Lovely couple.
We had bento sets at a very nice Japanese restaurant near Mount Kiara.
My friend used to be my team leader during the defence of Johor in 2013.
He and his wife are now living a rather peaceful life, spending their extra time writing books and pampering their grandchildren.
We mostly talked about those good days in Johor and a bit of the present.
Then, out of the blue, my friend's wife popped a question to me.
"Do you know what they made him?". the "him" she was referring to was former Johor menteri besar TS Abdul Ghani Othman.
I told her I didn't know what's the latest about Ghani.
My friend's wife nudged him and said "She doesn't know. Tell her la."
I think my friend was a bit embarrassed as he hesitated before saying to me,
"They made him Umno's disciplinary board chairman."
I laughed when my friend told me that. I just can't help myself.
"See, she's laughing," my friend said to his wife. I think he's a bit annoyed with my reaction.
But his wife was laughing too. The couple know Ghani very much more than I do. I believe she also felt that it's too weird for Ghani to come out of his retirement from politics like that.
"Why can't they let Ghani retire in peace? Do you think he will take it?" I asked.
My friend said Ghani will take the responsibility.
"There's no way for him to decline. The supreme council had decided on it," he said.
My friend is right, Ghani is a loyal party man, and he will do the job.
From the bit that I know of him, he will do it as according to the book, the same way he did when he was the Johor MB.
The guy is just like that.
Well, the post is actually quite important. Making sure there's no nonsense going on in the party.
Things such as money politics.
I know, many of you would say there's no way that Ghani can do it.
But I'm confident that he will try his best.
He's retired and has nothing to lose anyway.
Ghani will do it without fear or favour. That I'm very sure.
Of all the Umno leaders that I know, he is the one who have absolutely no fear to say "NO" to anyone when it comes to doing the wrong things.
Not even to the most powerful people.
I know that he did so when he was the Johor MB and more recently as the Sime Darby chairman.
What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. Ghani doesn't talk too much but that's just the way he is.
He rather not have the job than having to do the wrong thing.
In fact, that's why he decided to retire from politics in 2013.
If not for the request by PM DS Najib Razak for him to contain Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah, he would not have contested in the general election that year.
Everyone knew that it's a suicide mission.
He contested a Chinese majority constituency (the first Umno leader to do so) against the biggest DAP leader at the height of the Chinese tsunami. What's more suicidal than that, right?
But he still did it the best that he could because he's a loyal party man.
I was there at Gelang Patah to witness it, and I saw him and his team tried their best.
That's why I'm sure he will try his best too with this new appointment.
In a way, the Umno supreme council actually made the right decision to appoint him as disciplinary board chairman.
They need someone with his credibility to do that job.
Ghani doesn't belong to any faction or owe anyone in the party, so, he's the right man for it.
I'm confident that he will do the right thing.
Nonetheless, I do pity him for having to get involve in all the mess again.
He's past 70 and by right should be allowed to rest.
 |
| Ok, he looks younger than 70 but I still think they should let him rests. |
What to do. Back to work for Ghani.
At least they are not asking him to contest in elections and such. Alhamdulillah for that.
Well Datuk Ghani, in case you are reading this;
All the best.
And don't stress yourself too much.
Susu setitik tidak dapat mensucikan nila setempayan..
ReplyDeleteAll the best to him...
By the way...
Bangkai gajah tidak dapat ditutup dengan nyiru bagi kes 1MDB adakah masih relevan (?)
Habis tu yg kat sebelah sana berapa titik susu pulak?peliwat ada,kaki uturn ada,bapak racist pun ada,main bini org pun ada
DeleteProf Kangkung
DeletePros Kangkang,
"peliwat ada,kaki uturn ada,bapak racist pun ada,main bini org pun ada"
Thank you for your excellent description of Umno. For a man of such feeble intellectual gifts, not a bad achievement. (You missed "penyamun" however.)
Do note that the victim of the "liwat" committed by your paymaster is the entire Malaysian public.
You apparently enjoyed it, but then stupidity is incurable, kan.
