How to FU- foul up

When Tun Razak called a few of his associates over to the house, Najib who was then a young boy was playing upstairs. House was Sri Taman. Najib was a hyperactive boy when young. He would throw small objects such as scissors downstairs and Tun Razak's friends would laugh at his antics.

He was not mindful of what the father was doing. What the father did was call in local talent to brainstorm what to do. In education Tun Razak woul call people like Ainudin Wahid ( the boss of UTM for a long time) Professor Zainal Abidin Wahid, Syed Nasir, Rahman Talib and so forth. They would then plan what to do.

Similarly in economics, Razak would call people like the Kuantan born Thong Yaw Hong, the young Navaratnam to map out economic strategies. Tun Razak employed brainy people like Zain Azrai. He used local talent because these people know local conditions.

And Tun Razak himself thought hard about his vision. He wasn't sparse and miserly on using the grey matter.

Unfortunately Najib didn't learn. He prefers to use APCO for his PR because his media advisers say APCO is good. For business and economic modeling, he uses Mckinsey. Even the NEAC's NEM was crafted by 10 people but heavily flavored with text book business and economic language not any different if we are redaing university books. The only thing good about these entities is the fees they charged. They run into millions.

After reading the thick NEM document by the NEAC, I come away with the conclusion, a few of us can do a better job. Najib should have used talent from the university the father set up- the Universiti Kebangsaaan. Even octogenarian Ungku Aziz can still contribute ideas.

Just who the hell counseled Najib to set up these things?

The greatest danger Najib is facing now, is the disconnect between him and the reality on the ground. This will prove to be his undoing.

What do people think about his pillar of 1 Malaysia? just another slogan to identify his uniqueness. Every PM since Mahathir seems to have one. But Najib sees to have outdone everyone. He has 1 Malaysia, GTP, ETP, NEM, SRIs, NKRAs, NKEAs etc etc. if our leaders mean it's about living together harmoniously, we have been doing that for a long time. As best as we could.

We quarrel only when politicians harped on our differences. Otherwise our leaders go go international when going to bed, they and we do business with each other. Indeed it is a common practice among those in power to take money more easily from others not of the same race. Otherwise we aren't particularly conscious of our racial differences.

The fundamental cause of ethnic frictions is the economic disparities. This leadership hasn't solved the problem of economic disparities since it became a national issue from 1970. That's 40 years.

Just look around us. In 1979 when I started working, the graduate earned probably around RM 1200. Now the starting pay is around RM 2000. It has increase only 2 times. A car costing RM 7000 now costs RM 40,000. That has increased 6 times. A house? What used to cost 20,000 now costs 180,000? The bloody cost of living has outstripped our earning capacity by so many times!. Economics is the main issue. Make us rich, we don't care about the racial differences.

Ok, we want to get to an income level of USD 15-20k. in 10 years. How do we get there? By leveraging on the 8 SRIs- don't laugh. Its acronym time once more. Strategic reform initiatives.

I could almost hear the solemn declaration that we need steely political resolve and will. Well, begin by fortifying the PM's resolve first. He is fast becoming a better flip flopper than Pak Lah. He says the recommendations in the NEM are not finalized yet.

The ETP which was a major show was delegated to the most junior minister. We would have thought, such a program of gargantuan proportions- spending 1.44 trillion over 10 years required the steady hands of the PM himself. Now, we know, if Idris Jala can do the presentation, anyone can. You just have to read the script.

Break logjam of vested interests. Well, let's start with a moratorium banning the participation of the big players for a while. Najib will not dare do this. Even as we write, Syed Mokhtar is writing plans to take over UEM, to take over the RRI land and lands belonging to the government. No open bidding. Desmond Lim the developer of Pavilion was tasked to develop the Sungei Besi after the other brokers found no one had the experience do so. He is also busy writing business plans to take over such things like Bakun and other things. Jho Low and LTAT didn't have the technical expertise to develop real property, so lets call in Cindy and Desmond.

Break the logjam of vested interests by saying, thank you for your kind inputs and now let's open up the bidding. You people have reaped the pre harvests, let others benefit now. but to some people, Najib's re-energizing the private sector means, giving sweetheart deals to selected market players.

If people say this is good economics, please carry on. We shall delight in attacking your deceit.

Tweet

Read more...

The ETP Show

 

When I wrote a series of articles on the ETP, many gave just a passing interest look. I said the ETP is nothing but an amalgam of business proposals submitted by a few selected private sector players. I mentioned that the ETP will favor the existing players- the MMC Gamuda, YTLs, Berjayas, SP Setias, the Nazas and the Syed MOkhtars.

