Wednesday 1 May 2013

Chuah Bee Kim writes about Ghani

Chuah Bee Kim is a long serving Johor-based NST journalist who is also a blogger. As a journalist, she specializes in covering community and environmental issues.

She is not a political writer and I believe is an apolitical person all her life.
Her blog was also non-political. That was until the campaign period for this general election started.

Her article on outgoing Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman appears today at the Johor Streets section of the NST southern edition.

This is how she sees her Menteri Besar of 18 years -


Ghani, a gentle yet resilient politician


I HAVE never covered so many events attended by Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman in the past 14 years of my career as a journalist based in this state as I did these past several days.

It all started on April 16, when Johor Barisan Nasional announced its line-up for the May 5 general election. Now, I cover the functions of the outgoing Menteri Besar almost daily, sometimes twice in a day.
This experience has given me a chance to get to know him better.
In the past, my knowledge of Ghani was rather limited. It merely revolved around him being the Johor Menteri Besar for 18 years and him being instrumental in the robust growth of the Iskandar Malaysia development region.
When my colleague Syed Umar Ariff was in Johor, he wrote (two years ago) that Ghani bears a resemblance to Hollywood action star, Steven Seagal.
I could not see that resemblance from which ever angle I was looking at Ghani.
“Which feature or part of Ghani resembled Seagal?” I wondered after reading that article by Syed Umar.
But now, as I see Ghani almost on a daily basis, I do see the resemblance.
Ghani, born 66 years ago in Sungai Mas, Ledang, is not your typical politician.
My fellow journalists had described him as media-shy, which to a certain extent is true.
But reading about a man’s personality, and actually meeting him, are two different things.
His mannerism, unassuming disposition and soft-spoken nature made the comparison to Seagal seem appropriate.
Ghani also practises Aikido, a form of Japanese martial arts which Seagal is a master of.
This is how Ghani is perceived, which by right makes him the silent, lethal type, but not in a bad way. At least he is the type whose “actions speak louder than his words”.
A couple of days ago, I was at an assignment where Ghani visited an old Chinese temple called the Po Seng Tai Ti temple in Skudai.
He was there with his wife, Prof Datin Paduka Dr Jamilah Ariffin, their son Mohammad Jamil Hilmi and daughter-in-law Daryl Maira Orilaza Abdullah.
I was deeply moved when I saw a frail-looking senior citizen, probably in his 70s, squeezing his way through the crowd to shake Ghani’s hand.
I have seen the public crowding around politicians before, but the enthusiasm and sincerity displayed by those at the function were different.
Another thing I noticed about Ghani is that he never gives out ang pow or gifts to win the people’s support. He gives his assurance with sincerity.
The way the villagers greeted Ghani and his family with such warmth and enthusiasm spoke volumes of what the man has done for his community, regardless of race and religion.
In Ghani’s eyes, all of us are Malaysians and not Malays, Chinese, Indians or of other races. He believes in moderation and has been dubbed a classic Malay gentleman even by his detractors.
He is always cool and collected, and probably isn’t one who throws his weight around at the workplace either.
Ghani was formerly a senator (1984 to 1986), the Deputy Minister for Energy, Telecommunication and Post (1987 to 1990) as well as Deputy Minister of Finance (1990 to 1993).
He received his primary and secondary education at the Tangkak Boys School and Muar High School, respectively.
He was a recipient of the Colombo Plan scholarship which allowed him to further his studies at Latrobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Hons).
The battle for Gelang Patah, which is a Chinese-majority constituency, is one of the most watched contests in this general election.
It is not just a battle between DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang and Ghani, but more importantly a battle that determines whether the voters of Gelang Patah, particularly the Chinese community there, are capable of voting a representative based on the candidate’s track record and integrity rather than his ethnic background.

I don't think Miss Chuah was forced by her pro-establishment NST employer to write the above article. There was too much sincerity in the way she wrote it. 

You may read Miss Chuah's other articles at 
A Green Bee In The Rain 雨中的绿蜂

20 comments:

  1. I cannot agree more with what has been written by Chuah Kim Bee. You will notice sincerity when the (former) Menteri Besar engages with you. He deserves the support of the people.

