Mustn't lose hope

This is an article which appeared on May 7th. I missed it as it was published in the NST Johor Streets section which is not available in KL. I found it while surfing aimlessly through the net just now.

I'm putting it here to remind myself that before I met former Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, I thought there was no good people in Umno.

Datuk Ghani never said a single word to persuade me to switch my political affiliation. I switched side simply because I saw goodness in him as a leader and menteri besar of my home state. That was good enough to make me support him and what he stands for.

Now, that he has retired from politics, I must not lose hope that there are other good persons in Umno like him.

Ghani's still my champ, win or lose

By Nuradzimmah Daim

I HAVE fond memories of my hometown of Sungai Mati in Muar. It is where I received my first bicycle lesson (and fell in the drain) in front of my grandparents' house.

My siblings and I used to play at a small hut at the back, which also served as a hideout whenever we were in trouble for our mischief.

My grandfather, Cikgu Kadir, would take us in his old Volvo to Sungai Mati town to buy newspapers and groceries at the old shophouses there.

It is also where our former Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani was born and served as Serom state assemblyman for four terms.

What I remembered about him is the long queue of vehicles parked by the roadside as guests attended his Hari Raya open house every year.

As we whined about the traffic congestion at the usually quiet neighbourhood, there's a sense of pride that our Menteri Besar is from our village.

Although it is near to my grandparents' house, which is only five minutes' drive away, I only remember going for his open house once when I was 6, and that was before he was appointed Menteri Besar. I can't recall which government post he was holding at that time, but according to my online research, he should be the then Deputy Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and Post.

Being a friendly person, my grandmother, Cikgu Eton, was busy talking to guests, while my grandfather was nowhere to be seen.

I didn't care much about the food. I was only admiring the architecture of the hosts' kampung house and how grand it was.

The next thing I knew, my grandparents told me that we were leaving and told me to shake hands with the hosts.

I was too shy to get in line with the other children whom I thought were eager for duit raya, so I refused.

That was the first and last time I saw Ghani in person until recently when I accompanied a colleague to one of his rounds in Gelang Patah where he contested for the parliamentary seat.

Funnily, I had the same feeling as when I saw him as a child.

As most of the residents and fellow reporters hounded him, I just stood at the side watching him leave with wife, Prof Datin Paduka Dr Jamilah Ariffin.

In truth, I do not have to meet him to know what he has done for the state. One of the things that I appreciate is that although Johor thrives on businesses and development, some things are left untouched.

Those shophouses at the Sungai Mati junction (towards Muar town), which I learned were built during the Japanese Occupation are still there today.

Cultural activities such as zapin and ghazal continue to flourish and are also the pride of Johor.

Some may see them as irrelevant in this modern era, but for me, it mirrors our identity and have us stay grounded. Ghani made sure that physical development is balanced with human development via arts and culture.

In terms of education, I'm proud to say that I'm a product of Johor religious education's sekolah agama which is mandatory for Muslim primary school pupils.

When I first went to Kuala Lumpur to further my studies and later landed a job there, I learnt that there were others who couldn't read Jawi as it was not made compulsory in the states where they were born.

Fellow Johoreans would have their own opinions of what have been done in the past years.

I've read online comments asking what Ghani has done for the state as Menteri Besar, which I felt was a bit too much, even though I've been living away from Johor for a long time and only see what's going on in my kampung whenever I'm back. I also read about the state's development from newspapers.

The responsibilities now rest on the shoulder of the next Menteri Besar to continue his work and take Johor to even greater heights.

I also have faith in the new Serom state assemblyman, Abdul Razak Minhat, to continue serving the constituents there.

Ghani might have lost the Gelang Patah parliament seat (by a 14,762 majority for DAP's Lim Kit Siang), but to me, he will forever remain a champion.

A Malay proverb says: Patah tumbuh hilang berganti, but there's no one quite like Ghani.