Lineage and Heritage. The determinants of Success.

Many years ago, after an UMNO General Assembly, delegates showed open defiance to Najib. They found so many things disagreeable after he delivered his presidential speech.

When he spoke about 1Malaysia, the delegates insisted on Malay Rights. When he spoke about The New Economic Model, the delegates demanded a stay of the NEP. When I once asked him about the NEM- he said it is market driven affirmative action. True- its market driven enrichment of the select few.

In the end, desperate for believability and acceptance, Najib had nothing he can use to defend himself- other than by affirming that he is the son of Tun Razak. As though that is enough to assure success in what he was about to do.

Probably 6 years down the road, Najib repeats himself silly. When challenged to explain possible wrongdoings in 1MDB, profligate spending, abuse of power, failure to manage the economy- Najib pursued the same tired strategy. He offered the achievements obtained under ETP, GTP, Pemandu and the various NKRA criteria to explain away the irritable questions. 1.5 million jobs created mainly for the immigrants- Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Myanmarese who acquire skills. Meanwhile our local boys don’t know how to turn the screws and bolts at the MRT sites.

The questions kept coming, he cannot answer.

Finally as if realising what he said thus far is contentious, he cited the last and bizarre defence and the craving for believability- that he is after all a Bugis.

In the first instance, having failed to appease delegates- he affirmed he is Tun Razak’s son. In the second instance, a few days ago, after realising his storytelling about ETP, GTP, Pemandu and NKRAs is not believable, he affirms his Bugis lineage.

Which means what? Which means to suggest and make others believe, the fact that you are Tun Razak’s son guarantees and ensures success; the fact that you are a Bugis ensures success. Success therefore depends on something, some quality, some genes you inherit that ensure success.

What you can achieve outside the FACT that you are Tun Razak’s son and Bugis depend on the education, experience, acquired skills, dexterity, and verve, discipline you have- all based on merits and voluntarily cultivated.

Now, readers will at once realise, that is a way to explain things, to offer hope on the basis of what and who you are. It is totally a different way from explaining that something, some objectives succeed only because you can contribute something towards realising them. Such as working hard, such as acquiring skills, education, etc. 

Something which is reflected in the practical response of a Malay and a Chinese when faced by reduction in real income as a result if GST since all things are becoming expensive. The Malay says- no worries I am Malay and I am entitled to BR1m and other welfare assistance. The Chinese will respond no worry- last time I fried 2 plates of charkoayteow, now I fry 4. Very practical but different solution.

The Malay offers a way out by pointing out to who he is. The Chinese offers a way out by increasing contribution- making more plates of char koayteow.

In the first way, the person is doomed or defined because of who he is. If he were not a son of Tun Razak, he cannot offer and guarantee success. If he were not a Bugis, he cannot succeed. The second way of explaining things depend on acquired traits- learnable, and expandable that produce possibilities.

Sociologists have longed recognised ascriptive values and achieving values as basis for progress. The backward people, the capacity challenged leader will find excuses and recourse by referring to their lineage and heritage. Najib just did many years ago and hasn’t learnt since then.

 The progressive an expandable society subscribe to achievement values- which are values voluntarily acquired and cultivated and used as driving engines towards forwardness. Progressive peoples and progressive societies know the way forward depends on the efforts voluntarily and actively put in. it does not depend on reliance of passive lineage and the distant past.

The last time I checked, the bugis people in Pahang did not participate in the Pahang Rebellionin the 1880s against the British. My ancestors- non Bugis did.

It’s a well-known fact that only third  world mentality leaders, a backward country leader will use the defence of ascriptive values and characteristics as ; that successful construction of progress and advancement depend on who they are and his lineage.

Malays must get out of that mental rut. Abandon the leader who teaches that the way out depends on your lineage and your inherited status. Dr Mahathir has already cut the fallacy opened- the fact that Najib is the son of Tun Razak did not prevent Najib from failing on so many fronts.  Your status and bloodline are  irrelevant- what you can do is more important.

Bukan Kita Tanya ETP, GTP atau Pemandu atau sejuta laluan kepada Kemakmuran.

PM Najib muncul dengan ucapan ala State Of The Nation Address. Tema nya ialah Transformasi Untuk Semua. Ia disiarkan live. 
Dia menggunakan kesempatan tersebut untuk jerit, memberi amaran dan melepaskan geram. Jika kita ada pemimpin seperti ini, ini petanda Malaysia dalam bahaya.

Kita dengar dan kita boleh debat pencapaian dan rekod yang ditunjukkan oleh ETP, GTP, NKRA dan peranan Pemandu. Kita tahu lah ini semua dan ini pun asas kita mengkritik kerajaan.

Yakni sebaik sahaja kerajaan mencampuri pengurusan ekonomi secara aktif, maka nature dan bagaimana campur tangan itu dilaksanakan akan menjadi bahan kritikan dan teguran yang keras. Ancaman  terbesar terhadap kepentingan kita sebagai rakyat negara ini ialah apabila berlakunya konsentrasi kuasa politik dan ekonomi. Ia akan menjurus kepada autokrasi dan akhirnya kleptokrasi. It will be a government of the top 1%, for the 1% , by the 1%.

Sebab itu pengurusan dan campur tangan kerajaan melalui GTP, ETP dan Pemandu itu mesti dijaga supaya dijalankan dengan cekap, amanah dan jujur serta adil.Penjagaan dan kewaspadaan terhadap kecenderungan ini dilakukan oleh semua mereka yang public spirited.

Jika kriteria ini tidak diikuti,  apalagi kita lihat ada penyelewengan, ada tidak amanah, ada cabul kuasa, ada rasuah dan ada konsentrasi kuasa ekonomi dengan kuasa politik- ianya sebab2 lebih besar supaya berjaga2 agar kerajaan tidak melakukan sewenang wenang nya.

Najib boleh istiharlah betapa dia dan jemaah menteri tidak akan berganjak, tidak akan menyerah kalah atau terus membina2 sejuta jalanraya untuk kemakmuran- semua itu tidak menghentikan perkara buruk dilakukan. Dan janganlah pula menyembunyikan kelemahan dibawah rayuan bahawa hanya Tuhan sahaja yang sempurna.

Kita bukan kelahi denganTuhan.

Kita tak expect PM Najib berhenti daripada bercakap tak berhenti henti mengenai apa2 acronym yang dicipta oleh pakar runding yang dibayar gaji yang tinggi. Kita lihat sementara dia berucap berapi api- ada para menteri nya asyik sibuk bercakap perkara lain. Itu tanda nya, sesama jemaaah menteri pun, ada yan tidak yakin dengan apa yang diistiharkan.

Dia boleh jerit dan marah tapi tidak sedikitpun mengurangkan tanggapan pendengar bahawa Najib seperti tak tahu apa yang dia cakapkan.

Kita bukan suruh dia jawab mengenai berkesan atau tidak inisiatif acronym kerajaan. Kita hanya perlu jawab pengurusan 1MDB dan ada atau tidak pecah amanah apabila sejumlah wang disapu atau dibenarkan disapu oleh Jho Low untuk buat bisness sendiri.

Kita hendak tahu adakah wang 1MDB digunakan secara tipu helah untuk membeli asset pada harga yang tinggi dengan ada pula nilai goodwill yang tinggi. Kita hendak tahu ada atau tidak kuasa dicabul bila membeli asset kerajaan pada harga yang tidak munasabah rendah.

Rakyat hendak tahu apa yang kurang pada SST dan kenapa ianya diganti dengan GST? Jika GST kutip cukai yang lebih rendah, mengapa pilih GST kecualilah GST itu sebetulnya skim kutipan cukai yang lebih cekap- yang sebenarnya ia begitu. Maka kita tahu kerajaan yang makin membesar memerlukan wang yang lebih banyak untuk mengurus.

Jika demikian, rakyat khuatir kerajaan yang dipimpin oleh seorang PM yang angkuh, yang belanja macam hilang pedoman, yang membenarkan korapsi dan tipu muslihat, yang tidak mengira apa jadi pada rakyat terus memimpin.

Tidak ada orang pun menyoal sama ada kerajaan kerja kuat atau tidak- sesiapa pun jadi kerajaan boleh mengitsiharkan mereka berkerja kuat untuk rakyat dan sebagainya. Tidak pernah kita dengar mana2 pemimpin termasuk yang diktator, autokratik, kleptoratik- semua mereka memerintah atas nama bangsa dan negara. Di Malaysia lagi hebat- landasan perjuangan atas nama bangsa, agama dan negara.

PM najib dan marah atau jerit tidak mengapa, tapi jawablah soalan2 mudah yang rakyat tanya. Bila Najib  kasi warning  kepada dr Mahathir- saya rasa ini first in our country.

Saya baru membaca kenyataan mutakhir PM Najib. Dia tidak akan menyerah kalah. Saya sudahpun membaca karakter Najib. Apa lagi saya tahu sedikit sebanyak mengenai nya.

Kita lihat dia menari sakan di majlis kahwin anak dia. PM Najib kelihatan gedik- lebih gedik dari Rosmah Mansor.

Itu tanda orang yang tidak peduli apa jadi ada rakyat. Peduli apa jika dia hendak bawak 3-4 kapalterbang, 300 orang ke- 500 orang ke- itu hal dia lah. Dia PM. Bini dia isteri PM.

Kalau dia buat demikian- apa orang lain boleh buat? Mahathir boleh buat apa? Tengku Razaleigh boleh buat apa? Pemimpin UMNO lain yang semua bergantung soru dengan dia boleh buat apa?

Tidak ada seorang pun pemimpin UMNO yang ada kekuatan moral untuk menegur Najib dan co. kalau ada 2-3 orang yang baik, mereka menghabiskan masa mempertahankan hipokrasi pemimpin mereka.

Saya tidaklah hendak menidakkan bahawa ada terdapat beberapa pemimpin UMNO yang baik karakter tapi mereka too caught up dengan karenah buruk pemimpin nombor 1.

Rosmah Mansor boleh sebut dan berkata macam apa yang dikatakan disebut oleh Marie Antoinette- biarkan rakyat makan kueh. Mak datin dan puan sri yang yang ikut serta dengan rombongan ke Kazakhstan semua nya merasa privilleged kerana dapat ikut dan tersenarai dalam kumpulan dianugerah keistimewaan oleh pasangan pertama Malaysia. Apatah lagi pencapaian terbesar dalam dunia ini selain daripada diperakui sebahagaian dari elit utama?

Gelagat Najib menunjukkan business untuk remove him from office bukan suatu perkara senang. Jadi jangan kita hidup dalam hayalan. Dr Mahathir tidak akan boleh desak Najib supaya berundur. Geng Najib akan kata- siapa si mamak tua ini? Malah persendaaan kepada Dr Mahathir sudah pun dimulakan.Bloggers UMNO kata apa yang diucapkan oleh Mahathir SEMUA nya fitnah dan dusta.

Maka nya, Dr Mahathir kena ambil angkah drastic yang lain. Seperti secara sistematik dedahkan perkara buruk yang dilakukan oleh Najib supaya seluruh dunia tahu siapa Najib. Dr Mahathir kena jelajah seluruh negara beritahu negara siapa Najib dan apa yang dia telah lakukan.

Sebagai contoh, rakyat marah mengenai GST. Tapi mereka boleh tangkis lagi isiu GST dan kelentong sana sini. Namun belumsempat  isiu GST terjawab timbul pula pembelian jet eksekutif RM700 lebih juta. Campur dengan maintenance, kerajaan akan belanja RM1 billion untuk 15 tahun akan datang. Ini kerja gila dan pembaziran pemimpin yang angkuh yang tidak peduli perasaan rakyat. Pesewat ini akan digunakan untuk rombongan beli belah golongan terpilih dan pemimpin atasan.

Kita menyampah dengan syarahan Najib mengenai ETP, GTP yang mengujudkan perkerjaan berjuta juta. Siapa perkerja tersebut dan siapa yang dapat kepakaran?

Sila beritahu kita jumlah perkerja bumiputera yang berkerja dalam projek2 mega yang Najib laksanakan? MRT sebagai contoh. Pergilah kemana site MRT- para perkerja mereka adalah perkeja asing. Mereka dibayar rendah – mereka boleh terima sebab keadaan negara mereka teruk.

Tapi disamping itu mereka acquire skills dan kemahiran yang tidak diperolehi oleh anak bangsa kita. Jutaan perkerja asing ini meningkatkan modal insan mereka dan boleh menuntut gaji yang lebih tingi dalam negara lain kelak. Mereka memperolehi kemahiran dan skills membangunkan negara yakni membangunkan kapasiti. Anak bangsa kita bagaimana?

Undi tidak percaya.

Demikian juga, tidak ada harapan hendak lihat suatu undi tidak percaya dilakukan oleh ahli parlimen. Ianya tidak akan terjadi. Kita tidak ada sejarah dan tidak ada budaya membuang pemimpin dengan cara ini.

Yang saya sebut dalam artikel yang terdahulu ialah untuk suatu jumlah ahl parlimen keluar parti masing2 dan mengistiharkan mereka ahli parlimen bebas. Kemudian mereka boleh bersama sama menyokong seorang ahli parlimen yang mereka anggap dapat keyakinan majority.

Speaker terpaksa tanya jurucakap kumpulan ahli parlimen, siapa yang mereka fikir boleh command majority support ahli parlimen.

Untuk merealisasikan agenda ini, sejumlah ahli parlimen mesti keuar parti mereka dan keluar dari BN. BN tidak cukup ahli dan tidak boleh berbuat apa apa, kerajaan mereka akan jatuh. Tidak perlu undi tidak percaya.

The Politics of Saving the Country.

The previous article written in Malay was an augmented version of the original article written by the blogger Donplaypuks. I want readers to know, I have permission from Donplaypuks to adapt his articles at any point in time.  Some facts in a discipline of which I am not trained in, I refer to the master and use those facts freely as basis for my own analysis.

In a P Ramlee film, I first heard the expression – narn bohti narn, kui bohti kui. Orang bukan orang, hantu bukan hantu. It gave me a good laugh. Over the years, the expression has become surreal- fiction merges into factual.

We can only describe the umno leadership who have committed various wrongs to the country, as an indefinable being, orang kah, hantu kah?  But judging from the deeds they do, they are more suited to be called devils. Only the hantus do dastardly things. Like grand partying while people suffer. Buying another executive plane having others justifying it as a measure to increase safety and security.

 Well, fly commercial then. There is safety in numbers.

The indefinable beings now are occupying a new stage. It is stage where the big ghost fights the small ghost. The big ghost is Mahathir and the small ghost is Najib. The big ghost will eat the small ghost eventually.

Dr Mahathir is only in the early stages. He has asked Najib to resign. Najib, he says cannot manage the finances of the country. This was shown by his handling of the 1MDB issue, his profligate spending, his idea of BR1Ming his way through people’s hearts and minds.

Where to find money to settle the debts? The government will need RM2 billion a year to pay for the interests. The revenues from the IPPs it owns as a result of its buying spree cannot pay the interests. If you can’t pay from operational earnings, you are technically insolvent. 

Dr Mahathir is warning us all- the government will force GLCs such as Tabung Haji, Khazanah, Petronas, KWAP, KWSP and many others to help buy 1MDB energy IPO offers at premium prices. 

Dr Mahathir said in his trademark sarcasm- YTL makes RM800 million profits a year and part of the profits are used to pay Dr Mahathir. Ah so, we now know DR Mahathir gave a good deal to YTL.

According to Dr Mahathir, the value of the assets of 1MDB cannot support the debt and liabilities.

 Dr Mahathir claims that the assets are overpriced when paying out and under-priced when buying in. Najib overpays when buying IPPs like Genting Sanyen, Ananda’s Tanjung energy and Jimmah Power. These vendors made money even though their IPPs are nearing end of contract life.

So why pay at exorbitant price? The answer is because some people made money on the deals. Unlike what Dr Mahathir said in his speech, we must apa2.....we cant treat as  tidak apa.

People want to know whether the overpriced amount went to some people. If so who?

But when it comes to buying assets belonging to the government, Najib buys at very low price. The land at Tun Razak exchange which costs RM5000-7000 psf was bought as RM60psf. That’s 83 to over 100 times the price. The land at Sungai Besi airport valued at current market price of RM2000-2500 psf was bought at RM90 psf.

You can see a pattern here. Overpay when buying from cronies and fleecing the people when buying from itself. We can’t trust a government that deals like a shyster here.

Even though this point was not mentioned, many of us know how the game is played. Generous overpricing means some people are sharing the inflated price. Gross under-pricing means some people deciding on the matter made a lot of money.

It has become a universally accepted notion that business projects have their costs UMNOnised. Which means always inflate price by at least 30% and distribute among thieves.

Najib is also a profligate spender. Najib abuses power. Najib is interested in concentration of power and how power can serve his interests and not the people’s interest.

And it was reported, all is cool on the PM’s front. Meanwhile Najib makes don’t know without a problem in the world. He doesn’t care about GST. The effects on GST in raising the overall price level is ignored. Everywhere people are complaining and yet the government goes on insisting that GST is good.

It may eventually be good in the sense that it is a more effective tax collection mechanism. But people will ask, whether a government with a bad track record at managing our financial affairs will exercise discipline over or finances. Or with more money, will they fund more projects for cronies and create a thousand other 1MDBs?

I have seen a video of the PM and his wife dancing with other guests. Possibly they were dancing at the wedding reception of the century, rumoured to cost the people an obscene USD200 million.  The PM of course loves dancing at private functions. That is his private business. He wants to dance howsoever he likes, it’s no skin off our nose. From the video, we can see the PM can still do hot moves. He can still gedik2.

But what can we deduce from the conduct of the PM on the dance floor? This is a conduct of a person who doesn’t care what others think. If they want to ferry 200 people on a private jet or two private jets, including bringing cultural dancers, what can the people do? Rosmah Mansor could well play the Marie Antoinette fiction of saying, let Mahathir and other eat cake. We can do what we like because we are the big bosses of the country?

They just want to see what the people can do to stop them.

So it’s a challenge we must take up. We shall show to Najib that he can also be punished for the deceit and low class leadership he has displayed thus far.

The dancing and prancing PM showed that we must not be delusional into thinking- just because Dr Mahathir whom I have said, being a person who can walk on political waters say so. Najib will not retire. He will not go voluntarily. His conduct on the floor is the conduct of a person saying, the world be dammed.

At one point in time, Mahathir will have no choice but to deliver the eventual coup de grace. Dr Mahathir will eventually do so.

It is also futile to think that Najib detractors can pull off a no confidence vote on the PM. The motion would have to be submitted to the speaker and the speaker will give time to the Najib forces to mount a counter attack. Now we all know the UMNO MPs have skeletons n the cupboards, debts to pay, income tax owed, and cases here and there. These will be brought up most conveniently, forcing the detractors to toe the line.

Now suppose there is person who in the thinking of the majority of MPs will uphold the values of democracy, rule of law, good governance, committed to place the country on the foundations of fiscal decency, put things generally right, carry out just social policies, reform the judiciary, weed out corruption and the corrupted, help out the poor, MPs must decide on their conscience and cultivate and support such a person. .

A certain number of MPs now on the BN side need only cross over and seek out such a leader. The BN government is simply defeated if they don’t have the number of MPs on their side. Just do it for the sake of the nation.

That means while we hear and heed  Dr Mahathir but we need not agree to his solution. As I have said in the earlier article, we need not replace Najib with the best from the league of the worse. Extraordinary times require extraordinary conduct and resolve. Think outside the box. Reject the conventional way.

The UMNO people if they wish to save their party must adopt a revolutionary way to find this new leader. They need to know they can’t govern the country in the way and manner it has been done in the past. It can no longer hold power by constructing a barrier of isolationist and exclusivist concepts of race, religion and Monarchy.