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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Wednesday 29 October 2008

The Man called KJ

Sakmongkol doesn’t know khairy personally. Has seen him and maybe exchanged a few words. That’s about it.

Sakmongkol is trying hard to understand, what is it with KJ that people find so despicable? Perhaps most people would fall into the category of the song- If I Had My Way, I’d Have Been A Killer by Nina Simone. Maybe many of you are too young to remember who the feisty Nina Simone is. But these are the feelings one may have of KJ.

What’s our beef with KJ?

He is young. Perhaps that assaults our own self esteem. We don’t have that pulsating energy. The rippling 6 pack on the abdomen. We are the ( to borrow the words of a famous blogger, Mat Bangkai,) boroi brigade. KJ can go to the Zouk!, while we have to be contented with the dangdut joints. Or KJ reminded us of what we could be, if we had the temerity of this young man.

He is clever. A PPE degree from Oxford- his name will say…so and so, oxon OK. Not so and so, University of Oxford as many UMNO Joes with passable SPM would like to put on their name cards. He then went on to LSE ( if not mistaken). He is smart. That puts many of the UMNO laggards off. That quality can be unnerving to many people. And he could easily be around for a long time.

He is articulate. That distinguishes him immediately from the dumb jock image of Hishamudin Hussein. He can fend for himself in debates or intellectual discussions.

He is rich. Bloody rich. His people rang up people in Maran asking, how many lorries of money do you people want? Of course there’s ECM Libra, Air Asia and many more deals that KJ has immersed his fingers in. hmm, that’s nothing new in UMNO right?

Perhaps this is the final straw. How can a person so young be so rich when we old geezers have to slug it out to make ends meet? He reminds us of our own failures and failed attempts.

Perhaps, KJ’s early successes evoke a massive collective envy in all of us that subconsciously wishes him to fail. That of course will give us some satisfaction and vindication.

Yes, he is brash and even insolent. He went to Permatang Pauh and declared he wanted to bury Caesar Anwar Ibrahim. But wasn’t our objective was to annihilate Anwar? He stormed the US embassy. He has been there and done that.

He has had a personal hand in selecting candidates in the recent GE. He wanted Ismail Sabri, another chap with a girlish name in Bera, another in Jengka, in Jerantut, in Paya Besar and many more. In doing that he has broken the monopoly held so long by ageing warlords. He is seen as the usurper and all usurpers in UMNO must be stopped.

KJ is a conspiratory character. He was responsible for bringing the OxBridge Mafia on Level 4 to advise the PM. Reminds one that in the 60s, Soekarno had his Berkeley Mafia. They lacked the finesse and wisdom to temper their hotheadedness. They forgot that being Oxbridge graduates are not everything.

KJ represents the destruction of life as many ageing warlords have come to know and enjoy. How can they allow, a young upstart destroy lifelong achievements? Such impetuosity.

Otherwise, we have no reason to despise KJ. Maybe, he is perhaps what Malaysia needs.

Or maybe, he is a person, Malaysia can ill afford.

You be the judge.

8 comments:

Anonymous,  29 October 2008 at 09:02  

Hello Tuan Ariff,

=)
I agree.
I was just about to do a post on the more rural, uneducated Malays's, esp the older generation ie above 60, towards new things. They dun seem to like it and react by putting them down, belittling them.
Was reading MSO and that's the feeling I get....

Anonymous,  29 October 2008 at 09:33  

Dear super sakmongkol,

you are brutal, vallant and yet candid in your writing. not many umno members like you can be frankly enough to counsel their peers especially those holding top positions. your posting about KJ is something that many pemudas wanted to say but do not have the courage to do so.

Gondol

Anonymous,  29 October 2008 at 10:48  

sakmongkol wrote... He reminds us of our own failures and failed attempts.

i think you want to rethink this, mr sak.

surely you're not saying "He reminds [the boroi brigade of their own] failures and failed attempts" at getting rich at warp speed through dubious means? ;D

Anonymous,  29 October 2008 at 13:58  

Dear sir,

He is rich. But how did he get to be that RICH?

Obviously through the many examples you mentioned here plus many other shady deals he made under the pretext of being the PM's son in law.

That is the main reason for all the criticisms hurled at him. All those unbridled abuse of position and power, coupled with being too flamboyant in flaunting his wealth had made him an anathema in Pak Lah's own administration.

Apart from being clever, one needs wisdom. With so many failures in many development ideas for Malaysia (purportedly thought of by the 4th floor boys) such as the so called economic corridors and also a few election strategies that backfired (Pade Doh in Kelantan), I can safely say that all those brainy outfits in Putrajaya are nothing more than flops :)

Thank you.

JMD-

Anonymous,  29 October 2008 at 16:34  

Dear Sakmongkol,

For the lack of better candidate, I also prefer KJ for all the reasons you mentioned to Mukhriz and Khir Toyo.Mukhriz and Khir Toyo are typical UMNO.UMNO needs a jolt and KJ can provide that.

KJ can prevent dynasty politics from growing in UMNO with Najib already filling in his father shoes with his cousin Hishamuddin following suit (Muhyidin is just warming the seat) and if not checked, Mukhriz will be the next PM after Hishamuddin.

KJ will raise his popularity in UMNO if he learns to be humble.


Rgds,

KNA

Anonymous,  29 October 2008 at 16:57  

Sakmongkol,

Excellent synthesization.

You've addressed the essence, indeed the repertoire of attitudes Malaysians have towards this prodigal character.

I've crossed paths with several of the 4th Floor boys in my own professional endeavours. They are brash, impetuous and impatient and view themselves as the chosen sages to lead this land -- often armed with nothing more than financial textbooks and back issues of The Economist. One such kid, a hybrid, actually asked two Tan Sris and three Datuks to shut the f up during a high profile business mtg in the U.S. West Coast several yrs ago.

Of course, chillingly, Najib has his share of these intellectual young punks as well.

A Tabib 29 October 2008 at 23:24  

KJ is mistrusted more than disliked. With all the positives that he has - good degree, articulate, married well, etc, there's no reason why he can't go far all else being equal.

But he is seen to be a manipulator who rides on his father in law's coattails into a position of influence, sets a personal agenda and is not above risking his benefactor's reputation being blackened in the process.

He has no qualms about playing to the gallery by making provocative speeches, brandishing the keris or charging up a foreign embassy - all good copy but manipulations nevertheless.

It's his ability to manipulate, even those closest to him, that make people wary.

Garrett 30 October 2008 at 00:05  

KJ is what he is and where he is only by virtue of being the PM's son-in-law. He used this advantage to the hilt. That's why I detest him.

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