Prof Sawi
Annie,
ReplyDeleteI think what is the most important in this piece of writing, is your statement,
“What is right is right, what is wrong is wrong”
In this country of ours, what is wrong doesn’t mean that it is wrong and what is right is not necessarily right.
We can dwelve further in books on the subject of morality, law and religions and so fourth.....
Stealing is wrong. Everyone is clear about that.
Taking drugs is wrong. Everyone is clear about that.
However, taking drugs, let say metamethamine compared to dringking beer, in this country of ours drinking beer now had created a situation. Drugs are much-much more dangerous than alcohol and it had affected and caused serious problems to a lot of people.
On the subject of donation.
Suppose a foreigner gave a donation amounting billions to an organization. The person who received the donation did not deposit donation into the treasury account but instead deposit into his personal account.
Is that right or wrong.?
A person who have a British passport, it is clearly wrong.
A person who have a Malaysian passport, it is not necesary wrong, or they will say opposition is doing something wrong also.
So, what is right and what is wrong will depend on what nationality you belong to.
Just like a black cat.
A black cat is considered unlucky by italian people but for British, a black cat will bring good luck. It will depend on the passport the person holding.
Annie,
ReplyDelete"what more suicidal other than that"..becoming umno's disciplinary board chairman I guess
HHK
"Well, the post is actually quite important. Making sure there's no nonsense going on in the party."
DeleteWhen Najis Tong Sampah received his "681 American Pies" from his Chinese middleman, the combined forces of Umngok came up with 41 different explanations in the first 3 months.
However, if it was a "political donation", then by Umno's own rules it must appear in the party's audited accounts for 2015/16.
But it doesn't.
Hence Ghani's first job should be to dismiss the fat songlaping hippo's husband as Umno president for a serious breach of financial duties.
Parti macam Umno siapa pun jadi Pengerusi lembaga disiplin sama saja Annie. Tak ada maknanya. Wayang kulit semuanya. Apa yang ditunjukkan di depan berlainan dengan apa yang berlaku disebalik tabir. Tak ada istilah ‘by the book’ atau ‘act indepedently’. Kalau tak selari dengan ‘angin’ kat atas tu, semua boleh berubah.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, kata putus di tangan pucuk pimpinan. Dia yang paling berkuasa. Hatta jawatankuasa disiplin pun tak terlepas dari cengkaman beliau. Mereka terpaksa mengikut rentak. Orang straight macam Ghani boleh bengkang-bengkok dibuatnya.
Sebagai contoh ketika peristiwa pemecatan pemimpin-pemimpin tertinggi parti dulu, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dengan Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir. Mereka pada mulanya digantung kemudian dipecat serta-merta tanpa dipanggil untuk membela diri.
Undang-undang jenis apa yang mereka pakai. Orang yang bakal dijatuhi hukuman tidak diberi peluang untuk menceritakan 'his side of the story'. Tahu-tahu digantung, dipecat dan sebagainya. Langsung tiada keadilan. Sebab tu Tun M cakap Umno sekarang tak macam dulu. Umno dah seperti parti Najib.
Masa Anwar dipecat dari Umno dulu sekurang-kurangnya Tun M bagi peluang kepada Anwar untuk membela dirinya. Anwar dijemput dan hadir ke mesyuarat MT yang bakal menentukan untung nasibnya (Tidak seperti kes Datuk Seri Mukhriz dulu yang telah pun ada dalam mesyuarat parti tetapi dihalau keluar oleh Ku Nan). Beliau datang dan mengambil tempat di sebelah Mahathir selaku Timbalan Presiden parti. Tun M telah menceritakan how akward he felt having Anwar sat next to him as the axe was about to fall on him. Diceritakan dalam memoir beliau ‘The Doctor in the house’.
Mengikut prosedur disiplin parti, Mahathir meminta Anwar untuk membela diri sebelum apa-apa hukuman dijatuhkan ke atasnya. Anwar diberi peluang oleh MT kenapa tindakan tidak boleh diambil ke atasnya. Setelah selesai memberi keterangan, barulah MT membuat keputusan. Itulah amalan parti Umno sejak mula ditubuhkan. Bukannya main ikut sedap jer seperti apa yang berlaku sekarang.
