Rare Umno lawmaker in KL, Johari offers chance to rejuvenate UMNO in the Federal Territories keep talking to grassroots rejuvenation of urban Malays
The best New Year greeting has come to me from a friend. It consists of two lines from T S Eliot’s Four Quartets: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, And next year’s words await another voice.” We shall see which voice prevails.
become the last hope of in its bitter struggle against the rise Brain dead FT Umno chief Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and FT Umno deputy chief Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin leaders no longer believe they can win in 2018 they never pursued Pakatan with the ferocity it displays against DAP. This is not merely desire for retribution; it is also evidence of worry. The past few days have been particularly depressing to UMNO, but Johari hope that DAP can still be stopped in FT seats will be a small change in the larger game.In theory, this strategy has its merits. Johari has one asset in common. DAP are outsiders who promise to cleanse the gutters of DBKL corruption would have no answers on electricity rates, water or crime. electricity from corporations, who are even less generous; and the police is run by the Centre. Some battles are better lost.. If Johari with an energized urban Malays cadre in support, remains the only claimant to honesty’s mantle,Pakatan could face electoral upheaval. But if his mantle can be shared with other BN parties, voter focus will not split.FT was the only state to produce a confused result, the city’s mood confirmed an important fact: voters go to the polling booth to elect an alternative government, not only to give vent to anger.Pakatan would have preferred another, quick, election, to maximize the positive surge in their direction. Citizens told him to get on with it, and deliver on promises instead of stretching an alibi. There is a consistent message from ground level. Voters want a stable government.Pakatan cannot offer that at a national level. Nor can Lim Kit Siang promise a coalition, since he considers every other party corrupt. His only rationale for entering Parliament will be that of a security guard service. Good, but possibly not good enough.But there isn’t a gambler in a casino, or in a general election lottery, who will accept defeat before a last throw of dice.
As 2014 shapes up to be a year of increases, Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani is already setting his sights on rising prices that he has been fighting this year.
Despite being a member of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, Johari ― one of just two Umno federal lawmakers in the city ― has been outspoken against the government’s move to cut subsidies and raise taxes, even crossing party lines to oppose a controversial assessment hike here.
He says these should not have come all at once as they would hurt consumer spending and, ultimately, the country’s economy.
“It will become unbearable to the people,” Johari told The Malay Mail Online in a recent phone interview.
“I can understand why the government needs to reduce subsidies, but what I’m saying is that all these increases cannot be done in one go. It has to be done in phases,” he added.
In order to cut its chronic budget deficit to 3 per cent of the economy by 2015, Putrajaya recently reduced fuel subsidies, removed price controls for sugar, and confirmed the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), all within the space of four months.
Electricity tariffs are set to increase from next month and Kuala Lumpur residents are also in line for an assessment rate hike next year after valuations of their properties were doubled, or tripled in some cases, while public transport charges in the Klang Valley are set to go up further next year.
Putrajaya is also considering increasing the toll rates for various highways throughout the Klang Valley, although this has yet to be confirmed.
“You cannot say if petrol prices go up, ‘don’t drive a car’. We don’t have alternative public transport,” said Johari.
“Our public transport system is not efficient. You can only say that if you have effective public transport like in Melbourne, London or Singapore,” he added.
Johari joined opposition FT lawmakers in opposing the proposed assessment rate hike in the city, pointing out last month that increases to property valuation of between 100 and 300 per cent would render government cash aid meaningless.
Johari says that he will fight against the rising cost of living. — Picture courtesy of Johari Abdul Ghani
When asked to share his biggest achievement this year, Johari said he was proudest of his work to highlight in Parliament the lack of affordable housing in KL for low- to middle-income groups, as well as the spiralling property prices in the Klang Valley.
“This issue later was taken up by the government and they subsequently agreed to allocate more funds and incentives to develop this category of housing in the 2014 Budget, like low-cost houses under KPKT (Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government) and SPNB (Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad),” he said.
Johari pointed out that Putrajaya has also increased the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), during the tabling of Budget 2014 in October, to curb speculation that has driven up property prices beyond the reach of many young people in the city.
You cannot say if petrol prices go up, ‘don’t drive a car’. We don’t have alternative public transport. — Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani
“Under KPKT, they continue building more PPR houses throughout the country and in the city. But they’re still facing problems in getting suitable land to build PPR in KL,” he said, referring to public housing.
“Even if it’s available, it’s too strategically located, where the land value is more than the price of the PPR. Other land already belongs to developers. That’s why I’m suggesting to DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) and FT, any land belonging to them, they should not privatise it,” added the acting Umno Titiwangsa chief.
On what Johari failed to accomplish this year, he said that he was unable to resolve the issue of flash floods in his constituency in the city centre.
“I’m going to pursue further to get DBKL and government agencies to seriously look into the matter,” he said.
“The immediate feedback that I got was that they’re allocating some funds on widening the drainage at Dato Keramat, and in Kampung Baru, they’re looking at the water retention pond and also upgrading the pump, in order to contain the flash floods,” added the Umno lawmaker.
Rare Umno lawmaker in KL,
You probably have heard this before “Nice people finish last” and perhaps have experienced it as well – watching pushy, inconsiderate individuals get the job you wanted or have received the romantic attention of someone you have been pining for. It didn’t seem fair, did it?
