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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Saturday 8 May 2010

NOT BREAKING NEWS! NOT A MUST READ! - Just moral authority and other moralities

The number one priority of PM Najib is transforming Malaysia. What does he require? He requires first of all, a team of leaders. By leaders we mean people/characters that make up his cabinet. What kind does he need in order to keep up with his transformation agenda?

He needs an effective and determined leadership team with a shared vision. They(team members) must share his vision of a transformed society- little or nil corruption, little or no poverty. All those things his says about NKRA and KPI's. Then he needs to have an effective administration. Then he also needs a population with social discipline.

He thus needs an effective and determined leadership team, a first class civil service and a responsive and disciplined populace. By disciplined we mean those who subject themselves to the rule of law and not to the rule of man over man. We shall talk about this later.

First, the question of leadership. A leader, it is said must have the moral authority. That means his person can never be soiled or impeached. He must have an unimpeachable character. Where do we find such saintly characters?

We must begin at the top. Let me begin by asking, what correlation is there between Zaid Ibrahim's partiality to alcoholic beverages with his ability to lead and manage? That is, we assume Zaid still has this habit although as we know he is already an Haji and Muslims usually have good thoughts about one who has attained the status of Haji.

The answer- there is none. Let me quote some examples. Bill Clinton was a much maligned character in his personal capacity- his dalliances with Lewinsky and one Paula Corbin Jones would have destroyed his ability to govern. They would have undermined his moral authority to govern. He was in fact impeached over some of these indiscretions. But that didn't impair his execution of US foreign and domestic policies.

Benjamin Netanyahu who was condemned for appointing an under qualified chief judge or something was accused of corruption. But that didn't stop him from effectively containing the Arab threat. (Not that I agree).

Three, the pervasive stench of corruption and cronyism associated with the Suharto regime for example, didn't seem to affect adversely, Suharto's moral authority to govern. Indeed Tun Dr Mahathir lamented the humiliation visited upon his friend Pak Harto by successive Indonesian governments. This means, at least to me, people are willing to dismiss personal failings when assessing the ability of a person to manage and govern. Or really, the question of morality is singularly expedient.

This brings me to my point. Unless we are blind and deaf, PM Najib assumes the post as the PM with the most controversies surrounding him. The allegations surrounding the murder of Altantuya, his ill-deserved reputation as a playboy PM, the many financial scandals that occurred at the Ministry of defense most of which occurred during his watch could be used as reasons disputing his moral authority to govern and administer.

But as the above examples show, these negative blights do not impair one's ability to manage and govern. A further point I wish to make, if we are now ready to admit this concession on our PM, all those things said about Zaid at the HUlu Selangor elections were really non issues. Whether he drank or not, that don't impair his abilities.

Now, the cornerstone of an effective government is the moral authority of the PM. We have shown that those allegations and maybe even fanciful aspersions are not prejudicial to his abilities to govern well. Be that as it may, he must take all steps to allay suspicions and hushed whispers and murmurs.

As the moral authority that underpins an effective government, PM Najib must not trivialize those scandalous allegations by adopting a carbon copy of the infamous elegant silence. He mustn't dismiss these as trivialities. He must once and for all extinguish all the frivolities by authorizing a definitive legal closure. For example, you just can't ignore all those talks concerning one Deepak the carpet seller's transactions with private eye Bala as the product of an elaborate joke.

As Jack Lord in Hawaii Five -0 famously said: Book them!

22 comments:

sniper,  8 May 2010 at 14:29  

Sir

It seems that you can't see the forest for its trees.

Carpetbagger creates more damage.

Donplaypuks® 8 May 2010 at 16:01  

Jack Lord said "Book 'em, Dano!"

The day UMNO/BN lays down a clear policy to combat corruption and croneyism nationally AND actually goes about enforcing it without fear or favour is the day their glory days will return.

Otw, it's all hot air and many will vote Pakatan for a change, regardless of whethet DSAI is there or not.

AS for the team of Rosemajib and thaaat pretender to being the First Lady, it's too late. The enormity of the charges against them cannot be ignored. If the rest of UMNO/BN does nothing about them, the court case in Paris against DCNS vis-a-vis alleged bribes paid to Perimekar S/B will surely bring them down!!

dpp
we are all of 1 arce, the Human Race

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 16:19  

Sak,

do you think 'Madey' would allow Najib to runs the country free handily ??

until now, Madey is still dictating the direction of Najib administration.

Najib is too weak and scare to challenge Madey !!

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 17:53  

Dato'

You said,
"He mustn't dismiss these as trivialities. He must once and for all extinguish all the frivolities by authorizing a definitive legal closure."

Some may not agree with you...
Look what happened to Clinton when he came out in Public to say " I did not have sex with the lady"..

Next thing you know he was proven wrong and had to Apologize in Public.

