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.