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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Sunday 28 February 2010

UMNO and Noblesse Oblige


I was listening to remarks made by one exco pemuda questioning the seeming immunity of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Today I read that Puad Zarkashi, the guy who speaks with a lisp style asking UMNO to take action against Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. I am not unduly worried. One is aspiring to become a wakil rayat. The other is a first term MP who was appointed as deputy minister. Both have not achieved any accomplishments of significance.
Both therefore don't understand the concept of noblesse oblige. Because both have not lived for any length of time sufficiently long or achieved a modest success of character, humility, or enterprise. That would prevent them from understanding the concept of noblesse oblige.
The term of French origins is defined as the inferred obligation of people of high rank or social position to behave nobly or kindly toward others.
This is the missing link in today's UMNO. While the concept itself likely conjures images of royalty or aristocratic obligations to help the poor during the knighted era, the idea is in fact ancient and stands as a pillar of civilization.
The UMNO leadership must think beyond parochial political interests. The power invested in the state and by extension in holders of power is limited. There is a higher power- that of accountability to God. Ok, if we don't want to involve God in earthly matters, consider then accountability to the greater good of society.
If we are conscious of the existence of accountability to a higher power or greater good, then we should be able to see that the role of government as a limited, and almost necessary, evil. Government functioned not to impose equalized outcomes, but to guarantee that man would have equal opportunity to develop without political obstruction. The people of Kelantan who are mostly Malays should be given equal opportunity to develop without political obstruction or sleight of hand.
What has happened to present day UMNO? The noblesse oblige of 1st generation leaders yielded to usurpation by leaders motivated by lesser ideals. The principle of limited government was encroached upon by 'pragmatic leadership' who pushed for the idea that the state will now assume the role of God. After Hussein Onn, the idea of noblesse oblige was inverted from then on to mean
Noblesse oblige: the inferred role of government and elites everywhere to compel others to behave nobly or kindly toward others.
This is the missing link in UMNO's struggles. The sense of noblesse oblige has yielded to a race to amass power and to use the power so attained to impose the government's will devoid of a sense of noblesse oblige. The direct beneficiaries of an inverted definition of noblesse oblige are now able to speak the way the EXCO Pemuda spoke and the deputy minister of Education did. "Do as I say and not as I do translate simply into do what we the holders of power tell you to do. After all we really do know what's best for the rest of you. It is no longer a higher cause that is nudging the heart toward a higher plane of concern based on love and empathy, but rather the state ramming its will down one's throat with a cold and heartless inefficiency.
UMNO and the government has the opportunity to show that they wish a return to the spirit of real and not inverted definition of noblesse oblige by doing the right thing to the people of Kelantan.

16 comments:

Anonymous,  28 February 2010 at 21:44  

Ha...ha..so meaning the days when the government knows best is NOT over - contrary to what Najib said. UMNO will never reformlah Datuk.

Quiet Despair,  28 February 2010 at 22:10  

UMNO cannot and will not sack Ku Li.
He is Kelantan and Kelantan is him.
His royal blood makes him more invincible.
It will be political suicide to sack him.
Note the Kelantan Minister's comments especially from Tok Pha.
They were saying that Ku li perlu dihormati, Blah, blah.
Ku Li too knows that he cannot be sacked.
Najib too has past stong links to consider the calls to sack Ku Li.
Kelantan cannot afford to contend with Pas and Ku Li factors.

ben 28 February 2010 at 22:21  

Monsieur Sak:

Care to elaborate on the current polemic over "cash payment" vs "royalty"? Whereas "wang ehsan" is rather self-explanatory.

Merci.

Anonymous,  28 February 2010 at 22:46  

Greetings Dato
Didnt i tell you? its all about money and power.Sadly they fail to realize that knowledge is the key to both, wealth and power.
Not all though.There are the smarter ones.Thats y there is an imbalance between the very rich and the very poor and the forgotten golongan pertengahan.
The smarter ones know the game plan well.The modus operandi is the same.Each time the budget is tabled and passed, they close in and make a kill.
That is why this beautiful country of ours with everything
we got remains mismanaged.
Honestly i think there are a group of people who still prefer malaysian to remain ignorant of the power of knowledge.

Anonymous,  28 February 2010 at 23:00  

SAK,
Today muslims are so diverse and so unkind.Umno is muslim and so is Kelantan! It's sad because muslims against muslims in the name of money and along the way Islam is forgotten .Anyway umno pukes has no class at all!When will they stop punishing muslims and ain'it they afraid of GOD?

Bleacher,  1 March 2010 at 00:26  

Dato Sak,

Allow me to compliment your article.