So.. Its best that DS Najib keep Silent and hope that it will all blow away. Meanwhile RPK and Associates as well as the opposition will try to keep the whole thing alive. That's the price DS Najib has to pay for wanting to have the Cake and Eat it Too...




Joe Black

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 18:46  

But it was under Najib's watch that the Ministry of Defense had those controversies. This is not a question on his moral stand; it is a question of his leadership.

And on this point, I don't see him as a leader capable of good governance.

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 19:03  

"Be that as it may, he must take all steps to allay suspicions and hushed whispers and murmurs."

Unfortunately you are almost certainly asking for the impossible when these suspicions, hushed whispers and murmurs, are 99.99% not unfounded.

So how to lead when enemies within your midst can lead you by your balls.

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 19:35  

Dato'
Book them!!! yes why not!
Book that old man as he is meroyan too much. Book Brahim and all the cabinet ministers,
Book Deepak the carpet man!
And finally everyone has to be booked by PM and when he looks around he has nobody else and he has to book himself.
So it is best for PM to go back to the rakyat and see what happen, no matter how he reshuffles his cabinets but it will not help much of his image. The masses has the answer and that will be the best verdict rather than trying to hold on to power and clinging with the like of Mat Kotak and Brahim.
They are so many AK47 out there waiting to provide the covering fire or ready to go to battle!!!
Will you Dato'or are you ready?
Tension watching the UMNO leaders main wayang kulit as well as the civil sevants and head of GLCs!!!
Book them Mr. PM!!!

Pak Zawi 8 May 2010 at 20:20  

Dato',
The problem is when you are in a leadership position and you have baggage to carry, you can be put to ransom by people who may have personal interest. Under such circumstances how effective can a leader be?

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 21:51  

Dato
Nice one yet again.But who is gonna "book em"?Thats like walking the plank lah dato
A bit of wishfull thinking dato.

Anonymous,  8 May 2010 at 21:54  

legal closure????......only if a guilty as charged verdict is accepted.......so it will never happen.....and we will continue this downward spiral until it begets a revolution!

Red Alfa 8 May 2010 at 23:34  

Salam Dato'

We agree with you that the going will get tougher and we know PM Najib must be a lot tougher so as to get going.

It's just that too many do not regard his swearing on the Quran is not tough. For most of us that's daring oneself to jump over a mountain. It's he making this dare most of us are now very afraid that he will ever succeed.

Wenger J Khairy 9 May 2010 at 03:26  

PM genuinely impressed me with this statement carried on MI which should be taken as a rebuke of Mahanomics (akin to Communism as in the end the state is forced to bail things out and owns enterprises)

“Today, we give shares to the Malays, tomorrow it will be owned by others and this is what we mean by leakages and we don’t want this to occur again.

“If we look at Bumiputera shareholdings, how much is still left in the hands of the Malays? The numbers will be shocking if we mention it,” he said.

The prime minister said if there were no leakages, the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity holding meant for the grouping would have already placed them on a stronger footing economically.

“Maybe something was not right then, that’s why we need the New Economic Model,” Najib said, adding that the government, in their pursuit to help Bumiputeras, would not neglect the other races who qualify for help.

He also called on Bumiputera entrepreneurs to establish business networks in order for them to progress.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said with networking, it would be easy for the government to extend assistance to help them prosper at the state, national, regional and international level.

“Business networking will help small-and-medium enterprises to secure business from big corporations and not solely depend on government contracts,” he added.


He said that via business networking, government assistance would be more business-friendly, transparent and sustainable.



3 Cheers for the PM for that.

Fi-sha 9 May 2010 at 11:12  

Salam

Dear Dato'

They say, "Every action or inaction is a self-portrait of the person who does it or does not do it".

Happy Mother's Day to your better half, Datin Mamasita

Anonymous,  9 May 2010 at 13:40  

bravo as usual from tilianker

Anonymous,  9 May 2010 at 14:28  

Forget it Dato. PM Najib will never do it. There is so much skeletons in his closet. Not only PR politicans knows it. UMNO warlords knows it. The AG knows it. The IGP knows it. Big time cronies know it. The educated and intelligent citizens knows it. Razak Baginda knows it. Bala knows it. Deepak knows it. Special branch knows it. Many judges knows it. Bar council knows it. Foreign journalist knows it. The French knows it. The Mongolians knows it. Musa Safri knows it.

If he tries to change the status quo/culture and honestly do the right thing, the noose will be tightened around his neck. This is fact not fiction. Solution? Kick BN out next election. Period.

Anonymous,  9 May 2010 at 14:47  

I'm no BN fan but I must admit that you got something there. Your suggestion is very bold and you hit the nail on the head. But I doubt Najib will listen to anything you said. He may be No.1 in Umno and the country but he's not his own man. The old fart Mahathir will go berserk if he dump his precious but useless son and promote KJ instead. Too bad things will remain status quo. BN is kaput man. By the way, Najib should command Ro$mah to stay in the kitchen.