Well, today, we know Syed Mokhtar has submitted a few bids to develop land belonging to the government. Let's see whether the Najib administration which is seen to overtake Pak Lah's flip flopping work ethics will seal the deal.

The ETP was probably prepared by McKinsey Consulting company with inputs provided by selected market players. It cant be authored by Idris Jala because if he had done so, it would have been done in Bahasa Melayu.

Who provides reference for these market players? People at the PM's office and the MOF, the various nefarious gatekeepers who are making hay while the sun son shines.

I have said it and will say it again. The ETP is a business plan from the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Well, you can fool some people sometime, all the people some time, but not all the people all the time.

Tweet

Read more...

Financing our path to perdition

The first thing PM Najib must remember is to never appoint the imbecilic Reezal Merican to any high office. He is the manifestation of utter hypocrisy. Sometimes the food that we eat, we are not sure of its integrity- whether its cooked the halal or non halal way, whether the utensils used are halal or aren't etc etc. therefore, without the benefit of prescient and forensic knowledge of its integrity, we tawakkal and eat the food. We are never asked to get into the minute details as to the origins of things.

When we slaughter the sheep or the cows during hari raya korban, how do we know whether our sheep and cows have not eaten somebody else's crops or have eaten unclean material? If they did, that would make our animals unclean. They have eaten stolen food source. We can't offer them as sacrifice.

We don't know. We are not instructed to CSI our animals or food. Similarly, in determining the sanctity of our income sources, we are not asked to be CSI specialists. We don't know the religious integrity of our income sources unless we have direct information over the sources.

But our esteemed Pak Nana, is an CSI specialist. He knows the sources of the wang ehsan given to the god fearing golden men and women as not halal. So our poor chaps retuned the wang ehsan. They were crying not because they felt guilty, but were because they had to return the money. On TV we saw UMNO leaders instigating and encouraging people to place the RM 100 into plastic containers. They were probably saying- tak pa, hang pulang semua duit depa, cek beri hangpa lebih banyak. Dua ratuih pun takpa. Nana Merican dok janji. Dia beri hangpa RM 500 sorang. Hangpa raya sakan.

Our Pak nana Reezal Merican has never been an ADUN or MP. Perhaps, because of that he doesn't know where the government gets its revenues. He may have gotten his through shares( halal of course) or by offering his services as gatekeeper for political and business hopefuls to get to the inner sanctums of Pak Lah, when the latter was PM of Malaysia. his income was therefore pure and unblemished.

Accordingly, we shall be happy to instruct him where government gets its revenues. It gets revenues mainly from taxes and non taxes, dividends and interests from investments etc. hopefully, because Reezak Naina can read and understand English, I hope he will also tell those 50 elderly god fearing people, where the BN government gets its revenues. I hope when Naina Merican made his earth shattering claim that the Penang government gave money to recipients earned through haram sources, he can provide unchallengeable proof. I am also hoping, Naina Merican did not make his startling discovery because of a sudden upsurge of Islamic consciousness.

All manners of economic activities are subject to government taxation. Income earned from the rearing of pigs, from the sale of alcohol, from the earnings of entertainment outlets including of course from prostitution go into government coffers in the form of taxes. We must also not forget, the taxes from gaming activities, from Genting and other forms of gambling. Even revenue earned from fees levied on the issuance of licenses to gambling outlets, fees on liquor stores constitute also revenue to the government. These are haram.

From these sources, the government pays its employees, ministers etc. so in line with imam Reezal's call, we now urge all ministers and the 1.2. million civil servants to return a big chunk of their earnings to the government.

UMNO has been receiving money from numerous non halal and disputable sources. When it did, it did not question the religious sanctity or integrity of the money. The imams and Muftis also received the same money from the government. Perhaps they offered special prayers to launder the money. If they have special prayers, maybe they would like to share with ordinary Muslims, on how to convert unclean money into clean. Or perhaps, Pak Nana Reezal being a graduate of IIU, can go on TV, tell us how.

Tweet

Read more...

Masa depan orang UMNO.

 

Pimpinan UMNO agaknya tidak mendengar suara murba- musyarakat bawahan. Suara yang kita boleh dengar di warung kopi, dalam surau dan masjid dan kantin pejabat kerajaan. Apakah natijah suara tersebut?

Natijah nya ialah UMNO dalam keadaan amat bahaya. Jenama UMNO sudah jadi jenama yang jijik. UMNO tidak dapat lagi mengaku yang ia nya mewakili orang Melayu. Itulah fakta yang kita terjemah dari keputusan PRU 12 tempoh hari.