If you have observed this rare breed, called ‘nice people’, closely and understood what they had to offer –integrity, compassion, protection, support, passion, & possibly lots more, you’d be confused; why, despite having these attributes, are they simply walked over and cast aside in everyday relationships!
Look inside an office and you’ll see that you don’t have to be ‘the boss’ to take on a leadership role. If you are one with the most experience in a certain skill, you’ll have, at least in a few key moments, the opportunity to become the ‘leader’ and guide your team. That’s a no brainer right there, isn’t it?
Psychological studies in this area have been fascinating. They have helped us understand the connect between the ability to lead, when necessary, and the achievement of professional success; taunting us to the ever unanswered question: Do nice guys really finish last in life?
Though difficult to predict, evidence shows that ‘nice guys’ typically earn less than their more aggressive colleagues. And while you may agree, aggressive people are often perceived as ‘jerks’, studies do not suggest that you become one to get ahead in life, rather they suggest that highly agreeable men need to watch the outcome of their assertiveness when it comes to their work. Especially, assertiveness, that relates more closely to taking on the role of a ‘leader’.
Let’s analyze why this happens and what you – the nice guy, can do about it.
With research proving, at least statistically, that nice guys earn less than their aggressive peers, it shows a strong negative relationship between ‘agreeableness’ and the income for men. The more agreeable a person is, the lesser will be the earnings!
In everyday life, outside of the workplace, the being ‘agreeable’ trait is considered as a positive characteristic – of being warm, sympathetic, kind and cooperative. When the nice guy is an agreeable person, he is an ideal person to spend time with. He will allow people to come into his life, and will agree with them on everything. It’s so important for people to like him, so he’s Mr. Agreeable all along.
While there’s nothing wrong with being nice, but when you’re so nice to everyone, you stop being nice to yourself and your efforts can backfire.
This unique duality exists because disagreeable men, in competitive, work environment, are viewed as tough negotiators, and are those who stick to their vision, unfortunately though, women don’t receive the same benefit in terms of how they are viewed. The general perception being – if a woman is agreeable, she may be taken advantage of, and if she is disagreeable, she is considered a control freak. Therefore, even though being ‘disagreeable’ may not seem too ideal a scenario, being too agreeable is viewed as a sign of weakness and perceived as a flaky personality, lacking in confidence and conviction.
But having seen that, if being an agreeable person is highly desired, how can a balance be found? Is there any direct connect between being assertive and the qualities associated with higher earnings and work-related success?
I believe the answer lies in analyzing – what fills up the high-earning positions, not just those of ‘the boss’ – but that of the leader.
When we begin examining the qualities of leadership as a whole, which can include men or women, we look past the gender bias, and focus on the qualities that are more universally applicable in the workplace. By examining these qualities that have strong connections with leadership, we can see where ‘nice guys’ may be going wrong, and find out what it really takes to lead others and advance in a competitive environment.
Let’s dig deeper …
Decisiveness – When we witness someone making and sticking to their decisions, we subconsciously associate them with responsibility, and they are more likely to be perceived as leaders. Leaders often have the first-mover advantage in many decision making situations, as being one with the most conviction of creating a self-reinforcing cycle that leads to the development of certain kinds of collective beliefs within their team members.
Vision – A natural compliment to decision making, vision defines the road map, and the leader does more than just shout their opinion the loudest—they are best at articulating their thoughts one by one and justify how things are going to fall in, in a group, for instance.
However, when we regard speaking in a group, research has found brainstorming as an ineffective method for coming up with ideas. Agreeable people can be anxious about being negatively evaluated and be apprehensive about having their thoughts judged by others, and undergo social loafing – deliberately exert less effort to achieve a goal, where the reliance is on the group for ideas instead of voluntarily putting forth their own.
Persistence – While being persistent does emphasize on the need to convince, there are certainly some differences between the typical ‘agreeable’ and a persistent personality. Nice guys, the agreeable ones, use the tactic of voicing their opinion just for the sake of argument, thereby playing the devil’s advocate, when they want to disagree. Although it may seem that being the devil’s advocate allows nice guys to keep pushing for their opinion without hurting any feelings, often this tactic backfires, as it generally strengthens the group’s opinion on the original argument!
On the other hand, the persistent person by virtue of his articulate nature, would actually be listened to much more closely and evaluated for much longer, because a majority will at least seek to understand the opposing argument, before dismissing it.
It therefore becomes imperative for nice guys to not only be persistent in their efforts towards greatness, but also need to learn ‘when to hold’ and ‘when to fold’, and if they are confident of their idea or argument, they need to push for it without trying to please everyone.
Do you agree?
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Silent Night Sigh-lent bright star Anointed Joe Oh Titiwangsa,a poll’s had won. you has Waken from slum-ber dee-eep, End your con-fu-sion deep. Sigh-lent UMNO !Deep’ning night! PAS quaking at the sight. Alarm bells scream from near and afar. The allies don’t sing Alleluia. Joe the Saviour’bo-orn Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari is the fascinating person of 2013 … Read more TITIWANGSA MP DATUK JOHARI SAID 2013 YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY BEEN A TUMULTUOUS FOR UMNO
