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Wednesday 16 April 2014

Re-thinking the PKR Elections



I thought I had written my last article on the PKR elections. In my last article I did say, I want Azmin to win. I gave my reasons. Basically it boils to the contest between political skills and entrepreneurship applied to politics. I speak from observing history when I say we will rue the day we elect to put a business minded person in the position of leadership. They are similar but distinct and operate on different values. Accordingly I cannot place too high a premium on Khalid’s entrepreneurial skills. I don’t wish to repeat myself on this.
But there was one move that puzzled me. Why did Rafizi and Nurulizzah form a team? The team was endorsed in Sabah too.( in the cabang whose MP sits beside me in Parliament) Which means the idea behind the formation has traction in Sabah. Then Tian Chua withdrew from contesting the deputy president. I am expecting the other remaining candidate to eventually withdraw, leaving the battle to become a 3-cornered fight between Azmin, Khalid and Saifudin.
Clearly there was a battle formation.
I have the utmost respect for both these young leaders and even see Rafizi as a prime minister material. Tian Chua has already achieved a legendary status. Plus I don’t want to have my ears bitten. 
They do not make an uncalculated move. To me, the formation of the team clearly indicates and was meant to show to all PKR members, that they should choose Saifudin. Saifudin is the solution to the Mexican standoff between Azmin and Khalid. Both should be reduced to save PKR.
That formation and the comments following my article made me re-look at the issue at hand.
When I read the many comments, there were many who feel strongly against Azmin as deputy president. We must respect their views. Unfortunately not many have rebutted the logic of my arguments, preferring instead to rely on subjective assessments on Azmin. He is greedy, he is that and this. Not persuasive to me. Discerning readers many of whom I suspect are PKR members want to listen to logical rebuttals. And unless there is equally compelling reasoning, the fence sitters are likely to vote in Azmin.
Fortunately, Azmin I think will be the first to disagree with me. People may respond in disjointed fashion but they indicate undercurrents. In response to the formation of the so-called dream team of Saifudin- Rafizi – Nurulizzah, Azmin said that it’s not cartels and groupings that decide the outcome of the contest. It is direct voting by all members.
From experience, I can say this. While that opinion may be true, in practice groupings indicate a consolidation of like-minded forces which Azmin ignores at his peril. Groupings can signal the call for battle formations and helped members make up their minds faster.  Nurulizzah and Rafizi are no lightweights in PKR. Azmin was clearly jolted by that grouping. It showed that senior and powerful PKR leaders are endorsing Saifudin and distancing both Azmin and Khalid.
Then we must remember the unfinished agenda of the kajang move.
Perhaps this was the main objective of the unfinished Kajang move agenda- to diminish both Azmin and Khalid. The war of attrition between both is endangering PKR and so a third person is needed.
Therefore, my own earlier thoughts on the election are not that relevant after all because, in the end, it will be the delegates who will decide. Some will be swayed by objective reasoning and not a few will be influenced by subjective and emotive appeals.
So I have to give space to the dissenters who have strong feelings against Azmin. Last night, I was met up by a PKR leader who admits that he is part of the get Azmin and Khalid out of the way to save PKR. Now, this is a fellow whom I know very well and I don’t take his views lightly. Conceding that I may be wrong in my views, I am giving as much space here to his arguments.
If PKR members were to read this latest article, they may want to use the points here to enhance their decision.
While Azmin’s political skills are appreciated, it is his political character that is a cause of concern. Here is one of the comments from a reader which requires some construction. Construct into what conclusions is entirely up to PKR members.
“I have observed Azmin's actions for a very long time since he came into the PKR picture. He is too greedy to get into power and will go all out to get what he wants or his way. He was willing to sacrifice a parliamentary seat by sabotaging Zaid Ibrahim, although it has now turn out that Zaid and Azmin are in the same boat. Both sore losers and acting like women scorned. In Sabah,he tried to relegate the local warlords to foot soldiers. And Sabah PKR more or less imploded”.
Can this type of comment be representative of the thinking that, Azmin has monarchical tendencies and is an absolutist? That if he comes into power, he will rule close-fisted?
That seems similar to the message that my PKR friend brought to me. That he is meeting me in person indicates that he feels strongly about this aspect of Azmin’s leadership.
The commentator continued:-
Put Azmin into any position of power, whether it is deputy president or president of PKR or MB and Umnoputras will be dancing crazily celebrating on the streets. It is much easier for Umno/BN to floor PR with Azmin in power than Khalid, Nurul or even the street brawler Rafizi.
To get into power by backstabbing, sabotaging and cheating and doing all dirty tricks on anyone deemed a threat to oneself, even to the extent of de-stabilising the party and grassroots supporters is not the one to lead the PR to Putrajaya. What I do expect if Azmin gets to be deputy president and later president is more likely PKR will self-implode before GE14.
Some parts of some comments I have edited to interpret a clearer line of thinking:-
When he did not want to assist MB Khalid in handling certain issues, it only shows his own ambitiousness, his domineering bad leadership hidden behind the sunglasses. Furthest from his mind is Selangor remaining in Pakatan's collaborative leadership, the Selangorians' interests and staying true to fighting harder against the umno baru leaders. We cannot gamble our votes for such a shady politician - who has reigned in Anwar with ghost blackmailing aka demands and too many childish sulking.
Many remember Azmin and Zuraidah showcasing themselves on a huge signboard - the early sign of extravagance, wastage and arrogance, open to the insatiable lust of the hearts and minds - corruptions once they ascend to power.
I could have written those lines in a different style- but who am I to modify what was said coming direct from this person’s heart?
In the end, perhaps what PKR really needs is a compromised candidate. I don’t know Saifudin sufficiently to evaluate him. I wish PKR members all the best. Do what you think is best for PKR.