Malay metaphor closest version to Noblesse Oblige is "ikut resam padi, semakin berisi semakin tunduk".

Slightly contemporary version warned its people about type people who "bunyi tung..tung..tung..tung. ... rupa2 nya ketuk tong kosong, gema sekampung ....isi habuk pun tarak!"

Also there is a great story that is alot to be learned from Seloka Pak Kaduk.
"Aduhai malang Pak Kaduk,
AYAMNYA MENANG KAMPUNG TERGADAI,
Ada nasi dicurahkan,
Awak pulang kebuluran,
Mudik menongkah surut,
Hilir menongkah pasang,
Ada isteri dibunuh,
Nyaris mati oleh tak makan,
Masa belayar kematian angin,
Sauh dilabuh bayu berpuput,
Ada rumah bertandang duduk,
Aduhai malang Pak Kaduk"

Check-out the following link for full story on Pak Kaduk.
http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pak_Kadok

Malay culture is rich with stories, poems and proverbs that are to be used as reminder, advise and guidance to people as they conduct their daily life. The big question is whether these can be applied in politics and society at large? That is another story to be told.

Anonymous,  1 March 2010 at 00:33  

Dato,

Here is a case of what I would call "daylight robbery" conducted by UMNO/BN.

Deliberately witholding the money due to Kelantan is not going to endear the government to the Rakyat. In fact, it does the exact opposite.

Of late, UMNO/BN's actions are making us turned off. As policians, I fail to understand why they do not know how to win the hearts and minds of the Rakyat. They are showing their lack lustre governance and stupidity of the highest order.

Sad to say this.

Please give them a good shake-up Dato. Or, are you giving up soon?

Idris

Anonymous,  1 March 2010 at 00:49  

Salam Bro….. (Allowed me to address you as such, it is by no mean of disrespecting to all those beloved titles of yours. Doing so I feel free and more relax in my expression rather than restraining myself and bowing my words as to pleased the titles. I hope no harm that may render upon me.)

Throughout my understanding, in the beginnings, we have those leaders of trustworthiness and so much of respect between the peoples and its leaders and vice-versa. Putting it in place they are so much behave honourably and generous towards those that are less in privileged. At that point of time everybody is at less in every aspect and their wants are common in having just sufficed enough in attending their daily requirements. Those Elite’s and the privilege few they did try hard enough rearranging and creating opportunity for the commoners. Eventually, when this other generation of commoners having achieved their own so class of elite’s they overturned the noble concept. To maintained this newly acquired status, come what may they just grab, grasp, snatch and seize by all means regardless allowable or disallowable.

Now, as we could see, Najib the inherited elite’s is begging for respect from the peoples. Why is this so happen? Much can be said and much can be argued one theory after another. For a simple mind like me the remained commoner, the pioneering elites are more genuine in their struggle and caused. The inherited elite’s had intertwined themselves with those fierce and wild made elite’s who they themselves are unable to see their one-self going into annihilation.

However it’s the peoples, the commune that rest to be blamed. Instead of becoming more matured and knowledgeable (nothing to do with educated) most of the peoples are retarding into stupidity. No matter how cleared the wrong doings are it is very unfortunate that they are still blind at heart and mind eyes.

Thank you for your space and this song is specially dedicated for you “Badju Sabi” – by Cesaria Evora – Album Anthologie Mornas Coloderas Year 2002.

Suci Dalam Debu 1 March 2010 at 09:00  

Sir,

Satu lagi...Ikut resmi penyu,telur beratus, namun tak bangga.

Siapa dalam kepimpinan UMNO hari ini bersifat begini?

Anonymous,  1 March 2010 at 11:25  

When oil was discovered in 1970's in Trengganu, for a period of over 20 years Petronas has been paying cash payment to the BN/UMNO state govt equivalent to 5% of value of oil produced.

When UMNO/BN lost Trengganu to Pas in 1999, the payment was converted to wang ehsan by our last mamak PM. Payment of this goodwill money was not paid to state govt but through federal agencies so as to deny the state govt of the money. If this is not "balas dendam" then i don't know what else to call.

Please go and tell this story to any average Joe and ask them to give reasons why such thing happened, then u will get the answer. Or better still, can you ask your division head to answer it? And by the way, can you also ask him or the "cakap oren putih" minister to publish the 8 point rebuttal by Pas on the issue, to be published in the Malay newspapers? Orang melayu dikampung deserve to hear the other side of the story as well. If this is not hypocrisy on the part of UMNO leaders, I don't know what it is called then.

