Copyright Notice

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, at the address below.

Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Wednesday 21 January 2009

Thank you, Mr. Padedoh

A welcome respite from the usual grim stuff.

This blogger, padedoh has written an article about Sakmongkol AK47. As the person named, naturally, I am very flattered. Indeed, I am pleasantly surprised.

Let me get a few things straight.

1. First I don’t know this person. From the writings, he seems to be a young man. He sounds like a professional, judging from his very informed and knowledgeable views on matters finance. He can be a sparring partner to that other equally adroit blogger who goes by the name satD.

2. He writes very well although most of the time given to youthful exuberance. I know of him through his various blog battles with that turbaned blogger, the Darth Vader of Blogdom, Mr Piggy Singh.

3. He has audacity. Just read his battlefield analogies of his analyses of the Kuala Terengganu election to which he got a deserved mention by the indomitable masked avenger, Zorro. A few times in fact.

4. He is of course a staunch supporter of KJ but must have raised KJ’s eyebrows when he wasn’t that enthusiastic over the choice of Wang Parid as the UMNO candidate. He and a few other bloggers (probably numbering anything between 10-15) are KJ’s blog warriors. Young, professionals, impulsive and tenacious. If KJ moulds them properly, these people can be his shock troopers and can launch the blitzkriegs that padedoh so liked.

So I thank him for a very short but complimentary article concerning Sakmongkol AK47 which you can read here.

Except I want to comment on one point. His enthusiastic comment about taking the opposition alone. No, I can’t do it alone. It goes against a principle that I fight against. Building a cult figure and making the organisation dependent on the frivolities and nuances of ONE fellow. Except you can be sure of only this- if you plan to take me on, in a clash of ideas and reasoning, you would better expect me to put on my knuckle-dusters.

Fighting the opposition is a team effort. Except the team must be a quality one. Consisting of determined, mentally able, serious and who apply themselves to a unity of purpose. Otherwise you will be mincemeat to the bloggers of Barisan Rakyat. The people’s war they conducted, continuous and incessant guerrilla strikes worked better in the theatre at KT.

I am a believer of the 10-20% rule. The fact is, in any organisation, the spine or that venerable number that actually fights for the organisation, consist probably of 10-20% of the total number.

Take the case of the UMNO soldiers who fought their Dunkirk in KT. On the day of nomination you have 5 thousand people- rent- a- crowd boys and girls, shouts- for rent guys and gals, butt-flashers for hire and those coming for a joy ride. By mid afternoon when nominations were over, 3000 were already gone. On the buses singing some dangdut tunes. On their way back.

You have 2000 on the battle ground. Out of the 2000, one thousand probably were there to provide material for entourages of the DPM, MBs, Chief minsters and other important ministers. You are left with 1000 in the battle fields. Out of that 1000, maybe 500 were there just out of curiosity and maybe to hang around Pasar Payang, eat turtle eggs, keropok lekor or the nasi dagang which people like me are familiar with. The Terengganu Nasi Dagang is white coloured long-grained rice mixed with a touch of pulut while the Klantanese version, when I first ate a long time ago, is colourful. It’s a matter of taste and familiarity. I prefer my Terengganu version.

So what do you have? You have 500 in the trenches out of the original 5000. That’s’ about 10%. These are the battle hardened troopers, who know what to do, who conduct house to house searches and so on. You have probably 10-20% of the, who do actual work.

So you can’t do it alone. No one can. But like Soekarno says, give me 20 youthful warriors, I can shake the world. Give me a Mr. padedoh, a piggy Singh, a mat cendana, a zawi, a smalltalk, a deminegara, a renovatio, satD, Captain Calico Jack, Mek Yam, Mamasita, de Minimis, a Walla, a Lawyer Kampong, a Malaysian Tigress, a Voice, Hajjah kata-kama - come, we will do battle.

Thank you Mr.Padedoh.

update @4.11pm. I knew i missed out one name. The man who encouraged me to get onto mainstream blogging way back in July 2008. Mr JMD. A thousand sincere apologies my friend. This man deserves special mention.


20 comments:

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 10:30  

No Sak, you alone cannot take on
the other side. Even with those you named burning the internet with
their writings. At the end of the day, the people will judge, will sieve the articles, honest perceptions, bias opinions, paid articles or just a mean to vent
anger (read revenge).

There is a spat between Ti Lian Ker
and Smalltalk. Smalltalk hammered
Ti over what I see as trifle. But
smalltalk, being a serving Political Sec to MB, wrote very
negatively about Najib, his next big boss. Bravery? Transparency?

Reading between the lines, I cannot
help but feel that things are not
cozy between Najib and MB. Most
likely Najib will drop Adnan and
so will his Polical Sec. Frustration? yeah!

