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Depressing Comparison
My sense of disappointment is more keenly felt as I am currently witnessing President-elect Obama unrolling his new leadership team. To a person his nominees are all accomplished individuals, having made their mark in academia, the professions, public service, or the corporate world. They not only look competent but also speak with confidence and considerable authority. Most of all they talk sense. That is very reassuring, at a time when the public needs it badly.
Then there are the assorted characters now vying for leadership positions in UMNO, and thus aspiring to lead our nation. To begin with, there is Najib Razak, unopposed to be the next leader of UMNO, and thus the next Prime Minister. With the country afflicted by rampant crime, the best that he could offer was for citizens to change our perception of it!
As for his supposed knowledge of economics, his major as an undergraduate at a provincial British university decades ago, he is nonchalant about the threatening global economic crisis. Even FELDA farmers have a better grasp of threat of this global crisis, having seen their livelihood destroyed with the plummeting price of palm oil.
Then there are the three candidates for UMNO Deputy Leader. Muhyyiddin Yassin is more upset with his former cabinet colleague Zaid Ibrahim attending Pakatan Rakyat’s party convention. I would have expected as Trade Minister, Muhyyiddin would be consumed with the ongoing free trade negotiations with America rather than be bothered with what Zaid is doing in his spare time. At the very least Muhyyiddin should be busy drumming up foreign investments or finding new markets for our palm oil, especially during these trying economic times.
The second candidate, Malacca’s Chief Minister Ali Rustam, is too enthralled with Bollywood studs, having just awarded one of them with a Datukship. The song and dance of the Hindi movie is more his style. What a contrast in values between that state and Selangor!
The third aspirant, the double Muhammad Taib, was the fellow who was arrested at an Australian airport a few years back with literally millions in cash in his back pocket. Nobody, least of all Prime Minister Abdullah, has ever asked this former school teacher how he acquired his fabulous wealth. In a display of courage borne of stupidity, he publicly took on Raja Petra of Malaysia-Today accusing him of insulting Islam. Raja Petra mercilessly humiliated Muhammad Taib into silence by exposing this politician’s sordid past.
These are the best of Malay leadership that we could offer for the world to preview. Obviously what Malays need most in the constitution is not the current “special privileges” provision rather a clause to protect us from these inept and corrupt leaders.
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Couldn't agree with him more!
Seeing the deplorable quality of our "leaders" in Malaysia, it's no wonder our country has descended into the deepest of toilets - what with rising and rampant crime explained away as wrong perceptions and misunderstood statistics, runaway corruption is portrayed as just another perception problem, the global economic crisis is flippantly dismissed as nothing to do with us, and billions of the countries wealth being siphoned off into the pockets of UMNOPUTRAS and their BN cronies!
And with numerous chronic and critical problems plaguing our country, we have an aspiring PM-to-be who seems to have little to no ability to assure citizens that he has things under control. A random reading of his recent statements is enough to give us a quick profile of his mindset.
- political advice to the KT by-election calon: You must want to win, shake hands, smile, talk nicely to the voters.
- on the economic crisis: Malaysia will not be affected.
- on the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide: We hope developers will be more careful when they build and obey building codes.
What the hell is this? These are words without conviction even meaning! These are ramblings of someone who has no idea what is going on. These are words of a person who is only able to see the surface of things and even then can't make a decent conclusion from that! These are the words of a person who have no principles!
If I were the PM-in-waiting, I would have said something like:
- political advice to the KT by-election calon: You must communicate to the voters of KT of the issues faced by the state and country and the solutions we have to offer
- on the economic crisis: Malaysia's current standing is as such, and the impact on the various segments of society are such...and these are the solutions we are proposing to address those specific areas
- on the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide: There has been a severe lack of compliance. We will set up a Royal Commission to study the landslide tragedy and another Royal Commission to review all hillside developments. No one will be spared responsibility. The findings of the Commissions will be honoured and prosecutions will follow.
NO ONE in the BN govt said anything to that effect. Instead, we have "leaders" blaming the landslide on God, and the CPO defending looters!!
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