Calun2 UMNO hanya mendapat 2.38 juta undian. Tentulah daripada jumlah undian tersebut, sebahagianya datang dari undian bangsa bukan Melayu. Jika kita tolak 380 ribu undian bukan Melayu, maka undian solid orang Melayu untuk calun UMNO hanya 2 juta orang.

Bukan main gegak gempita dan goga orang UMNO menjerit bahawa kita parti terbesar. Ada 3 jua lebih ahli UMNO. Nah, jika kita hanya mendapat 2 juta undian solid orang Melayu, ini bererti 1 juta lebih ahli UMNO tidak keluar mengundi atau tidak mengundi calun UMNO. Soalan: bagaimana kita mengembalikan keyakinan orang Melayu, jika kita tidak terdaya mengembalikan keyakinan ahli UMNO sendiri?

Kemudian, kita mesti sedar perkara berikut. Jumlah pengundi Melayu dalam PRU 2008 ialah 5.7 juta. Tentulah ini bermakna 3.7 orang Melayu tidak menyokong UMNO. Bererti lagi, lebih ramai orang Melayu menolak UMNO dari menerima UMNO.

Apa sudah jadi? Pimpinan UMNO tidak sedar.

Orang Melayu di Pulau Pinang, di Kedah, di Kelantan, di Selangor, di Wilayah Persekutuan, tidak pula mati layu terkulai apabila UMNO kalah dalam negeri negeri tersebut. Suara dari rakyat menunjukkan bahawa Perak akan jatuh kembali ke tangan pembangkang, Terengganu akan jatuh, Negeri Sembilan akan jatuh. Ini bererti 7 negeri di Semenanjung akan jatuh di tangan pembangkang.

BN mungkin dapat mengekalkan pemerintahan di Sabah dan Sarawak. Namun ada kemungkinan juga, banyak kerusi parlimen di negeri tersebut akan jatuh ke tangan bukan BN. Berkuasa di kerajaan negeri tidak sebaik mendapat kuasa di peringkat parlimen.

Jika lebih banyak kerusi parlimen di kuasai oleh pembangkang, ini bermakna BN dan UMNO akan hilang kuasa federal. Jika ini berlaku, Dato Najib tidak dapat mempertahankan kedududukan nya sebagai ketua kerajaan peringkat federal. Orang lain yang command the majority of support in Parliament akan jadi PM dan membentuk kerajaan yang baru.

Orang UMNO tidak sedar juga, didalam negeri yang mereka kuasai pun, ada kerusi kerusi Parlimen yang akan jatuh. Negeri yang saya familiar ialah Negeri Pahang. Yang saya rasa, kawasan parlimen yang BN akan kalah ialah di Kuantan, Indera Mahkota, Paya Besar, Raub, Jerantut dan mungkin juga Bera.

Parti parti bukan BN akan mencari tokoh politik yang mereka rasa boleh mendapat keyakinan non partisan. DAP tidak dapat menerima kepimpinan PAS peringkat Nasional. Demikian juga sebalik nya, PAS tidak dapat menerima kepimpinan DAP peringkat nasional. Walaupun mereka boleh berkerjasama, tapi dalam isiu pimpinan nasional tidak semestinya mereka sepakat. DAP juga akan realistic bahawa pemimpin nya tidak dapat menjadi PM dan saya rasa mereka rasional dalam hal ini. Pimpinan PKR sudah pun melihat melepasi Anwar Ibrahim. Mengenai sebab mereka bersikap demikian, mereka sahaja yang tahu.

Demikian juga ahli ahli parlimen dari Sabah dan Sarawak tidak lagi mempunyai kepercayaan dengan politik BN. Seperti rakan rakan semenanjung mereka akan melihat kepada tokoh yang mereka yakin dapat command the respect of the majority of parliamentarians.

Orang UMNO masih bergentayangan. Mereka ingat hanya dengan melaungkan slogan UMNO itu Melayu dan Melayu itu UMNO sudah cukup untuk mengkat kesetiaan orang Melayu. Kalau cerita dongeng zaman purba kala, mungkin tanggapan demikian ada kebenaran. 
Siapa kah tokoh tersebut? 

Tweet

Read more...

Fatmi Salleh untuk DUN Galas

 

Saya rasa orang yang paling layak jadi calun ADUN di Glas ialah SU Politik PM, iaitu Fatmi Salleh dia adalah ketua UMNO Bahagian Kota Bharu. Oleh kerana peluang untuk Fatmi menang di Kota Bharu dalam kapasiti apa pun sangat tipis dan kosong, maka elok dia di beri peluang untuk jadi ADUN. Dia pun tidak pernah jadi ADUN jadi elok dia di beri peluang supaya rakyat Kelantan dapat menikmati kepimpinan dan perkhidmatan Fatmi.