14 comments:

bruno 16 April 2014 at 07:17  

Dato,first of all thanks for highlighting some of my comments for your readers to read.Maybe now I think that I should be a bigger busybody.

Like yourself,I also do not know much about Saifudin.All I know was that he was with Anwar for a long time,maybe in Umno and later in PKR if my memory is correct.But he do not have a good record in elections.Maybe that will change,as everybody shall have his day sooner or later.

Like I said before,if it is between Khalid and Azmin,I will definitely choose Khalid.Unless Saifudin have the support of many senior party leaders to back him,he will have a hard time to win.

But if Saifudin can win and bring all the factions together as a party,then we should all give him a chance to prove his worth.In the end all we want is someone with leadership capabilities to lead the PR into Putrajaya.

walla 16 April 2014 at 07:41  

The problem with politics is it subsumes the will and wishes of the majority to the character and agenda of the individual politician.

You see that in Umno and its Barisan components.

One would think in Pakatan things would be different because Pakatan is just volunteers coming together to ride and help articulate the will and wishes of the rakyat.

So when did Pakatan a movement become just a political entity as antidote to Barisan with all the connotations associated with politics all these years in this land? When did Pakatan become a lesser body to the individuals who are helming the seats? When were the hope of the rakyat transmuted down to the ambitions of some of its individuals?

If we realize when we just talk about the intra-politics of Pakatan we are only letting us fall into the laps of Umno's machinations of perfidy, then wisdom would say - solve the internal conflict above all. Don't parade inadequacies on the rakyats' garden.

People have argued that Pakatan was just a marriage of convenience. Pakatan starts with a P. Dap? pappish. Pas? parochial. Pkr? polysemous. Do we want all that to start germinating weed? Don't we know how bloody expensive are herbicides these days?

Wake up Malaysia is now reduced to Wake up Pakatan.

We keep on seeing the same faces doing the same things. Get more greats in. Do more to show everyone remembers how Pakatan the movement came about in the first place. Don't burn that bridge to the rakyat.

Who gives a shit which name and face is on the tabloid as having done this or that or said that or this? It doesn't matter so long as the right thoughts are remembered that produce the right actions to deliver the right results on time within budget to maximum impact for rakyat and nation.

Today our society is broken up. Our economy gives some semblance of progress but when you open the can, glow-worms come out that show they are radioactive for the next fifty years. Our peoples can't think, can't talk and can't even walk properly. Too much fat. Not even good as fertilizers.

The same clueless tidakpathy rolls on bigger and bigger from one generation to the next.

If the present group in Pakatan cannot get its act together, then close shop. Let the rakyat die. Let this nation slide into oblivion. What the heck for we waste our time thinking and talking about who this who that? For what? How long does a term last that great things can be done within the time limit that will stop the onslaught of an Umno that has become the epitome of racist Malayism? The stupidity, incompetence and mediocrity are bonus.

I blame it on Anwar. He's not an organizational man. But because of that, one would have expected everyone else to have realized it from the very beginning and moved to do something about it, put personal ambitions away, come out of the cocksure lowlife shadows, and work as a team without fear, favor or barter.

You know what all this reminds me? Our badminton technique. We work bloody hard to win a serve in a critical match. Twenty backbreaking smashes to gain back the serve. Then we tilt the wrist and lop the shuttlecock at the net back into our own court, giving advantage to the other side at the most critical moment. And lost the match.

Do the right thing in the right way. Smash to win not to get back the serve.