Shafie Apdal dilihat lebih bijak mengatur langkah dan menggerakkan buah caturnya dalam hal ini. Patutlah parti Warisan sekarang mendapat sambutan luar biasa dari rakyat Sabah. Dalam hal keanggotaan parti, Shafie terlebih dahulu meletak jawatan before Umno even had the chance to do anything. Now the table has turned. It was Umno's turn to react.
Ismail Sabri dan Tok Pa anggap Shafie Apdal terburu-buru. Oh apa yang depa buat kat Muhyiddin ngan Mukhriz dianggap betul dan kena, bila Shafie buat dianggap satu tindakan yang terburu-buru pula. Inilah dinamakan demokrasi dan keadilan ala Umno. Dia buat boleh, orang lain buat tak boleh.
Depa ni pandai. Nak pecat depan-depan tak berani sebab tu gantung dulu. Bila dah gantung jadi Muhyiddin ngan Mukhriz tak boleh hadir mesyuarat. Bila tak ada dalam mesyuarat senang nak buat kerja pecat-memecat. Mahathir pecat Anwar depan-depan dalam mesyuarat MT. Anwar tepuk meja, menjerit-jerit lepas tu bingkas bangun tinggalkan mesyuarat.
Mahathir jauh lebih berani dari orang yang mengaku ada darah pahlawan. Nak pecat melalui saluran yang betul pun tak ada telur. Prosedur disiplin dan tatertib entah ke mana asalkan matlamat tercapai.
Inilah dinamakan demokrasi dan keadilan ala Umno. Yang menjadi isu bukan pelanggaran disiplin parti tapi survival politik sang pemimpin parti. Sudah tiba masanya gelombang politik baru diwujudkan bagi menggantikan parti Umno yang telah jauh berubah dari teras perjuangannya.
Yg ada sekarang adalah pemimpin-pemimpin yg dayus bermula dari kepala hingga ke bontot nya...yg nampak berani adalah satu singa betina yg sebenar nya menguasai politik BN...pemimpin UMNO dah tahap lemah syahwat politik...boleh potong batang masing-masing kasi babi makan!!
DeleteAnnie,
ReplyDelete//There's no way for him to decline.//
I don't think it is only about loyalty.
It's probably also about his job in Sime Darby.
Because Ghani comes across as a highly principled man, it is very unlikely that he is a fabulously wealthy man and the Sime Darby job pays well, you know.
//Things such as money politics.//
Come on, let's not be naive, OK?
Ghani is not going to be looking at money politics.
Money is at the very heart of how UMNO operates.
Remember that fellow who piled up RM1million in cash to let everybody know he meant business in GE13?
The fact that Ghani may have been very frugal with his own political spending does not mean he doesn't know how other UMNO politicians operate.
If UMNO operated on the same budget as DAP, UMNO would have closed shop a long time ago, OK?
//Ghani doesn't belong to any faction or owe anyone in the party, so, he's the right man for it.//
In a way, Ghani does belong to a faction - Najib's faction and he does owe his Sime Darby job to the party.
But his main value to the party is his unshakable loyalty to UMNO and his personal integrity.
So in that sense, yes, Ghani is the right man for the job when it comes to enforcing discipline but the discipline will revolve around loyalty to the party - nothing else.
As long as what is done is for the good of the party, no problems.
But I am not sure how Ghani will deal with the 1MDB issue as it should be pretty obvious to him (he is not dumb, OK?) that quite a lot of the money was spent on frivolous things like having a good time, penthouses or jewelry.
Maybe he'll treat those misspent money as part of operating costs, similar to commissions paid, I dunno.
Maybe he'll rationalise that the bulk of the money has been put aside for UMNO, so that's good for the party. Who knows?
It will be interesting to see what happens now that Ghani is in charge of discipline.