Tidak perlu kita hendak memaksa Ku Li jadi ADUN Galas. Saya sudah sebut, cubaan ini sama seperti menggunakan kuda lumba untuk menarik kereta lembu. Apabila kita meletakkan pemimpin pada tempat yang tidak kena dengan kapasiti dan kemampuan, nya, ia menunjukkan kecetekan minda kita.

Cuba kita lihat rekod Ku Li. Dalam pertandingan UMNO melawan Dr Mahathir, dia hanya kalah 41 undi. Itu pun keputusan tersebut sangat sangat mencurigakan. Dia juga pengasas parti Semangat 46. Dia bekas menteri kewangan. Dia pengerusi Petronas dan Bank Bumiputera yang pertama. Dengan latar belakang rekod seperti ini, lojik mengatakan Ku Li patut di beri tempat dalam barisan kepeimpinan negara, bukan negeri. Biarlah kepimpinan negeri di terajui oleh orang seperti Fatmi,

Lagi pun jika Fatmi di pilih sebagai calun, dia bukan sahaja membawa diri nya dan menebus kekalahan nya di Kota Bharu, tapi membawa dan mewakili suara PM. Tidak mungkin suara keramat PM tidak laku di DUN Galas? Lagi pun, standard Fatmi hanya sesuai untuk tahap DUN sahaja.

Rakyat DUN Galas jika pilih Fatmi akan mendapat suatu lorong penghubung secara lansung kepada PM. PM Najib pula patut beri peluang kepada Fatmi daripada memberi peluang dia menyibuk di pejabat PM. Bukan kah Fatmi ini kalah sebagai calun parlimen KB dan patut lah di beri peluang untuk berkhidmat sebagai ADUN Galas. Saya percaya, Fatmi dapat menyalurkan 1001 bantuan dan kemewahan kepada rakyat Galas. Beras, kambing, rumah PPRT, lembu dan kerbau, beg sekolah, basikal, atap rumah, kasut dan lain lain.

Ada banyak benda yang tak kena dengan DUN Galas. Pertama, lazim nya, yang menjadi pengarah pilihanraya kecil ialah timbalan presiden UMNO dan TPM. Dia akan di bantú oleh ketua Perhubunan UMNO Negeri. Tidak pernah terjadi Ketua Bahagian menjadi pengarah Operasi. Memang betul, walaupun tidak pernah terjadi, tapi tidak mustahil di lakukan.

Apakah UMNO sudah ketandusan bakat pemimpin sehingga mahukan Tengku Razaleigh jadi calun ADUN? Ini membayangkan penggunaan bakat yang tidak bijak. Pengalaman dan ketokohan TRH sepatutnya di manfaatkan untuk kepentingan di peringkat nasional.

Saya rasa Ku LI tidak perlu membuat lebih dari apa yang sepatut di lakukan oleh seorang Ketua Bahagian. Iaitu memobilisasikan jentera pilihanraya, memastikan kemudahan untuk tukang kempen dari luar di layani dengan baik. Dan seperti di mana mana PRK, biarlah pasukan luar ini yang buat kerja lebih. Pasukan tempatan hanya berfungsi sebagai pemudah cara dan jadi pemandu pelancung.

Peranan Ku Li adalah lebih besar dari peranan ADUN. Dia boleh menjadi suara penyatu suatu caucus- yakni perhimpunan ahli politik yang berstau fikiran melihat keadaan yang berlaku dalam negara kita.

KU Li merupakan satu satu nya pemimpin yang bertaraf negarawan yang di hormati oleh lebih banyak pihak dari mana mana tokoh pemimpin yang ada sekarang. Dia mendapat penghormatan dan sokongan dari non partisan polítical forces. Yang demikian, Ku Li mempunyai potensi untuk di jadikan faktor penyatu kepada tenaga tenaga yang mahu menyelamatkan Malaysia. Saya merasakan lebih elok, kita memanfaatkan Tengku Razaleigh dalam kapasiti ini.

Dan perkara ini patut di teliti dengan halus oleh ahli UMNO sendiri. Jika apa apa berlaku kepada UMNIO yang ada sekarang, sekurang kurang, peluang untukk menyelamatkan UMNO masih ada pada Ku Li. Kita mesti faham perkara ini.

Tweet

Read more...

No burden, carry rocks- tiada beban, batu di galas.

This is an old Malay proverb. It means, the stupidity of someone who proactively seeks to burden himself. At the end of the day, people mock his stupidity. You begin with having no problem, but you intentionally create one for yourself.