Really crappy country, aren't we? See how we have slid people, society, thoughts, standards, behavior. Just a bunch of banged bung's.

No?

Anonymous,  16 April 2014 at 08:07  

It seems that Azmin has a perception problem. He comes across as someone who will eventually implode PKR if he call the shots in the party. This is the worrying part of PKR members.

To kill of PKR, UMNO will want him to win in order to do the dirty work for them. On the other hand, UMNO will also be happy if he loses his bid to remain as Deputy President as there is a possibility that Azmin will throw in the towel and jump ship.

As an outsider, my view is that it is better to get rid of Azmin as he is a potential threat to PKR and Pakatan. It is therefore not surprising that both DAP and PAS do not warm up to Azmin.

I think that the members of the so-called election pact are looking at the bigger picture in ensuring that PKR and Pakatan remain strong.

Anonymous,  16 April 2014 at 08:08  

Team Wawasan is coming back!!!!!

Anonymous,  16 April 2014 at 09:04  

Dato, everyone has their own opinion. But don't forget our top priority is to get rid of those scumbags & morons from UMNO/BN. To me it doesn't matter who leads PKR, as long as he or she can lead PR to take over Putrajaya.

KTWong87,  16 April 2014 at 10:55  

I have long held that Azmin is not someone whom I'd like to support much less vote for if I could help it. I think he is domineering and over-ambitious, has a ketuanan-slant and that there are likely grounds for some to allege that he is given to UMNO-style patronage politics, even to the extent of cronyism or worse even.

But recently I had the chance to observe him off-duty, mixing amongst the grassroots at a PKR event. He was down to earth then, happy to sit on the ground amongst the ordinary folks, not putting on any airs. Somewhat shy even. I figure that just like with Hisham, when politics and power are taken out of the equation, I might find him someone whom I can be friends with.

MB Khalid conversely, is someone whom I'd likely be happy to have the chance to be friends with, in power or out. He does have faults - for instance, his handling of the JAIS-BSM bibles issue is abysmal, to say the least. But I think he is a first class administrator. A lousy politician (which to me is a big part of why I think highly of him).

Saifuddin... I still recall his role in 1996 as then Umno Youth secretary, when he had led the mob of thugs which thrashed the APCET II conference in the old Merlin Hotel (reportedly at the behest of Megat Junid). But he has apologied for his error, and does appear to have reformed since joining PKR into a mature-minded moderate. Thus far, I would tend to believe that his new persona is likely to hold.

So if I was a PKR member, who would I vote for to be PKR Deputy President?

I'd have to remind myself that I am not voting for who I can be friends with, but for someone I can trust to lead PKR, help Pakatan towards capturing Putrajaya and maintain the fight for a better and far more just/equitable Malaysia. Management of the economy is important, but not essential if the person is willing to count on support of able-minded subordinates (of which there are a number in PKR/Pakatan). Too much continued arrogant-racist UMNO DNA (shades of Shahidan Kassim!) is a definate no-no.

I'd vote for Saifuddin.

Anonymous,  16 April 2014 at 11:11  

I am more inclined towards Saifudin as Deputy.
Khalid is a no, no. As for Azmin,though an astute politician, I suggest he waits a few more years until he becomes more mellow and matured.

bumi-non-malay 16 April 2014 at 14:58  

To FIX PKR ...First and foremost...PKR Resign out of Sabah & Sarawak..... So stupid those Losers still with PKR in Sabah/Sarawak while their PKR Main HQ on Fire....

Join UBF...STAR....DAP...USNO...any Anti UMNO-BN will do...not those ex-BN Crap...like that Yong Tek Lee sham.....of Taib PBB Crap....


Jurang Perbezaan Korrupsi antara Negara Islam Malaysia dan Negara Kristian Australia...adalah bagaikan Menteri Besar New South Wales baru letak Jawatan kerana lupa DECLARE Wine $3000 saja....Kat Malaysia.....bukan saja penerima Korupsi berjuta Billion tak di saman, Malah berani bertindak LIAR terhadap Rakyat..... Kerana Jurang perbezaan ini Rakyat Malaysia Harus BERONTAK Macam MAT KILAU...... Kalau tidak Islam TERUS Dihina UMNO-BN dengan sokongan ELITE A & S...buat macam tak boleh dicam ...secara senyap...Buat Kacau..... Misalnya.....bersambung

Anonymous,  16 April 2014 at 20:52  

That comments definitely from some one who disagree with Azmin and Khalid is useless politician to be brutal and he should step aside rather than feeling he is the smartest guy around with money. For Saifuddin he is an elitist and of the same character when he was in UMNO-no grass root and is just like Khalid perasan je...but has little money
for Nurul and Rafizi both lack the maturity and wisdom hence they both are easily used by someone who is the Tok Dalang. So you need to know the tok dalang strategic team in PKR....I see PKR will not go far...

