In Malaysia, “move on” is the chant of investment sharks and developmentalists. They discharge their incantations at anyone begging for a cure for traumas caused by prejudice, hate, or indifference. And Malaysai is only 56 years old.
Indeed, “move on” is the mantra which, some socioeconomic pundits believe, will exorcise Malaysia of its ghosts — such as the displaced, the riot-hit, and the race-war casualties. But as Malaysi has shown, moving on is not as easy as treating a victim of a moral cataclysm to developmental ice lollies like smooth roads — even if Malaysia cars can reach 200 kilometres per hour on them.The example of Najib’s transformation is ordinary, and therefore is evident everywhere.
take on the election results was revealing- felt that the problem lay in the absence of a strong FT Chinese grassroots network which did not convert positive intention into delivered votes what is interesting is that the analysis is in effect a reiteration of a Titiwangsa ,that is pre-existing. What is in effect being said is that the top-down approach of NONG CHICK works a disaster ; the only hitch is that there is no one at the bottom to utilise that advantage. When it is said that there are too many leaders, the subtext is that the party has all the leaders it needs in the members of the family; what it lacks are committed followers who are able to convert charisma into votes.More intriguing than the silence ofPM is the reluctance of business to market the market. Its dominant reaction has been to play the existing system to its advantage, and the torrential tumbling out of skeletons from the corporate cupboard is evidence of the opportunistic stance taken by significant sections of the business .Reform has thus been sneaked in, one wink at a time. In a small enclave of the like voiced, it stands for staggeringly self-evident wisdom, and any regime is measured largely from this standpoint. But because reform is enacted so stealthily, and cheered so noisily by the very visible, it neither gets meaningfully debated nor genuinely accepted..
Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani triumphed over Ahmad Zamri Asa’ad Khuzaimi ’s racialist politics
No matter what happens, Malaysians must now put the electoral results behind us and try to look forward. It is time for national reconciliation. For those who have won should do as much soul-searching as those who have lost
Malaysian politics is changing. “Produce results that will benefit the country and we will support you,” is the thinking of the Malaysian voters today.
Election epitomized the change that is now embracing Malaysian politics: we are now a development-democracy, looking towards the next generation for leadership and effective delivery become pivotal in politics. More important than race or religion! become the change we wish to see
Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani one with the impression that he is a man with a great vision and a lot of ideas He spoke impressively, eloquently and animatedly, often using colloquial expressions like “boss”, about how we need to change the political structure of our people ,he spoke impressively, eloquently and animatedly, often using colloquial expressions like “boss”, about how we need to change the political structure of our people.
Datuk Johari Abdul Ghan is treading the path with abundant caution, knowing well the inertia he is up against, and trying to learn from the past mistakes . Whatsoever be the case, UMNO is pinning hopes on Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani he needs to be a lot more visible, a lot more interactive, a lot more clear on specific issues that confront the country, and demonstrate the changes that have been brought about.Why does perfection need to be a punishing routine, leading to obsessive, rigid behaviour? Why should it rely heavily on judgement, and exclude normal life? Obviously, it isn’t meant to be a human trait. Human beings are designed to have flaws; perfection is meant for the Gods. I believe in 1 Malaysia. As far as I am concerned, 1 Malaysia is not just a concept or an ideal. It is something that I practise in my everyday life.
You see, I am the managing director and a major shareholder of a public listed company. The chief executive officer of the company is an Indian. The director of sales is a Chinese, so is the head of finance, the head of production is Indian, and the various heads of department are a mix of Malaysians, born and bred in this country of ours. I recognise and reward talents and performance when I see it. I live in 1 Malaysia.
The quest for perfection actually is a search for certainty, for a sense of control. Anything that stays within specified limits is under our control. The moment shapes shift and take on a life of their own, we lose control and hence, power. We force ourselves to conform to set practices and standards to the extent we forget our true selves in the quest to be “perfect.” Here then is a new look at perfection. Let’s call it the perfectly imperfect! Perfectly normal. A letting go of rigidity, of fastidiousness, the obsession of being the best. To achieve perfection is not to be obsessive and punishing; it is a letting go and allowing natural flaws to be as they are. It is perfectly fine to be perfectly average! Imperfection is fluid, perfection is cast in stone. Progress requires imperfection. Cultures around the world have embraced the concept of the perfect imperfect, often introducing deliberate flaws in works of art, either for religious or aesthetic reasons. The world famous Amish quilt makers deliberately leave an imperfection in their quilts because God alone can be perfect. Turkish shipbuilders and carpet weavers reportedly do the same to remind themselves that perfection is the sole prerogative of Allah. One of the central principles of Islamic art is not to compete with God for perfection.