By way, do drop at Tanjung Api and
have some nasi minyak for breakfast. Listen to the people
talk politics and you will be
surprised that they are more politically savvy than some bloggers.

Avalion

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 10:39  

Hi Dato,
Don't thank me - I was being selfish. I have 2 year old son, and I want him to inherit a Malaysia that is prosperous, not on the verge of anarchy. And I see, if we have people like yourself in the Government, thats a first step.

Wenger J Khairy
PS: Not that young-lah

Ariff Sabri 21 January 2009 at 10:43  

the crowd you mentioned at Tg Api may be politically knowledgeable as you insist. that's according to your assessment and i will not quarrel with it.
but i am sure the quality of their political perceptions is no different than those spending long hours in Seri Melati stall, in Jaya Gading, in Seri Damai, in stalls at Indera Sempurna, in Desa Sungai Pelong. hell, those that frequent the dangdut joints at Jalan WAJ are also very keen observers.

as to your projection that there will changing of the guards when Najib takes over, that i will have to disagree. Najib is more in need of a pugilist that a sycophant to fortify his own weak constitution.
Najib may even need the man from kg mat dulang who hands have been where no hands dared go in public.

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 11:34  

Dear Anon,
these Tanjung Api 'political analysts' are everywhere.They can yak for hours and others will foot their makan bills.

They'll make you feel they know about everything and will advise you as though they have all the right solutions!!

As usual if a person criticises Dato' Seri Najib,hes in for a whole lot of trouble..typical mentality in UMNO.
NEVER CAKAP TAK ELOK PASAL PEMIMPIN BESAR!MAMPUS KENA!

Greenbottle 21 January 2009 at 11:38  

ha ha ha...young proffessionals willing to be shock troopers to the SIL !!! by definition these young 'uns must be classified as idiots.

i'm not a fan of mahathir but what he says about this SIL is valid.

cermin cermin diri lah umno...cukup lah jadi penyangak...

Saya... 21 January 2009 at 12:10  

Dato,

honored (walau tak layak) to be categorised in the group you mentioned...

Lawyer Kampung 21 January 2009 at 13:03  

Wow! LK is not worthy to be in that company bro ;-) I am flattered.

If I am to do battle , likewise, the likes of Sakmongkol will definitely be in my wish list too bro.

As for suggestion from padedoh, you've got my vote on that ;-)

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 13:17  

With all due respect to you dato, I think my buddy Kijangmas should be named Team Leader in your lineup.

He has got aura, more suave & more charismatic than all of you combined.(Sad but true). What more he can swear like a chinaman too, & speak his mind too. Mark of a true leader. Only my biased opinion lah.

Cheers,
Unker Yew

Navi 21 January 2009 at 13:29  

Dato',
My two cents worth. Just by writing and propaganda by ten or twenty bloggers, you are not going to win any battles or the war. Readers are more critical in their thinking than ever before and will differentiate the truth from spins. The problem faced by UMNO is not UMNO itself but the leaders who refuse to evolve with times. Ten months are gone and yet they are not ready to accept that the days of their corrupt and arrogont days are gone. Unless UMNO realizes the needs of all Malaysians and not a selected few, UMNO is doomed and all your efforts will be in vain. It is not just putting on a smile and saying hello to everyone. The leaders have to feel and that feel is sorely lacking amongst the UMNO leadership from Najib downwards.
Your previous articles on UMNO's loss is indisputable.
Your comparison to that of a captain of a ship is lacking, as the real captain during the KT election campaign was Najib. He was lost like the rudderless ship, the wheels of which he held. The days of vote buying are gone. The future is for genuine leaders of the people.

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 14:37  

Salam Dato',
As Tun Musa once put it, is Mr. Navi the thorn in your side?

As I said before, he looks like a cyber stalker. Come on lah Mr. Navi, whats so special about your analysis. Its 100% rhetoric - why not Mr. Navi, you give one concrete actionable piece of advice, and prove that your not just a grumpy, old man.

How many times you have explained yet this Mr. Navi is just keras kepala. Same old story - UMNO this, UMNO that - Mr. Navi, name me one alternative. PAS? DAP? MIC? MCA? PKR? UPKO? SAPP? PBS? LDP? PBRS?

Even better, why not the PAP!

Sorry to highjack your blog, I just feel bengang by these armchair crticis who think they are smart, and criticize criticize critcize anything about UMNO.

As he rightly mentioned, its only 2cents worth, because he even that is overpaying for Mr. Navi's pseudo analysis. Pseudo commentary. Pseudo everything, because the only thing that is evident is Mr. Navis hatred towards UMNO. Thats all.

So my question is, Mr. Navi hates UMNO so much, why is he consistently pouring cold water on your blog and your ideas, which regularly features articles on how to improve UMNO.

