Najib is that the President and UMNO Secretary-General Tengku Adnan are right in what they said. The chief culprit is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, to learn how to behave in UMNO. Tengku Adnan needs to demonstrate its respect for democracy. shouldn’t forget that when its time comes to run the country, it wouldn’t want UMNO to pay them back in the same coin
Umno vice-presidency aspirants should consult the party president before making a decision, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.
Ahmad Zahid, who is Umno vice-president, said he believed Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have his own views on the candidates for the posts as it affected cooperation among them in determining the party direction.
“My opinion, for those wanting to contest the vice-presidency posts, to discuss the matter with the party president first. Get his views, advice.
“Certainly, the party president has his own opinion on the persons to be at the party’s number three post,” he told reporters after a briefing on border patrol at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters in Kota Baru.
Ahmad Zahid said this in response to rumours that Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir would contest the vice-presidency post at the Umno election, scheduled for next month.
“He (Mukhriz) is young and among the best candidates for the party leadership in future,” he added.
Describing Mukhriz as a capable leader, Ahmad Zahid said he should think of the best way to work with the incumbents, comprising senior members, if elected.
Besides the rumours on Mukhriz, two people have confirmed their intention to contest the Umno vice-presidency, namely Felda chairman Tan Sri Isa Samad and former Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
The incumbent Umno vice-presidents, besides Ahmad Zahid, who is Home Minister, are Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
In a related development, Ahmad Zahid advised members to “measure their shirts based on their own body size” before making their decision to contest for party posts.
The registration forms for candidates to fill their nomination will be distributed today and the candidates are required to submit the forms, the latest by 5pm on Sept 21
.This flush-out tactic will not work with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, whose intention to contest the UMNO presidency will not be made known until September 28, when such an announcement needs be made before the 191 UMNO divisions meet to nominate candidates for the top posts in the party elections later in the year.UMNO Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor tried the classic flushing-out tactic, which is to announce that his target is not going to do the very thing he does not want him to do – and then qualify things by saying he is not sure if his target is only joking.
Blind faith or loyalty in a dog is a laudable virtue, but when it comes to human beings, it becomes a questionable one. Very often, we are expected to display loyalty to our in-groups — friends, the family unit, workplace colleagues, religion, politics or sports clubs — without using our own judgment, just because we ‘belong’. Hence you will often notice that many amongst an agitating group do not even understand the basic principle they are fighting for; they are just in it together. Use of intellect and adherence to truth are expected to take a backseat when it comes to standing up for, or with those we owe our allegiance to.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s visit to the quiet spot over the weekend along with Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib, ministry secretary-general Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan and Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.
The first MUTC was a redevelopment of the Bandar Baru Sentul Commercial and Community complex that was launched early last year and brings in governmental agencies such as the National Registration Department and Road Transport Department.
So, if your mom has had an argument with the neighbours, woe betide you if you were to point out that the next-door aunty had a valid point. It may be clear to everyone that the boss’ viewpoint is baseless, but very few will raise an objection and risk being considered disloyal. On the other hand, indulging his every whim and assisting him in every desire, no matter how harmful to him, becomes recognised as an act of loyalty.
When the emperor stepped out naked in the fairytale, The Emperor’s New Clothes, who was more loyal? The entire kingdom that pretended to admire his non-existent clothes, or the child who cried out, ‘Look mom, the emperor is naked’? Birbal is a good example of an adviser who tempered his loyalty with sense and intelligence, using wit as a tool to convey his honest opinions to Emperor Akbar in a court full of yeasayers. Nobody can question his loyalty to the emperor and yet he often disagreed with Akbar. But then you need a generous and confident Akbar to admire the Birbal in you.
When truth and loyalty are in conflict, we should have the wisdom and courage to decide what to do. Unconditional loyalty is outmoded; loyalty should be conditional, based on our own set of values. A consciousness of this would give one the courage to take unpopular stances that go against the prevailing misguided opinions in groups. Silence can also be looked upon as complicity if we quietly go along with something we do not believe in.
