Readings from Pekan

Rahimi Abdul Samad is the now previous UMNO youth head of Pekan division. Yesterday, Sunday the 26^th of October, Rahimi ceases to become the ketua Pemuda UMNO Bahagian Pekan. The new man is Encik Jefri Abdul Kadir. Jefri Abdul Kadir will bring in a new work ethics into UMNO youth. Hopefully, he will be able to inculcate progressive values in pergerakan pemuda UMNO Pekan.

As for Rahimi, he will now be a marked man. He has shown himself to be a partisan youth head insisting on nominating KJ. A few days ago, while the pemudas wanted to invite Mukhriz, Rahimi went behind their backs and brought KJ at the 11^th hour. And so KJ managed to get a hastily arranged meeting with youth delegates at a restaurant called Bamboo, in Pekan. That last minute trick so incensed the majority of Pemudas, that they went to a another function. As for Rahimi himself, it is anyone’s guess what benefits he got from KJ.

This morning, Rahimi tried to do another sleight of hand trick. He nominated KJ for the youth head’s post and arranged for another supporter to have the nomination closed. Big mistake. It was rousingly condemned and rejected. KJ got 18 votes to Khir’s 40 and Mukhriz 204.

Rahimi is now offering himself for a place as a delegate to the UMNO general assembly. With the shenanigans and tricks that he wanted to hoist upon the pemuda UMNO Pekan, they all should decide to ditch him into oblivion. Let’s give a clear message. Otherwise he will always remain a thorn in the flesh.

On Saturday, the Javanese from Selangor came. Yes, the Javanese mampir to ask the UMNO boys, wis mangan? He has come for a courtesy call to ask our boys in Pekan, have they eaten?

Khir Toyo is of course no stranger to Pekan too. He has been here several times. Last year he officiated the wanita UMNO bahagian meet.

But the Khir Toyo that came isn’t the Khir Toyo many students studying dentistry at UM would know. That time, his features would be like the Herman Tino type- you know the typical Javanese ‘wak khir’ look.

Today, the changes which had taken place on the person of wak Khir Toyo are massive. His skin looks fairer and silky smooth, the benefits of taking in a specially formulated and fortified vitamin C. His nose appears Caucasian, perhaps the benefit of a nose job. He looks youthful and has gone down in weight.

But Khir Toyo is a politician with impeachable controversies. One must never forget the whole brouhaha and agitated responses that took place when the Bukit Cahaya in Shah Alam was laid bald and bare, the courtesy of rapacious and greedy businessmen, associated with wak Khir.

Khir Toyo has not extricated himself fully from being accused of monumental insensitivity for demolishing temples in his state. Sakmongkol has defended his action over this issue, but the person himself has not defended his actions clearly. Instead, there were allegations that because the temples were constructed on prime sites and locations, they were demolished not because of legal reasons but because of business reasons.

Because of his alleged links with big business in Selangor, Khir Toyo is seen as a very wealthy man. Indeed, his personal life journey would be a classic description of a rags to riches story.

And we could expand the list of litany that Khir Toyo has accumulated. He lost the richest state in the country to the opposition. Theresa Kok is too much for him. He diverted funds from Balkis to somewhere in the netherworld of UMNO slash funds.

Sakmongkol knows that many of us are romantic people at heart. We very much identify and want the people whom we identify as the common man, the marhaen, the proletariat to win. That romanticism now appears to find a repository in Khir Toyo. And so we wax lyrical about Khir Toyo’s down to earth qualities, plaintively pleading for a victory for Khir Toyo.

But in the final analysis can our romanticism alone give us the guidance to secure good leadership?