I read with incredulity a suggestion that TRH-Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah be made the BN candidate for Galas state seat. That would be like using a thoroughbred horse pulling a milk cart. Why don't we suggest that TRH be made the finance minister instead?

This is the major problem within UMNO. All this talk about human capital, people being the most important asset etc etc are just gimmicks to show you have read the current management literature. When it comes to practice, you throw out everything through the window. The number one rule is, it's all in the name of expediency.

In the case of the Galas by election, TRH should be asked to do what is expected of a Ketua Bahagian. If you want to ask him to be the director of operations in the elections, ask him to suggest the candidate. After all he is the ketua Bahagian, the most senior of all the MPs in Parliament.

Coming back to asking him to be an ADUN. He is a former finance minister, the first chairman of PETRONAS. His credentials will probably fill up the suitcases of many UMNO leaders. Clearly that suggestion is an attempt to further humiliate the only UMNO leader now who commands non partisan respect.

Tengku Razaleigh as long as he is healthy in body and mind is more suitable for national office. With the country facing a lot of economic problems and a serious creditability image, the better strategy is to appoint TRH to a senior government post and then persuade him to lead BN in Galas buy by-election. You remember what the former Speaker of Congress Tip O'Neill said of Reagan- when Reagan was compared to some respected leader- half of that man's brain is equivalent to the whole of Reagan's person. The same thing can be said of Tengku Razaleigh compared to many UMNO leaders now. 

Update:

I hear on this 9th of October, the man with the personality of a wooden post, Dato Mustapha Mohamad will lead a delegation, welcoming back TRH from overseas trip. This kind of reception is usually accorded to statesman with a stature like Dr. Mahathir or currently serving PM. if it has come to this, it can only mean, the the acceptance of Ku Li as Director of Operations is not a done deal. Muhyidin is therefore doing a kite flying ruse. Who is Muhyidin trying to spook into action? 
Here is a man whose insights and accumulated wisdom you can leverage in managing the country, but has so far been ignored. Its like Singapore dismissing the wisdom and insights of MM Lee Kuan Yew. TRH shouldn't be asked to do more that what is expected of a Ketua Bahagian. He is as loyal as any other UMNO leader to the causes of UMNO. With this kind of stature, people are asking him to be ADUN of Galas. Its like asking Dato Najib to be the ADUN of Peramu Jaya in Pekan.

Tweet

Read more...

Tengku Razaleigh and Galas

 

Tengku Razaleigh is suddenly placed on a pedestal. Otherwise this PM we never had, lives like a hermit in Langkak Golf. He is ignored by the UMNO big bosses. Of use only when expediency dictates it.

Take Muhyidin for example. Muhyidin was extra friendly with him at one time because MUhyidin wanted him to challenge Pak Lah. Muhyidin prodded Razaleigh on, scaring the diffident Najib into action. Once the game was afoot, Muhyidn was behind Najib.

At his abode, he receives visitors regularly. Even UMNO people too. But UMNO people have this habit of coming like invisible men- afraid of prying eyes. Afraid to be seen with this much respected politician. Should he rise to the occasion, these people will gravitate towards hims like moths to flame.

His name has now become current all because of Galas, a state constituency in his Gua Musang seat. The DPM calls him and invited him to become the Operations Director of the Galas by election. This task is usually undertaken by the DPM with assistance from the Ketua Perhubungan Negeri. In the case of Kelantan- the man with the personality of a lamp post straddling the roads in Gua Musang, Mustafa Mohamad.

So Galas to Tengku Razaleigh will become, the proverbial, you swallow, father will die, you regurgitate, mother dies.

UMNO has never learn to treat its seniors civilly or politely. Imagine this. If UMNO doesn't win Galas, people will say, it's because TRH hasn't done a good joib. He has no influence. Or even worse, TRH will be accused as the enemy under the blanket. If UMNO wins, it's the effort of many, not TRH. Success has got many fathers, failure is an orphan.

I think it's the Kelantan Perhubungan Negeri's call. This will be a barometer whether the UMNO Negeri has carried out ground work in the interim. If it loses, it will also explode the myth and empty promises by Kelantan leaders, that they are ready to re take Kelantan.

TRH does not have to prove anything in Galas.

Indeed, I would suggest that UMNO stand aside to give PAS a walkover in the name of Malay unity. The reason is this: it can show the other non Malay components in BN, that UMNO can and is willing to unite for a common cause. Which is Malay unity. If PAS plays along, UMNO's decision will have the effect of creating mistrust in PR's camp. Lets hasten the anarchy within the opposition.

Tweet

Read more...