Not that the UMNO leaders don't know. They know but all of them are suffering the acquired immune denial syndrome disease. They also talk and talk but refused to do the right thing for the benefit of the majority malays and the nation as a whole.

Using malay newspapers to cheat the malays is an insult. UMNO's role is to keep the malays ignorant and stupid so that they can rule over them. They do this in order to stay in power and enjoy all the wealth that they can lay their hands on.

With billions of cash payment made to Trengganu over the years, the majority Malays in Trengganu are still poor while the well connected UMNO Malays and their non-Malay cronies live a life of luxury.

This is fact not fiction.

Anonymous,  1 March 2010 at 11:29  

Suci dalam debu,

Ada - Tengku Razaleigh - tapi malangnya dia bukan pemimpin. Cuba nak betulkan yang salah pun kena serang...alahai UMNO...

Ariff Sabri 1 March 2010 at 11:34  

anon 11:25

why dont you run adverts in the Malay papers- just like the late Tan Sri Loy did when Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah challenged Tun Mahathir that time.
apa you bilang semua orang sudah tahu. takkan awak tak mengerti nak suruh UMNO publish rebuttals dari PAS pulak. jangan nak jadi pak pandir.
dari marah2 cuna beru hujjah mengapa UMNO buat begini salah.

Ariff Sabri 1 March 2010 at 16:39  

anon 11:25

this is what u yrself said:-

Or better still, can you ask your division head to answer it? And by the way, can you also ask him or the "cakap oren putih" minister to publish the 8 point rebuttal by Pas on the issue, to be published in the Malay newspapers?

arent you asking UMNO people to publish PAS's rebuttals in the newspapers? strange, you forgot what you said...

walla 1 March 2010 at 18:25  

A: 'what do you think, Tun?'

B: 'I have a question for you, Sofea.

Kelantan is malay-majority. Kelantan has one of the highest incidences of poverty.

So if the reason for policies like the NEP is to target reduction of poverty of communities like the malays, then shouldn't a gomen which says the NEP should still go on have all the more reason to help Kelantan?'

A: 'Your logic is impeccable, Tun.'

B: 'Look at this: http://is.gd/9rjj2"

A: 'i think sooner or later, the poorest states must be helped. If they are not helped, then more of their people will move out. The hollowing effect will accelerate the downslide even faster. Those who are left behind will suffer even more. Farmers, miners, fishermen and loggers in particular, because they can't relocate.'

B: 'But helping a state come up requires capital and expertise inputs with market channel openings and people/program management.'

A: 'Like what they are trying to do for Johor. If for Johor, i see no reason not for Kelantan, Perlis and Sabah too.'

B: 'They should give the money to Kelantan, and offer the other inputs.

The money is not just a state sovereign right but also the basis of a legal agreement. Nothing in that agreement says anything about politics.

Petronas is not a political entity. It reporting to the JPM under a coalition helmed in the main by Umno doesn't make the legal agreement political so they can't use development funds out of it to leverage political favor and support.'

A: 'Maybe they can't balance the books for the country on the whole if they give it up.'

B: 'Well, if they can prime-pump to the tune of rm60 billion, they can move more funds into that state.'

A: 'They may not have anymore to spare.'

B: 'They need to clarify what's the exact situation in terms of disbursements. In fact, people would like to see where those stimulus packages have been realized on the ground.'

A: 'Nothwitstanding that, the money is still owed to the state.'

B: 'The state has many unemployed and unemployable. Something has to be done. Lives are wasting away.'

A: 'The state also has much natural resource. It facing the east also means we can envision a more modern and strategic role it can play in the east-east trade route. Maybe they should see what can be done about the harbor and airport, and take it from there. Telecoms and vocational education are equally important. Industrial belt in the hinterland. Transport channel to the west to connect to the industrial zones on the other side.

Sir, to stand still is dereliction of noblesse oblige.'

B: 'There's also the matter of dereliction of care towards the orang asli in Sabah and Sarawak. That's coming up and it is bad wind. It shows unfair interpretation and inconsistent implementation. There seems to be skewed treatment by some corners.

So if they start to care for poor malays, they mustn't fail to care for poor orang asli's. Otherwise, the other thing which i believe is still called bumiputera is going down as hypocrisy. But if it is repolished, then 1M is down because there are many poor nonmalays and nonbumi's, if there's still such a term.

See the morass of contradictions? And we haven't even started with the NGO move yet. A bigger hole is being dug.'

psc 1 March 2010 at 19:50  

Dato Sak,
where money is concerned men are of the same religion.

Anonymous,  3 March 2010 at 18:40  

It is pure kurang ajar. It is poor breeding. It must the the bad education they had.

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