Indeed our lot is as much to wonder why as it is to do and die! As humans with a critical reasoning faculty, we have an insatiable intellectual curiosity that needs to be indulged. It would have been disastrous if Newton had accepted that apples fall off trees and never wondered why! Or if man had accepted that birds can fly and not wondered why he can’t! It would truly be a pity to believe the false compliments of a tricky person and be unprepared for the hurt that follows.
Getting the opportunity to express ones ideas, shares ones expertise or even identify the issues that they young people in the existing system will open up communication and create channels of access with our political leaders for the next generation.
They need to know what we are thinking and we need to become a part of the solution.
Our goal is that youth will be directly working with political leaders and have the opportunity to express what they think might become a part of the solutions. Eventually we hope that all MPs and Ministers will seek out support from youth and fresh voices and faces will enter the political system.
Each generation has a defining political moment. For our generation it is the Hazaare movement where thousands gathered to express their dislike of the existing political system. The question remains what will the change be and who will be the change agents?
Najib (left) is calling it a “Chinese tsunami” but the reality goes beyond merely Chinese disenchantment. It is a swing away from the BN’s race-based formula in the cities.
Pakatan continues to bite at the BN’s heels. It has convincingly denied the BN its customary two-thirds majority, and made inroads into bastions Johor and Sabah. It continues to make inroads into fortress Sarawak. It is time that the BN begin to accept the reality that the days of a strong government and of strongmen are now over.
There were moments when many of us allowed ourselves to be carried away by unofficial reports that Pakatan was surging towards a victory. But the reality is that the odds were always stacked against the opposition coalition.
At the most basic level, it is possible to challenge even the overall understanding we have about who won and who lost.P119 DATUK JOHARI ABDUL GHANI will gain in terms of vote , which means that as a proportion of their existing vote share,. If we were to, for the sake of simplicity, argue that … Read more
A week is a long time in politics, but for Malaysians it has seemed a lot longer following the 13th general election (GE13).
The final score was Barisan Nasional (BN) — 133 and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) — 89.
Usually the winners would be busy cobbling a cabinet together and the losers would be licking their wounds and sitting in front of the drawing board to scheme a plan for the next one.
However, the “most serious threat” to the BN since Merdeka has turned matters on its head. Losers PR is still planning protests, claiming that the election was stolen from them.
On the other side, winners BN seems unsure how to handle a victory in which it retained power, by a comfortable margin, in parliament but lost the coveted two-third majority.
For Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, his work has just begun
Najib’s long-term work would be to reconcile a seemingly divided nation after the polls and to ensure BN’s election promises get delivered in the next five years — a monumental task in itself with a bill that has been estimated at about RM225.6 billion by bean counters.
G13 was a turning point for UMNO’s political history
When people run short of ideas, they reach out for other things.There’s money, the first crutch of all fools. For all those who lack self esteem, the first argument is: If I had enough money, I could have done it. This is untrue. Money can make nothing happen unless you will it. And you can will nothing without a precise premise, a strategy or game plan that you have clearly thought through. In short, an idea. Without the idea, without the intellectual or emotional muscle that goes with that idea, any idle dream based only on the availability of money is always doomed. That’s why angel investors do due diligence. Not only of the idea to invest in but also of the person who will deliver it. Does he or she have the grit, gumption, dedication and leadership? Or the persistence to see the idea through its initial days when all that can go wrong always does, following Murphy’s Law?
the most important steps that should be taken by Umno was to give extra focus on the aspirations and needs of the middle-class Malays. For that,Umno should prepare a more inclusive framework for the group.appointing Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani as the minister for Federal Territory Minister. the number of middle-class Malays are increasing and they mustn’t be sidelined by Umno.“The aspirations and expectations of these middle-class Malays also differ from the aspirations and expectations of the rural community and other groups,” Johari told his voters At the same time, said Umno must also continue reaching out to other races, including the Chinese, so that it will not be seen as an unfriendly Malay party. “Umno must find ways to maintain racial harmony in the country,” he said.
