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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Tuesday 8 September 2009

The Oracle of Syed Putra

The Oracle of Omaha

Correction: the title should have said The Oracle of Syed Putra- my mistake. I used The Sage earlier. my apologies.

Never had the chance to meet the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet. But then again, countless others haven’t too. Maybe like I, they have met him through reading material. There is a thick daunting book about him with the title Snowball- and the Business of Life.

I have had a conversation with an Oracle of sorts recently. I shall call him the Oracle of Syed Putra. The term is given on account of his business reputation and also a record of being a no nonsense politician albeit being a reluctant one. Plus his views are constantly sought out.

We spoke about a number of political issues, he and I. I shall try to recall some. Most of them will be how I interpreted the conversation. The Oracle shall remain blameless if I err or misunderstood the conversation.

There was one particular portion of the wide ranging conversation that suddenly flashes in my mind. It has something to do with what Aziz Sheikh Fadil said. The only thing I remember about Aziz is he was the one who stormed the Chinese badminton hall when he was the naib ketua pemuda. It was probably due to the side effects of having nasi kandar from Kudu in Batu Road the previous night. Yes, Aziz can outshout everybody.

They tell me, that even people from Penang will patronize Kudu’s for the taste of real nasi kandar. The other thing I remembered about Aziz is, he is the brother of Kadiak S. Fadil, the bow-tied machismo of Information ministry once before.

What did Aziz say that reminded people he is still around? Aziz mentioned about a number of Pakatan rakyat assemblymen in Kedah waiting to cross over.

What the Oracle of Syed Putra said:-

The Oracle of Syed Putra talked about this matter too. True, what Aziz said, there are probably about 6 people from Pakatan in Kedah who are waiting for the right impulses and stimulants and what not, to have the temerity to cross the line.

But that won’t happen because of a number of reasons. Chief among these is that such a move will certainly drive the nails deeper into UMNO and BN’s coffin. The principle of democracy means most of all; you don’t capture power through undemocratic means. You capture power and then form the government you want, through the ballot box. You don’t do that through the kitty box.

You do what Aziz infers, you will raise the bad memory about how Perak was taken over. You also lend credence to whispers that the same MO is being tried out in Selangor recently where everyone became cow headed. Leave Selangor alone- it will crumble under the obfuscations of Khalid Ibrahim. The rope gets longer for Khalid to hang himself.

But the most important hurdle is the question posed by the Oracle. If Kedah is taken over ala Perak, who is there to head the government for BN? No one. You have no captain material to head the BN government there. You can’t fall back on the previous captain as the files on him will come crushing like a ton of bricks. The old honcho is rejected by the people n Kedah. He was selected to stand election because the leaders in KL wanted him to carry on. No one can possibly replace the ‘people’s MB’ Ustaz Azizan. Yes, the Oracle admitted that in the early days, Azizan hasn’t leant the ropes yet. He was a novice at running a government. But now, he has mastered the art and the general verdict is, he is running Kedah quite well and most important, widely accepted by the Kedah people. Azizan has even met up with Tun Dr Mahathir seeking guidance and counsel.

So who do you have to take over? It’s the same in Selangor. Who do you have to take over? Khir Toyo? He is history. The government should have taken the step to charge him in court. He is puling wool over everybody’s eyes about those insinuations of amassing wealth.

The problem is if you want to do a Perak in Kedah and Selangor you have to prepare the groundwork. Have people who are ready and qualified in every sense of the word, ready at the whistle. Otherwise, you will have a Rohaizat thing all over again.

Why hasn’t Perak convened the Assembly sitting to endorse what the Perak Sultan ruled? I.e. that Zambry is the Perak MB and a new speaker be formally endorsed? Is it because HRH sultan of Perak has refused to sanction one? The PM must enforce the concept of a constitutional monarchy. That a ruler rules in accordance to the constitution. Convene a sitting so that the Sultan’s pronouncements are validated. You are not durhaka-ing the Sultan if you do. You are doing what the constitution allows you to.

The Permatang Pasir outing was a fiasco. We spent more time to defend our candidate when the issues surrounding him were indefensible. The Number two is peaking at cross megahertz. Number one is speaking about inclusiveness; number two is talking about being bellicose and cantankerous. Permatang Pasir is Anwar’s turf. You go in and accused him of being a traitor and replay all those sordid accusations against that man. He didn’t have to respond and we have fallen into a hole we dug.

How can UMNO reclaim its credibility? The young are deserting UMNO. Because you think all you have to do, is just open your mouth and expect the young to believe you. No longer! The younger generation is a thinking generation. They reject the mainstream newspapers. They read the internet. They communicate with each other. They have different expectations. They have a different sense of history. Most probably don’t know who TUn Razak is anymore.

How do you engage the young? By speaking their lingo. You support the government but you have to be critical of the government. The language of the young is the language of questioning, the language of skepticism, combative urges. Who in UMNO will do these? Many owe their positions to the PM and will avoid singing a different tune. That’s why Anwar is having a field day, saying most of the BN ministers are scrambling to feathering their nests and making hay while the Pekan Sun shines before the BN sun sets.