Once again, my deepest apologies to you Dato' ,and I very much out of place to make this comment, but I still humbly submit my opinion.

Wassalam
Wenger J Khairy

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 15:22  

Steady lah Mr Padedoh, Unker is just your general ignorance populace Joe and would oso like to listen to Mr Navi's comment too.
Here's something I read & learnt today, sounds good;

Living in a multicultural country, parents have the opportunity to educate their children about tolerance and understanding. Michele Borba, EdD, author of ‘Nobody likes Me, Everybody Hates Me’, said, “Most parents want to raise a human being who is compassionate and emphatic – in the end, a person of character who can get along in a diverse world.”

She stresses the importance of parents raising kids who are open to different friendships. “ We know that the workplace is a global one, and your child will gain both personally and professionally by welcoming differences in people and ideas.”

Cheers,
Unker Yew

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 16:47  

Salam Dato and dear readers,
Just a suggestion from a shrimp of blogsphere...

Why don't any critics that we receive, (e.g from navi, which i agree with him as 'opinion' as he used polite words and arranged it in a way of opinion), we look into it positively.

Critics do not always mean to bringing down someone or somebody. And supporting also do not always deemed to be pushing up somebody. (E.g, TG Hadi said Pak Lah should stay - it is kind of support, only that is it good or bad one?)

Perhaps Navi just being a devil's advocate. Not more than that. Perhaps from his criticsm can been seen as what some more points that UMNO can improve.

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 17:00  

Sak,

Permit me to eloberate a lit bit more. Yes, those people at the
makan shops talked as if they are
the experts. Some talked rubbish.
That I agree. But just LISTEN.
There are something that you haven't heard before especially from the one who listen quietly
and then speak a few words.

Sometimes before the 1969 general
election, we were driving to Kuantan in a rented car for the weekend. Four young men.

At Nenasi, while waiting for the
pontoon ferry, a car stopped behind us. Tun Ab. Razak (Dato then) came down. He was with an
aide and a driver. He was on visit to his constituency.

On the ferry, he asked us whats
our opinion on the election. There
we were, 4 young men who knew
more about the Beatles than national politics giving our expert
advise to Dato Razak.

Never once did he interrupt us. He listened. When we reached the
other side he thanked us for our
'expert' views.

The moral is, great men listen!

Avalion

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 17:36  

Ahhh Avalion,
tell that to our aloof UMNO leaders!They are so proud to listen to others! They want everyone to agree with them all the time.

Bear in mind,the late Tun Razak was probably being polite in saying thank you.You ingat dia nak dengar sangat.Diam mungkin sebab dia bagi chan saja orang nak cakap apa they want to say.
Don't interprete everything to suit your taste.Maybe the late Tun tak paham langsung what those guys were blabbering about!

When smalltalk criticise DSNajib, waah habislah Dato' Nan and his polsec! End of their political careers!

Typical of UMNO mentality..tak boleh ditegur langsung sebab one is so powerful??

Tu yang buat UMNO leaders ramai lupa daratan!!

walla 21 January 2009 at 18:17  

What Umno needs now are people who can see the big picture and unflinchingly call a spade a spade.

For one who has been in and out of the arena, sakmongkol fits the bill. His fertile analytical mind and stereoscopic vision should be tapped in both Putrajaya and Parliament. That he has been left to fallow for so long at the periphery of world matters as applicable to Malaysia speaks volumes of the present leadership.

The Umno leadership need to realize that when times get tough, the one left holding the baby will surely be tarred with the paternity suit.

And if what Ku Li has said takes shape this year, that baby will come as an economic storm. In addition to the political stand-off, Umno as federal government will have to tackle the effects on young and old voters hit by the economic downturn. Talking about politics alone without engaging the people on a more candid appraisal of the economics of this country will only draw out their ire later. Especially when they have seen for themselves in the recent election how funds were used to shore goodwill when everyone knows those funds should have been used as and when the needs arose and not just because an election was up.

The foundation has to be relaid. The politics need re-branding and no-nonsense action. The economics need frank and honest assessment of the real situation, engaging all the rakyat to come forward to help provide ideas.

When people see genuine concern, proactive action and sharing of views, they will put aside differences and get together to find common solutions. Especially when now the big issue is the future of the young. Use the Malaysian way.

The leaders should wake up that the people are not taken in by photo-opps. Carrying someone into a van or eating with the locals at a stall doesn't a leader make. They should anticipate the deepest concerns of the people - those thoughts they share with their spouses late at night when the children are in their innocent sleep and the parents are whispering how to make sure they can still pay next week's household expenses. The leaders should also be exciting. Make people believe they can, help them to, and raise the bar each step of the way. While at these, put aside anything that is counterproductive or hurtful to peoples' sensitivities or contrary to common sense and principle-based pragmatism.