How can the consequence of loyalty to another be self-betrayal? Being loyal to someone does not mean closing your eyes to their faults; it means keeping their well-being and best interest close to your heart. Loyalty should not mean blind faith; it should mean an on-going reality check not just for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of those we profess loyalty towards.
In fact, our loyalty as self-respecting human beings should be with our own selves. If you are a good human being, you are bound to do good not only for yourself, but also for the benefit of those you are loyal to; if not, you are not good to those who possess your loyalty anyway.
Loyalty to ideas, religion and politics is good only so long as it helps us relate with like-minded people and protects us, giving us a sense of belonging. It is good so long as it does not encourage narrow-minded bigotry. One needs to keep re-examining ideas in different contexts and bring a new light and fresh air to old, antiquated beliefs.
Most of us hold beliefs that have been passed down to us through generations without pausing to re-examine them in the light of fresh evidence or the changed reality. What good are ideas you adhered to at the age of 13 by the time you reach 50? Bring new light to well-entrenched beliefs, analyse and rethink them. Else you are deceiving your own self and being self-righteous.
Loyalty must be tempered with truth and intelligence and must adhere to the values one holds dear. It should not be confused with obedience or adherence, but should be looked upon more as a feeling, an emotion, a bonding with someone for whose benefit you are prepared to go to great lengths.
Without knowing, so many wants have merged into needs over the years that it is difficult to distinguish between the two. And yet one has to make an effort if one is to live life on real terms.
It is simplistic to say that food, shelter, clothes and sex take care of our bare needs, and dismiss the rest as wants and desires. Maybe so, if you wish to just exist. But life is to be lived, not suffered! And once the basic necessities are met, there is happiness in defining new needs and seeking to fulfill those.
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, but he may not define a latte at Café Coffee Day or a beer at TGI Friday’s as a ‘need’ to unwind before he heads home! He may physically desire the same female star as you, but he doesn’t define space and happiness as a ‘need’ in his marriage.
Awareness and exposure have widened our horizons, which in turn have expanded our list of needs — and there is no going back. Living the life I do, I do not define my cellphone, laptop, a decent wardrobe, books and car as ‘wants’; they are very much needs as I cannot function without them. And an indulgence gives me the high that makes me feel better about life, so why not? Having established that, it is up to each individual to decide towards which end of the stick he likes to lean — between asceticism and overindulgence. I need a phone, sure, but do I really need a top-end contraption? The same goes for the car, the house and the wardrobe. Each of us needs to set our limitations at both ends as per our comfort and proceed within these set parameters, without guilt.
Today’s self-assertive culture is all about stating clearly your desires and wants, and expecting to fulfill them. We have allowed ourselves to imagine we have a right to get whatever we want; this creates a sense of entitlement that makes us selfish and self-centred, blurring needs from wants. It is important to define the tipping point at which a want becomes a need and to understand well the reasons for allowing this walkover. We all wish to cater to our needs, but it is essential that we understand what they are and how important these are to us. Sadly, most of our needs are dictated by someone else. We wish to acquire that bigger mansion, that fancy car or those expensive trinkets all in an attempt to outdo others and prove we are no less than anybody else. What a waste! These are precisely the ‘wants’ that masquerade as ‘needs’.
For a need to be genuine, it has to rise from within, be a growl within the system, something that is a must for inner happiness, our very growth, or maybe a one-off that fuels the rest of life! Need is not about others, it is about one’s own self. So whereas it is acceptable that many of yesterday’s ‘wants’ are today’s ‘needs’, one has to be cautious and alert enough to recognise the difference. What are the requirements to satisfy, to complete one’s own self? These are the additional needs of each individual over and above food, shelter, clothes and sex.
We need to keep redefining and adding new ‘needs’ because life demands that we pull ourselves up from the level of bare essentials to a level where we can start thinking of individual development and progress — physical, mental and spiritual. True, no hungry, unsheltered, unclothed man has the bandwidth to think of these realms, but once basic needs are met, we owe it to ourselves and to life to acquire and use the tools that make life and the world a better place for us to live in.
But beware of convincing yourself that every selfish want is a need you have to cater to! Do not fight the wants, just filter them before you let them enter the exclusive “Needs Club”!