Anonymous,  16 April 2014 at 21:32  

Precisely Khalid is a not a politician as almost all politicians are great manipulators. His : unblemished ( nearly ) integrity, the right and consistent professionalism, the progressive maturity and extreme diligence, non-talker, non-seeker for publicity, not overtone in rigidity or camouflaged in this that legality of pura2 alim.

Any leaders in Pakatan Rakyat who demonstates the prerequisites consistently – is worth his / her salt. That's it.

I give Khalid tabik spring because he is a good Muslim with dignity and integrity, he did not assassinate Azmin like what mahathir mamak did to DS Anwar and Azmin. Azmin should be eternally grateful to HIM, apa nak lagi. So he crazes for power and position ?

A hard doer who fulfills the requirements for the stability and create more progress in Selangor ... ok think about the many critical issues in relation to the overpopulation of polaroid citizens awaiting to explode, the water shortage issue, we need great talents of both young and seniors with integrity and high competence, to take these issues fast, nothing less, not giving a damn if he is not a politician.

With many more aggressive developments, will raw water be "cultivated" ? And the rate affordable even to the low income earners ? Will it be a higher rate for posh condos and bungalows in tandem with their disposable obscene incomes ?

It would be just as trailblazing if corporates in the caliber of Tony Fernandez, Nazir Abdul Razak are seconded as MB of an area whereby they develop the communities and sustain their welfare from short to long term. Why ?

Politicians ? Charisma alone ? Precisely it takes collaborative team work : mentoring , strengthening, complementing and counterchecking each other and Walk the Talks as a team in Pakatan Rakyat. And like Walla stoically advise : no washing of dirty linen in public.

Candidly, it is azmin and his mama's attitudes , many do give a bloody damn as it rocks the hopes for the Rakyat. Strictly nothing personal.

Politicians who are totally dependent on charisma and high profile scripted speeches carry سيف ذو حدين a double edged sword. All of them - extravagant, uber arrogant - repulsively irrelational to the ordinary Rakyat, their criticisms , struggles and aspirations.

Now even the wives of Hisamuddin and Muhidyin are faking smiles - dah terhempas ke tanah, Hidup pemimpin2 ANGKUH Umno Baru !! Sedih sgt yg tak terlibat dlm dna kebencian, oppressive policies atau makan duit haram turut terkena bahangan derita. On second thought, good souls go rest in the best of place with the Creator.

The latest incidents are paralyzing enough, but will they shake off a lot of nonsense ? Failing to address many critical issues fast, the next fearsome incident, might cut off the lifeline of Malaysia - the easy invasion. From within : the polaroids and outside.

The brutal truth being told, sophiscated assets pun tak berguna because of insane suspicion, the capibility to use and maintain them in the highest efficiency is grossly compromised due to maha racist’ policies – collaborative real Malaysian talents and integrity is prejudiced to the detrimental of the Nation’s security and sovereignty.

Greenbug 17 April 2014 at 02:54  


I just disliked how Azmin and Zuraidah openly attacked MB Khalid Ibrahim and his assistant Faekah with no respect and protocol - for the sake of fighting them and disregarding the damages done to PKR and PR as a whole. It was a sign of blatant arrogance very similar to the powerful UMNO warlords and I and my friends were totally turned off.

So, if MB Khalid has to go, I would opt for Saifuddin... at least I think I can trust this man...

bruno 17 April 2014 at 07:25  

Dato,I just read that Karpal was killed in a car crash.My condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.

Anonymous,  17 April 2014 at 22:08  

Such a sad day for all Malaysians.
Mr. Karpal Singh, is not only the Tiger of Jelutong but also the Tiger of the Court of Malaysia fighting fearlessly for justice, true democracy, human rights and freedom. He loves people : Chinese, Indians and Malays, more so the poor and the voiceless - Malaysia. And he loves law.

My heartfelt condolences to his beloved wife and family. The heart is overwhelmed with great sadness. Condolences to his loyal aide/ assistant C. Michael' s family.

He deserves a state funeral for all he had done for Malaysians.

Mr. Karpal Singh is the Father of Malaysia's True Democracy.

Malaysians will miss him. Immensely. God bless his soul.

Anonymous,  18 April 2014 at 07:46  

A state funeral with friends like Nawawi Ahmad and Zulkifli Noordin around?

A giant sleeps but he is still awake to many.

My heartfelt condolences to his family.

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