Use the problem in one to inspire a solution in another.

Get people together, regardless of their past or their present, to sit down and face up on how to solve common, national, problems.

Use the media, the power brokers too. One should not be hasty to discount the role that the latter can play to lubricate and cement relations, to build new configurations of working teams that can turn competition into cooperation.

Maybe that's the way out for Umno to redeem itself and find a new role in this country, one that can still tap its energy and dynamism while stemming the hemorrhage within and the creeping loss of confidence without.

I have been sending things to Datuk to help him get some ideas on how to improve matters by looking out of the box in order to create new circles of real progress. So in the next few seconds, Brands and Political Loyalty, and, Ideology or Voter-Driven Strategy.

Just like to leave a note to say Pak Zawi's posts make me more thoughtful than my usual self.

Anonymous,  21 January 2009 at 18:26  

Dear Datuk,

No apologies needed lah Datuk... to be included in your blogroll pun dah cukup baik dah! But I am definitely honored to be mentioned by you.

Looking back, it was indeed a lucky happenstance that I met your blog. It has been a pleasure Datuk...

God bless and please kirim salam Datin too.

JMD-

Ir. Hanafi Ali 21 January 2009 at 19:34  

Ooooh but I hate condescending *%^*^&*%^*&@! who did not bother to read your whole blog to realize that that you are not a young man (I think it is an insult to you, Datuk, but as a politician (former or otherwise), you've had worse, I guess).

Sebab apa I am angry about it, sebab these type of people tend to form opinions without having all the facts laid out on the table. First impressionists, you know? Judgmental, I-think-you-are-wrong or I-think-you-are-right-because-I-agree-with-you types.

And true to form, Datuk, you terima je pujian dia. Tak rasa apa-apa ke, Datuk?

satD 21 January 2009 at 19:37  

Wah bombastic tu!! adroit

i tot u just called me an android

would have answered "affirmative!!!"

Would be honored to support u in anyway!!!

Mano Padedoh ni..mari kito gojoh!!

:)

Mat Cendana 23 January 2009 at 01:44  

Hmm, my name is mentioned here - I'm honoured.

I had just seen this post; and the one at Pade Doh. Yes, I'm not very current with the posts - have tons of work to do. But anyway, I had written this comment at Pade Doh. I'm reproducing it here:

[Cut & Paste]
Dato' Sakmongkol as Senator and Minister?

This is the best idea I've heard so far about "What Umno should do"!! I have to acknowledge that you, sir, are someone who actually finds solutions to problems.

Yes, we're going to hear the jealous types within Umno whisper in the ears of those with the power to make these happen - that "Dato' Ariff had not said nice things about the party... he has revealed its weaknesses, the wrong doings within. He's more dangerous than the opposition because he's also Umno. He'll be a liability!"

Folks, let me mention this - I wish to put on record that I've never ever voted for Umno my whole life - or at least since 1982 when I could vote. In fact Umno is a party that I totally despise. And I would not have cared two hoots should it be destroyed. Heck, why should I?...I've gone through much of my life trying to make that a reality!

And it was the same during the last General Election last March - I had voted for Ibrahim Ali for Parliament and some PAS guy for the state seat of Chetok, Pasir Mas, Kelantan. In short, I was willing for PR to come over and kick Umno out of the federal gvernment.

But two people made me change my mind; and one of them is Sakmongkol AK47.

I was shocked to read his blog some months ago. Frankly, I don't have a very good impression of anyone connected to Umno. The kampung Umno types? Call me arrogant, I don't care; but I see them as IDIOTS. "Oh, there are also senior civil servants, teachers and such among them..." SO??

It's leaders? HAHAHA!! Go to hell - they aren't *my* leaders! And I had absolutely zero respect for Umno leaders - *any* Umno leader for that matter.

However, when I started to read Sakmongkol's writings, I was stunned - "Surely Umno people can't be as intelligent as this!?" But he IS Umno!

From that moment onwards, my perception of Umno changed. I acknowledge that there ARE intelligent people in Umn too.

And the fact that Sakmongkol is blunt and honest with his writings - revealing all of Umno's weaknesses for all to see. It left an impact on me - "There ARE honest people in Umno, after all!"

Folks, I'm putting this on record - Sakmongkol has influenced me the most as compared to ALL the other Umno types COMBINED. Right now I don't really regard myself as "Umno supporter" - not by a long shot. However, I don't hate Umno anymore after following Sakmongkol's posts. In fact, I feel there's hope for it if there are more people like him holding important posts.

So, if the people in Umno have half a brain, it's someone like Sakmongkol who should be given power and authority - not the self-serving clueless morons that are slowly killing off the party!

Get Sakmongkol onboard!!
[END]

  © Blogger templates Newspaper III by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP