Najib will not be able to run UMNO as Mahathir has done,
Can the Prime Minister be made to change? Some Umno dreamers and the pro-Umno Malay cendekiawan (intellectuals) think it is possible.
Hishammuddin “tell me about your strengths and development needs” is the second most frequently asked question “Tell me about yourself” is easily the number one question when they have not read the candidate’s resume in advance.
“People use many ways when they want to contest but others can evaluate the things that we have promised, if we can actually deliver it realistically,” said Hishammuddin.
Nazri, meanwhile, pointed out that it was important for Umno to evaluate what the party’s focus should be.
But what if Mohd Najib the Prime Minister of all Malaysians does not want to change?
Or he does not see why he should change since he does not think he has done anything wrong?
I am provoked to pose these questions for two reasons. The most recent one first. This morning I received the following SMS:
“Jemputan khas dari JPM utk Majlis Pengumuman khas oleh PM berkenaan Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera pd 14/9 (Sabtu) jam 8.00 di Dewan Agong Tuanku, UiTM, Shah Alam.”
(“Special invitation from the PMO to special announcement of the Strengthening of Bumiputera Economy by the PM on 14/9 (Saturday) at 8.00pm at Dewan Agong Tuanku, UiTM, Shah Alam.”)
Before that, several people… had told me that since it is difficult to change the Prime Minister, we would now endeavour to change the way he runs the country.
“Umno elections have been carried out a few times and we have to learn from our mistakes. What is important is that we are not greedy for posts,” he added.
He stressed that candidates should win the hearts of the grassroots as their popularity in Umno will not guarantee their win in the elections.
“As seen before, there are a few leaders in the Supreme Council like Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi and Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah who won in Umno by popularity but lost in the elections,” he said.
He concurred with Nur Jazlan that Umno had to make way for younger leaders.
“I agree 100% that we have to bring young leaders to regenerate the party. The older ones can also come but as observers,” he added
Noticed that people are usually a lot more articulate when they reel off a list of strengths. When they pause to catch their breath, I grab the opportunity to remind candidates that they also have to think of what they would consider That can really change the mood of the conversation. The candidate looks like the prodigy’s mother who is being asked during the school’s parent-teacher meeting what the genius could do better. Many job sites advise candidates to answer that question by saying, “I work too hard.” That brings the interview to a grand closure because it makes the employer whip out the offer letter, make a swift correction to double the salary they had originally put earmarked and coax the candidate to join
Two Cabinet ministers are at odds over the statement by Pulai Member of Parliament Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who said that the people were fed-up with Umno.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said Nur Jazlan had a point but Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pic) said it was a “stunt to attract attention”.
Nazri noted that it was time that Umno made some changes if it wanted to continue staying relevant to the community.
“This country practises freedom of speech and what he (Nur Jazlan) said is right. It is not wrong at all.
“Every candidate should reject popularity votes if they have not done anything for their constituency and the people,” Nazri told reporters today in Kuala Lumpur.
Nur Jazlan, who is also the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chief, said earlier today that the party needed change as people were fed up with its broken promises and lack of reforms after the general election.
“Society is tired and fed up with what is happening in Umno. Before the general election, the party had promised changes but until now, nothing has changed,” he added.
He announced that he will run for an Umno supreme council seat in the party elections, pointing out his tilt was to enhance the party’s appeal to the younger generation.
“What they (the people) want is a change and new faces in the party leadership. My nomination is to surprise Umno members and new faces will help the party in making changes quickly,” the Pulai Umno division chief said.
However, Hishammuddin disputed Nur Jazlan’s statement, pointing out that the party’s “achievements” in the last general election was proof that it still had the support of the people.
“His comment does not tally with what the party has achieved in the general election. Umno won with additional seats. It shows that the party still has support.
“People use many ways when they want to contest but others can evaluate the things that we have promised, if we can actually deliver it realistically,” said Hishammuddin.
Nazri, meanwhile, pointed out that it was important for Umno to evaluate what the party’s focus should be.
“Umno elections have been carried out a few times and we have to learn from our mistakes. What is important is that we are not greedy for posts,” he added.
He stressed that candidates should win the hearts of the grassroots as their popularity in Umno will not guarantee their win in the elections.
“As seen before, there are a few leaders in the Supreme Council like Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi and Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah who won in Umno by popularity but lost in the elections,” he said.
He concurred with Nur Jazlan that Umno had to make way for younger leaders.
“I agree 100% that we have to bring young leaders to regenerate the party. The older ones can also come but as observers,” he added Both needs and wants change not just as per economic status, but also from individual to individual. It isn’t fair to say everyone has the same needs. In fact, ‘wants’ are possibly more homogenous across bandwidths, while ‘needs’ vary wildly. A ragpicker may ‘want’/ desire the same Lamborghini or Merc that you have set your eyes on Awareness and exposure have widened our horizons, which in turn have expanded our list of needs — and there is no going back.
I said to them that I have seen enough of the Mohd Najib Abdul Razak – starting 1977 when I interviewed him on the anniversary of his first year as an MP – to think that he could be changed.
So I told them, if the PM promises me a glass of water, I would not believe in his “janji ditepati” (promise fulfilled) until I drink the water and not be poisoned by it.
It sounds harsh. I am not accusing the PM of trying to poison me. I am not worth wasting the rat poison on. But what I am saying is, many things that he says, promises and implements are lost in translation.
This is not because Mohd Najib is a bad man with an evil heart. On the contrary, I am sure he wants to be a hero like the Batman saving Gotham, but the problem with the PM is he has too many Robins – males and females – who are competing with each other for his love and affection, money and power.
I am more than sure that Mohd Najib is capable of delivering a glass of well-treated water, free of diesel contamination, for me to quench my thirst.
But what worries me is, along the way, despite Idris Jala’s best efforts to transform the government delivery system, my glass of water gets contaminated, part of it is lost to evaporation and part of it is spilt by the many Robins and Catwomen in his office that when I drink it, I could not fully quench my thirst and instead suffer a bad case of stomach ache.
So to the Umno dreamers, the youthful Malay idealists, the aging Mubarak faithful and the hopeful pro-Umno bloggers, I implore them not to empty the tempayan upon hearing the distant thunder and not to “pipiskan lada” upon seeing a flock of birds in the sky (count your chickens before they hatch).
So I shall wait for Mohd Najib’s Sept 14 announcement on “Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera” (Strengthening the Bumiputera Economy) and be on the lookout for my glass of water.
For now, I shall temper my scepticism and cynicism with “baik sangka” and pray that the Umno dreamers and hopeful Malay cendekiawan (intellectuals) are correct after all – that Mohd Najib can be changed without changing the PM.