Who shall pick up the cudgel? Run the gauntlet? KJ? Khairy should do this. Be critical of the government. Then you attract the young. You gain their trust and confidence. KJ doesn’t have a future after all so long as Tun Mahathir is around. Might as well build up a following.


9 comments:

Unknown 8 September 2009 at 09:24  

Dato'

Agree with your comments on Changes that needed to be done to attract the young...You missed out on Hishamuddin though.. The young is avoiding him like the plague.

Khairy? You said;

"Who shall pick up the cudgel? Run the gauntlet? KJ? Khairy should do this. Be critical of the government. Then you attract the young. You gain their trust and confidence. KJ doesn’t have a future after all so long as Tun Mahathir is around. Might as well build up a following."

But..Being Bellicose or Belligerent will only attract the Cow Heads and Mat Rempits..... Which isn't going to save UMNO..

Greenbottle 8 September 2009 at 12:28  

i don't understand why you keep on banging on about KJ...

despite kj trying his best to make over and trying to put up a good front, this guy is NOT a role model.

why? a) of his past history. b) he hasn't changed much. c) he WON'T attract Islamophiles among our youth.He isn't a good role model for a muslim leader unlike say husam musa or khalid samad in PAS.

yes, people like those fools that shouted the two khalids out during the sec 23 temple townhouse meeting recently may be attracted to kj but would kj want these kind of retards as his admirers and followers?

Anonymous,  8 September 2009 at 12:33  

KJ? who is KJ without his infamous FIL? Nothing man! So I supposed you could not earn your commission now eh? What a pity!

LOL

Ariff Sabri 8 September 2009 at 12:42  

greenbottle.
i am reprodcing what transpired in my conversation.

anon at 13:33.
i decided to let this kind of drivel to go through. so that readers can judge where such come from and the state of mind of such a retard.
ROLOTFWBLUHF

Fi-sha 8 September 2009 at 14:01  

Salam Datuk Sak

When a child is born into this world, he is like a white cloth. That is why the youngs are abandoning the relevancy of UMNO nowadays.

Their hearts are still pure, their minds are able to think, logically, and are still fresh to accept the idea for changes that could make this Ibu Pertiwi a better place for all, no more Tuan, no more Hamba.

With the rise of civic society, hugely championed by the youngs, it is too obvious why YB KJ isn't their model.

I saw these young people working so hard - no money required to get them to give their all in things they do. Surprisingly, their parents are the ones who are being inspired by them.

With these kind of enlightened young people, Khidmat Negara is a joke (more money, no effect?) and now we know how these young people's power during GE12 almost brought the ruling party to its knees.

"Compassion is Cool"

Cheerio!

Are You Gonna Go My Way,  8 September 2009 at 16:00  

Do we really know about the young people and their problems? Our problems and the young people problems are different. We used to be young too but the problems we had before are totally different now.

This country, Malaysia has turned everything into and about money. Without money or lack of it will prevent you to function normally. We used to be happy with only a few ringgit in our pocket and enjoy some rojak at the mamak stall after an evening of football with friends.

Studying at the college or university used to be fun and required little money. ITM was almost free with free food and hostel. Kids without money nowadays feel inferior to kids with money from well to do family. The disparity of income between parents are so wide nowadays. We had no problems of this kind before, maybe some parents during out time were better than our parents but they were very few. We still have the majority of other people’s parents just like our parents and we clicked together very well.

It’s the clash of the class. Kids today are burdened with PTPTN payment once they started working. Where is the fairness in this? If everything we have to pay ourselves, then what is the government doing.

I agree totally with you Dato, give the money directly back to the people by having more social responsibility whether free education, medical, sports facility, entertainment etc…We don’t want to be a “negara kebajikan”? but that’s the only way to go (look at UK). Why should they support the government if they wont get anything. Just by announcing some economic corridors that will churn the economy wont attract those young people.

Anonymous,  8 September 2009 at 16:04  

i follow KJ tweets and he seems to be like a nice guy...and have a very hectic life.He is an allrounder >>budak kampung,budak mesjid..
but i notice tho his followers are all urban youths who drives fancy cars,have fancy taste ...thats where his real roots are.

I think UMNO youth choose the right guy...wisdom of the crowd cos Toyo is a big mess and the prodigal son is a mere shadow of the man.

Is KJ the best tho?UMNO is still looking for the formula..once they find it the right leaders will be at the forefront.

Anonymous,  8 September 2009 at 19:15  

Najib must face the reality. UMNO second echelon leaders must wake up or else there will be no more UMNO to be proud off.
Sorry to Najib and good luck to UMNO. dh9753

Ariff Sabri 8 September 2009 at 20:44  

greenbottle,

i think you misunderstood me. i am refering to anon...not you. pls read my comments again.

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