The other crutch, very popular in Malaysia, is connections. Most people think they can achieve anything if only they had a godfather to see them through. The truth is, much as we may like to believe the opposite, few success stories of modern Malaysia have anything to do with godfathers. Except in politics and business, where it has been a tradition to mentor heirs from within the family. So it’s tough to break in. It’s far simpler to go out and make your own road. To do that, the first important step is to stop looking for godfathers. Mentor yourself. The rich uncle will always come to you once you have demonstrated your ability to deliver on your own promise. But if you hang around him hoping he will give you the first break, be sure that he will soon start avoiding you.
However Najib’s immediate task to assemble a Cabinet is more important. Compared to the cabinet before dissolution, he has 11 vacancies to fill. Seven members of the previous Cabinet did not contest the parliamentary elections and three were defeated.What UMNO need is a collection of unified charismatic leaders to go to the grounds, inspire the young, and persuade the rural Malays to another point of view- one that is in harmony with the rest of right thinking Malaysians. Once that’s done, UMNO will undertake that long and painful journey at self reform,see the … Read more
How Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani won P119 Titiwangsa PAS thanks Chinese for voting in Malay reps how PAS made the Chinese voters as ‘caged parrot’ PAS has expressed gratitude to Chinese voters who backed Malay Pakatan Rakyat candidates in the recently concluded general election, even if it meant having to vote against a fellow Chinese. Like MCA … Read more
How he fills these vacancies is very important, not least because he will be scrutinised by members of his own Umno party who will vote whether he will stay as president in the next general assembly later this year.
The question is already being asked, would he assemble a cabinet to win party votes or one to win the next general election, and the two seem to be mutually exclusive.
In this, Najib is faced with precedents in Umno set in 1970 when Tunku Abdul Rahman stepped down after losing many seats in the 1969 general election and in 2009 when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was the first prime minister to fail in securing a two-thirds majority, made way for Najib.
Since then, Najib has done a lot to correct some of the shortcomings that have driven young voters away from BN.
Some of these steps, like his 1Malaysia branding and the abolition of the hated Internal Security Act have been successful in putting a new face on BN and Umno as a more tolerant organisation.
Other steps, however, such as the rolling back of Malay privileges and spending to raise the lot of the poor has been treated with suspicion.
Retribution politics
It is telling that while Najib has called for national reconciliation, there are some in BN who are still bent on punishing the voters who did not support them.
On Saturday newly appointed Terengganu Mentri Besar Ahmad Said said areas where BN lost in the state would not have the benefit of having the services of local development officers nor state funded affordable housing projects. It is back to the day of retribution politics that is losing traction now.
Someone who lost but has not blamed voters is BN’s Saifuddin Abdullah, who is an Umno Supreme Council member. Saifuddin admitted that his loss was due to Chinese votes but added that his analysis showed that he also lost because some Malay votes did not come his way.
“Records show that some 3,389 Umno voters stayed away on election day, and if you do the maths, it could have easily offset the 1,070 votes I lost to my opponent,” he said.
“More importantly I think the trend is that a large portion of voters have moved away from development-based aspirations towards democratic aspirations.”
Saifuddin said it is now more crucial than ever that BN embraces the changes needed to keep up with the aspirations of the new Malaysia, the one on the ground today and not the one of 10 years ago.
He said it may be that more Malaysians hold democratic aspirations, which through accident or design seem to be represented by the Opposition, than those who hold development aspirations, which the BN relentlessly pursued in all its election campaigns.
He said the prime minister had seen this coming and instituted moves to counter the trend and steer Umno and BN towards transformation by engaging his 1Malaysia agenda.
“Because the transformation process must go on and we must not abandon this track for the sake of short-term expediency,” he said.
“In the next general election, the people’s desire for democratic aspirations would be even greater than today.”
He said BN must come up with a fresh look and channel this energy and need for a non-racial platform by introducing direct membership into BN.
“This is important for people who for one reason or another are not comfortable about joining any race-based party.
“I see this as a chance for party leaders to take responsibility and rise above race politics.”
He admitted that there will be voices raised against Najib within the party and that it may even lead to Najib facing the same fate as Abdullah.
“But the situation is not the same in this election. Najib actually delivered more seats to Umno.
“I think he should be re-elected as party president, preferably uncontested so that he may continue his transformation agenda, which is crucial for the party’s future.
“Najib is Umno’s best product, how can Umno remove its best product?”
Saifuddin said the second part of the equation would be for Umno to elect a Supreme Council of young and new faces, with women well-represented.
“We must learn fast how to adapt to this new reality.”