Richard Cranium 9 May 2010 at 19:55  

Its a clever correlation Dato is using to link general perception of Zaid's ability to lead (in spite of his xxx ways) with Najib's. You seem to be saying one excuses the other.

Sir, you fail or choose not to see the difference between them.

One man's sins have to do with personal choices. But the other has to do with public fiduciary duties.

I would say, along with millions of people in Malaysia, that Najib has not adequately explained himself about so many scandals that seem to follow him. That, to me, is a deal breaker.

No one is saying that our leaders need to be sinless. But we do insist that they are not transgressors of public trust.

Jayenjr,  9 May 2010 at 21:20  

Sir

If I believe in God, then moral responsibility is of utmost importance, especially in my political leaders. If you look across the US & Europe, they are as good as being Godless nations. And in spite of that, leaders like Bill Clinton still had to be accountable before his nation. For all their warts & not, the Americans were disgusted enough with slick Willie's lying ways that they actually voted Bush in, and kept Al Gore out. It is the same reason why they voted Obama in, and booted out the Republican candidate; the Republican president had lied about Iraq. So you see, moral uprightness plays a role, even in a western society that embraces same sex marriages. How much more we, as a purpotedly God fearing country, should we call for moral dignity from our leaders? The scandals associated with Najib, as you rightly put it, are some of the biggest of their kind. All evidence points to his complicity or involvement in some way. And yet, he refuses to face public enquiry in order that his name be cleared. Is that too much to ask? At least Clinton faced public query. Unless of course, Najib's hiding something...?? Now, how do you think God feels about that, if you believe in God? Do you think that God is content sitting up in heaven with his arms folded? I tell you, God will require a reckoning not just from the man, but from us. Because we as a generation, ignored the cry of justice. And that is a more frightening thought than UMNO losing Putrajaya. Think about it. As a voter, as long as Najib does not answer for Altantuya, UMNO/BN will not have my vote.

Anonymous,  9 May 2010 at 21:29  

With UMNO membership an avenue to riches, ever larger amounts of money were poured into party and general elections to secure positions with access to tenders, licenses and subsidies, while party leaders in turn channeled benefits back to their supporters to maintain their posts.

Across the country, thousands of companies were set up by UMNO divisions, branches and members to collect shares and other forms of patronage allocated to bumiputra enterprises. Malays joined UMNO not so much to do community service anymore, but to make the contacts and get the contracts that would bring easy profits. The phenomenon was known as "money politics"......

His presidency saw the final culmination of a transition from UMNO of humble and self-sacrificing peasants and schoolteachers to a party of self-serving corporate chieftains and dealmakers.

Above extracted from Barry Wain's Malaysian Maverick pg 124. A must read.

Anonymous,  9 May 2010 at 22:50  

Zaid was about morality. PM is more about legal/criminal issues. As Richard Cranium @ 19.55 puts it "No one is saying that our leaders need to be sinless. But we do insist that they are not transgressors of public trust."

PM said : " I've never met that fellow".. then "he came to seek a scholarship" So was he forgetful? Or is he a liar? Note that it is just impossible for anyone to go and see a DPM at the latter's office or residence to seek assistance directly from DPM for a scholarship.

So, apart from morality, criminality, there is also the crisis of credibility gap. This PM is the butt of greater jokes on the street than the last one ever was about his drowsiness. Believe me, and from your article, I think you know that too.

flyer168 10 May 2010 at 08:51  

Dato',

Jibby will always be "Beholden" to Madey.

For as long as Madey is alive, he holds the "Mighty Pen" that Rules Jibby & thus UMNO.

As donplaypuks® said "Jack Lord said "Book 'em, Dano!

The day UMNO/BN lays down a clear policy to combat corruption and croneyism nationally AND actually goes about enforcing it without fear or favour is the day their glory days will return." unquote.

If Jibby Books the Minister in charge of the EPU, followed by the Chain Reaction, etc, it is as good as Booking his Mentor Madey...

Either way Jibby is "cornered" on all sides including from Fat Mama...

Isn't it obvious that Madey's "Final Dream Agenda" is to be "Equal to or Better" than his "Former Mentor PM Tun Razak."

To have his sons "Mokzani as a Senator/Businessman & Mukriz as Senior Minister, followed by being the next DPM & maybe the next PM"

So he has to "Play/Kowtim" both "Jibby & DPM" to see which is the "Weaker Victim" to "use & possibly eliminate" in the first round, followed by the "End-game round" to achieve his "Final Dream Agenda".

Soon we will see the signs...

Cheers.

Anonymous,  10 May 2010 at 12:22  

Dato'

Does two, three or even ten wrongs make one right ?

Yes, no one can claim the moral high ground but the 'rakyat' deserve a leader who is not morally ambiguous.

A leader who admits his mistake is preferred to one who denies wrong doings.

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