I wonder who would be the first to fall foul of Ghani and what Ghani will do :)
Gladiator
Let me assure you that Ghani doesn't really need the Sime Darby job. He personally told me back then that he would be happy to go back to teaching after he retires from politics. He used to be the dean of economics at UM before roped into politics by Dr Mahathir. I also know for a fact that in December last year, he told Najib that he would resign from his post at Sime Darby if he is forced to do something which is wrong and will harm the company. He felt that he was entrusted to look after Sime Darby and if he can't do that than he rather not have the job. That's the same Ghani that I know when he was the Johor MB. Thank you.
DeleteThank You Annie.
DeleteNow I realized that Dr.M had a penchant for selecting the wrong people into UMNO's top hierarchy when he was PM.
I just hope he does not do the same with Bersatu.
Annie,
ReplyDeleteWhat can a spent bullet do for a swamp reeking of total indiscipline and dishonesty ?
The newly designated disciplinarian maybe your favourite poster boy, but he cannot drain the swamp.Not in his lifetime.
The occupants of the swamp are crocodiles,anacondas,leeches,
sharks,stingrays and other venomous species.They have already ravaged, rampaged and raped almost everything.
And surrounding the swamp are greyhounds,hyenas,porcupines, rattlesnakes and host of other flesh eating species of unknown pedigree, waiting to pounce at the slightest opportunity.
What was left by the founding father and his successors as an unpolluted and clean river to feed,protect,share and develop its surrounding populace has degenerated into an obnoxious and slimy swamp littered with parasites, creepers and hangers-on as well.
Thrash known as cash has settled into the once clean riverbed.
Now the riverbed knows the language of denominations in the millions and billions.
The dredging of the river was seen as a passport for wealth,riches and power but in recent times it is made famous for its deceit,lies,arrogance,thievery and banditry.
The swamp needs to be filled up to give rise to a new pristine river.
Pendek kata, the Guns of Ghani will not be able to shoot many.
It will be double trouble for him just like Eric Clapton's Double Trouble as uploaded by Laura Lucia Mazuchova in YouTube.
Cheers
Rasta Rules.
I have a few things in common with Datuk Ghani.He is a Muarian and so do I.He went to Muar High Schol and so did I.btw, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also and old boy of Muar High School.
ReplyDeleteGhani is a real gentleman.One of the image of him that still stuck in my mind is when he hold Lim Kit Siang's hand while both of them were walking down a stair.I think it was during the Gelang Patah nomination day.I dare not think Lim Kit Siang will hold Mahathir's hand as they walk together because by doing so will cost him several thousand chinese votes from DAP Chinese supporters.Melayu mudah lupa but the Chinese can never forget their hatred toward Mahathir.
Prof Kangkung
PAS used to hate DAP very much until they decided to push aside their differences with DAP (via tahalul entah apa2) and worked with DAP in the past GEs. Chinese supporting DAP put aside their distrust in PAS and supported and voted for PAS in the past GE.
DeleteUsing that analogy, the Chinese will still vote for DAP even if LKS kisses Dr Mahathir like the Arabs kiss one another, now that LKS has forged a relationship with Dr Mahathir. They have one common political objective; i.e. to knock down the Chief Thief from the PM post.
It was the chinese tsunami 1999 that made Dr M (& defeated DAP), as usual kangkung spin bullshit nasional...
DeleteI would like to see LKS kiss Tun M, preferably on his lips.That will surely will get 100 percent votes from LBGT supporters
DeleteProf Kangkung
DeletePros Kangkang,
Yet again your homosexual obsession reveals itself.
I have informed the MACC that they should conduct a search of your rear passage, as it is being used by a certain 2,000kg hippo as an emergency Birkin in order to stash away pink diamonds worth RM25 million.
The extra empty space they can check is between your ears, which is 100% empty.
However, kudos on being a good slave.