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    Replies
    1. Why UMNO do not want him to be continued as MB if he is doing a very good job?

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    2. Ghani's job now that he is placed in the Chinese-majority Gelang Patah is to prove that we Malaysians are able to choose a good leader based on his/her good track record instead of his/her race. It's a more important job than being an MB.

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    3. You mean MP's job is more leading than MB? Then Mahatail's son is being demoted as he contest state seat and not parliament seat?

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    4. Why is the DAP employing stupid little fucks just out of college? DAP = unsophisticated.

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  2. If one write good about Ghani that's apolitical. If one write good about LKS that's propaganda and political

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because there's nothing good about LKS. Therefore if anything good written on LKS, its a propaganda. Kapisch?

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  3. tebing tinggi1 May 2013 at 13:54

    Good write up all right ,and never deny her intention ,anyway I believe Gani will pulled through .The people of Gelang Patah will reject opportunistic politician like Lim Kit Siang ,who come to Gelang Patah like fruit bat's "Keluang" during fruits season destroying everything by night ,missing by the days.

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    Replies
    1. Batman comes to clean up the corruption and crime in Johor. There are too many Jokers here - main2 saja.

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    2. tebing tinggi2 May 2013 at 00:11


      For 46 years your Batman have been shouting lies on anything the government did ,thus that ring the bell ?, that his lies are not being bought the majority and will not again this time , Pakatan's should UBAH before they could UBAH others.

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    3. 70k people in Johor Bharu, 70k in Penang and 20k in segamat loves to hear Batman's lies. What happen to the islamic state of Malaysia. what has Biro Tata by UMNO being doing? Tebing Tinggi loves to watch X movies and not super hero movies like Batman, Spiderman etc.

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    4. Urm. I'm sure there are more than 70 thousand people in JB and Penang respectively. Ohhhh, you're referring to your "ceramah crowd numbers"? DAP fucksters must be magicians, with their gifts of squeezing 70k people into spaces than fit no more than 20k.

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  4. As soon as anything appears in NST people disregard it (Chinese) or ignore it (Malays). It has no credibility, whether it prints articles favourable or unfavourable to any party. Although you may be pressed for time, Annie, your own words, experiences and insights have more impact with your readers.

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  5. I think Khaled will make a great replacement. But can Ghani survive? Without Perkasa or Tun Dr Mahathir support seems to be a bit tough. Some people may be ok with Ghani but don't like BN. Some people don't like Kak Ros. They in the end will vote Kit Siang. Remember what tun said, pilih parti bukan calon

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  6. He wasn't so resilient when he tried to explain away the molestation of chinese girls the the Najib function at Southern University!

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  7. For the record, Ghani had urged the girls to lodge police reports over the alleged molestation so that the case could be investigated.

    But I guess for people like you, since Chinese girls were said to have been molested, then it must be the fault of the Malay Ghani and the Chinese majority of Gelang Patah must vote for Lim Kit Siang who is a Chinese.

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    Replies
    1. You are pitting the malay to go against Chinese which doesn't help Ghani. What Ghana said was that incident MIGHT NOT happen and ask those girls to launch a police report. BN PR really like to screw up thing, they should have calm the situation by making statement that if those allegation was true, action will be taken but they choose to remain silence hence making them looks like silently condone molest.

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    2. If you are accusing me of pitting the Malays against the Chinese, then I can also accuse you of pitting the Chinese against the Malays, isn't it? Why was the earlier comment it was mentioned that the girls are Chinese? Well, my guess is that, them being Chinese need to be mentioned because that will inflame the sentiments of the Chinese so that they will vote for a Chinese.

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    3. Yes. Just like when a DAP "politician" made a big fuss about a Chinese woman hacving to do squats in jail the Chinese community went ballistic, but when it was later proven she was a Malay the Chinese community suddenly went silent.

      DAP = Chinese for Chinese.

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  8. My prediction 2/3 PR win. Im not pro any party. All party are the same. The most famous party with good attitude will win.

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