounds like me, looks like me, but others may not be sure it is me. Perhaps we need to constitute a tribunal to ascertain my identity. Nowadays, it has become the standard practice to constitute a tribunal to ascertain the veracity of something. Perhaps it is typical of the Malay mindset to set up tribunals or committees of various kinds. They serve to provide a semblance of orderliness and propriety. Or perhaps the de facto law minister can finance a dinner attended by luminaries to provide some semblance of legitimacy.
My name has no titles such as Dato, Tengku, Wan or Megat. Just plain Joe. Not even an ustaz. In the kampongs, the title of ustaz can be used as capital for a variety of purposes not necessarily pious in nature. I have no need for preceding social salutations. Nor do I feel diminished if none is forthcoming.
I only know that I descended from the bloodline of martial ancestors and from a line of intellectuals. I am not even sure if they were Bugis. I mentioned Bugis because people in Pekan take pride in their Bugis ancestry. The earliest part of Pekan where Bugis settled in large numbers is around kampung Mengkasar in Pekan. The majority of Bugis who came into the Malay Peninsula long again were mostly pirates and mercenaries. Some were merchants.
My paternal grandfather was one of the earliest graduates from SITC. He was a senior to Tun Ghafar Baba. He was a guru pelawat( a senior position) when I was an infant. Hence, the mixed heredity provided me with an equilibrium. One side supplies the martial genes while another provided the intellectual restraints.
These lineages, do not however provide me comfort. Because, I cringed at the possibility that my martial forefathers fought with spears and lances to preserve a feudal system that exploited people. Perhaps they were in service of a repressive regime. Who knows? That makes my forefathers mere tools for the privileged classes.
I also fear that maybe my forefathers fought to preserve their monopoly to exact taxes and tolls on trading vessels plying the rivers in Pahang. Most of all, I shudder at the thought of realising that maybe my poor forefathers, warriors that they were, fought bloody battles so that the forefathers of people like Dato Seri Najib can bathe in luxury in their palaces. So I am not going to play the family tree game.
I will begin by telling you my name, rank and serial number. My name is Mohd Ariff Sabri bin Haji Abdul Aziz. A commoner. My UMNO membership card is 01570782. Until the 24th of March 2008, I was the ADUN for Pulau Manis in Pekan Pahang. I suppose now, the night before the 24th of March 2008 can be called The Night Of The Long Knives. All in all, seven one term ADUNS were despatched. I will tell you more about this later.
My ADUN card number was 0036. I was shown the exit, discharged unceremoniously on the eve of the General Elections. I wasn’t even accorded a face saving gesture of a short meeting with my division boss, Dato Najib. He could have given me some consoling counsel. He of course couldn’t care less. Why should he? He is an aristocrat, a member of the privileged few. Perhaps just like my poor forefathers, my usefulness has reached its useful date.
That makes Najib Tun Razak a ruthless exploiter. But my fall from grace suggests also a failure on Najib’s part too. And exposes his true self. He is a selfish individual. He was only interested in his own political fortunes. He was obsessed about winning by a bigger majority. Perhaps Dato Najib can take a leaf from the following lesson:-The desire to win in born in most of us. The will to win is a matter of training. The manner of winning is a matter of honour.
To me Dato Najib is not a man of honour. He was only interested in his self preservation. He has been that way always. A leopard does not change its spots. Or it could suggest lack of sensitivity and indeed cruelty. How can that be, exclaimed the good folks in Pekan. Dato Najib looks cool and good looking. Well folks, it’s time to do a reality check.
I am up against two negatives; being unknown and ex ADUN. Being dropped after just one term does not help either. Perhaps like my martial ancestors, my shelve life has expired. Even though I come from Pekan, it is synonymous only with Dato Seri Najib, the son of Tun Razak. Others are movie extras.
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