Prof Sawi
A brief facts about Najib`s Regime or politely Najib`s Rule
Delete1. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Proton - hancus
2. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu F1 - ditutup
3. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Sg Besi Airport - dijual
4. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu 1MDB - gagal
5. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Ringgit Malaysia - merudum
6. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Tol - semakin bercambah
7. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu GST - raja segala cukai
8. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Kdai 1Mal - byk tutup
9. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Hutang Negara - semakin tinggi
10. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Minyak - naik
11. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Jenayah - semakin meningkat
12. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Harga Barang - naik
13. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Rakyat - ramai menganggur
14. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Pelabur Asing - keluar dr Mal
15. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Ahli UMNO - ramai keluar
16. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu PTPTN - disekat
17. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Arak - dah jd budaya
18. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Warga Asing - bertambah
19. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Kapalterbang - hilang
20. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Elektrik - naik
21. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Gas LPG - naik
22. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Kedai Game - makin banyak
23. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Bas - tambang naik
24. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Felda - jahanam
25. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu 5,000 doctor menganggur.
26. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu 5,000 Jurutera menganggur.
27. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Doctor Gigi menganggur.
28. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Graduan menganggur
29. Saya mahu mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu lepastu Berjuta warga Asing bermaharaja lela.
30. Lain2 korang pk sendiri......
Annie,
ReplyDeleteLet suppose in a school, a new headmaster is taken over.
This headmaster is like, Cikgu Shaari as in P. Ramlee story but worst.
He frequently take holidays overseas especially end of the year and he did not bother to manage school properly. The school performance drop very badly.
Another problem is that he deposit the PIBG donation into his private account.
His assistance is good man. He use the principle “what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong”. So, he asked the headmaster, why did he deposit PIBG donation into his own account.?
He was fired by the headmaster and replaced by someone who is 100% loyal to headmaster who do not adopt the “what is right is right and what is wrong” policy.
Then, a new head prefect is going to elected. He is from Muar and let say his name is Ghani.
Ghani is a very honest person and he adopt “What is right is right and what is wrong”
The problem is that, in that school, “what is right is not right and what is wrong is not wrong”.
As a head prefect, I think he have a lot of problem doing his job.
Annie,
ReplyDelete//He personally told me back then that he would be happy to go back to teaching after he retires from politics.//
Just when I think that he is just another politician, Ghani chucks me another curved ball!
Why was he never put forward to be UMNO President?
Malaysia could have had been a very different country today.
Gladiator
Ghani contested for the Umno vice-president post only once, that was in the 2000 party election. It was the only time he showed an interest to go higher in the party. He was very popular at that time having led Johor BN to a 100 per cent victory in the 1999 general election when the rest of Umno did badly due to Anwar Ibrahim's Reformasi movement. Ghani received the second highest nomination behind Najib but on the last day of nomination, Dr Mahathir's Kubang Pasu division named Najib, Muhyiddin and Muhammad Muhammad Taib as vice-presidents. The delegates saw it as a signal that Dr Mahathir wanted the trio and they voted for them. There was also a lot of money politics going on at that time. Ghani being Ghani, he never tried to play the same game. He lost that year and never tried again. Yes Gladiator, I also believe that Malaysia could had been a very different country today if the Umno delegates at that time had voted Ghani as an Umno vice-president. Thank you.
DeleteAnnie, umno is not a party of intellectuals la. They prefer someone yg cakap berdegak2, tunding jari macam zahid hamidi drpd someone yg cakap berasaskan fakta macam Ghani. That is why professionals in umno biasanya x dapat pergi jauh kecuali those kaki ampu.
DeleteProf kankung, Can u show that the above statement is wrong?
UMNO is a party of more than 3 million members and counting.Naturally,in such a big family there are homosexuals,u-turns,racists,jokers etc.
DeleteUMNO also have intelectuals among its members.I am not an UMNO member by the way
Prof Kangkung
UMNO can scram, its such a horrible party from the way mr. kangkung describe it. A party consist of parasites
Deletevote for opposition, it boggles my mind when the wrongdoings are clear and you still votes for this shit-UMNO party
DeleteHow to clean (bersih) when dumnos already transformed this nation into a cesspool (trump should be happy cause he got only swamp there)...
ReplyDelete