Monday 14 March 2016

Nice guys can win wars too

They said nice guys can't win wars.

I don't think that's quite accurate.

Unless of course if you equate being nice as being stupid.

In that case, I think I can also say nasty guys can't win wars either...as I often equate being nasty as being stupid.

In my opinion, stupid guys are the ones who can't win wars.

There are times to be nice and there are times to be nasty.

Smart people know when to be nice and when to be nasty.

Stupid people don't. That's why they can't win wars.

Same thing applies in politics.

Blogging too.

Whatever it is, I prefer nice guys. The smart and principled ones, okay.

They make life better and win the battles too.

Plain nasty guys tend to be stupid, tiresome and in the end lose the fight.

For me, being nice is good.

This is one of the smart and principled nice guys that I know:


Those who regularly read this blog from the start would know that I always have good things to say about TS Abdul Ghani Othman, the former Johor MB.

I started this blog two months before the end of his tenure in the run up to the last general election, but I have seen his work up close since the early 2000s.

Ghani led Johor BN through the general elections of 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2013.

Johor BN scored 100 per cent in 1999 despite the Reformasi movement at that time.

In 2004, it was almost a 100 per cent again if not for a technical glitch which caused BN to lose the Senggarang state seat.

In 2008, at the height of the rebellion against then PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Johor BN only lost the Chinese majority Bakri parliamentary constituency and state constituencies of Skudai, Senai, Bentayan and Mengkibol to DAP along with Maharani and Sungai Abong to Pas.

As for 2013, Johor was hit hard by the Chinese tsunami, yet BN still retained its 2/3 majority in the state assembly and lost only five of the 26 parliamentary seats. It should be noted that about 40 per cent of Johoreans are Chinese. Johor Umno's dominance was however still largely intact with an estimated 83 per cent of Malay electorates voted for the ruling coalition.

Ghani, who was ending his political career at the general election made the ultimate sacrifice of becoming the first Umno leader to contest in a Chinese-majority constituency. He was requested by PM DS Najib Razak to contest the Gelang Patah seat against DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang in a brave but futile effort to stop the Chinese tsunami.

It is a good track record, as far as I'm concerned.

Ghani is a nice guy as he always do things properly.

Johor had a balanced development between rural and urban areas under his leadership.

He was firm and serious as MB, Johor BN chairman and Johor Umno chief, but I always remember him as being fair to all, even to those who considered him as an enemy.

He has always been nice in that sense and I don't remember ever hearing him said things such as "either you are with us or against us", which sounded quite thuggish to me.

Of course there will be people who are going to dispute this, but I stand by what I know of the guy.

Yes, a nice guy can still be a winner.

There is no need to be an unprincipled, immoral etc nasty thug to win.

I think the teachings of Islam requires us to avoid being one of those even during war time.

Therefore, I still believe that the good and nice guys will win in the end, one way or another, insyaAllah.

(Note : Received the news that The Malaysian Insider is closing down as I'm writing this. That's too bad as I guess the journalists there will be having a hard time finding new jobs. Hope they will be okay. I never really like TMI for its mostly pro-opposition coverage, but still, I wish it doesn't have to close down like that. You can read more about it here: The Malaysian Insider to close down)

16 comments:

  1. Btw I saw Ghani at Najib's 40 year politik anniversary celebration. The others present: KB Cheras (Ethopian), KB Red Shirt (Ikan Bakar Guy), Tajol Rosli (pencen), Raja Nong Chik (lost to Nurul) and a couple of other guys.

    So is Ghani really as nice as you say? Question.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The praise of Ghani - is it supported by hard statistics? Like the growth in Johor's per capita GDP during his tenure? Whether the state government ran a balanced budget or a budget deficit? Whether his administration had a holistic master plan for the development of Johor Bahru? Whether he laid the groundwork for the Johor economy to transition from commodities and labour-intensive industries to high-skills jobs, services and high value-added?

      Delete
    2. Ewwwww. Tak tahan I, KB Cheras tu, mamak poyo. All hot air......

      Delete
  2. Who says Ghani can't rise again? Join Tun and "reset" Umno & the nation back to its original mission.

    Read this list of Najib supporters:

    http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.my/2016/03/cakap-cakapwhat-i-dislike-about-social.html

    Fully agree with it.

    Everyone is in for $$$$, (or enough 'cha siew paw' to acquire a 4th chin to go with the existing 3 : )

    We're a country that has sold out, Annie.

    That's why I agree that the need to go back to fundamentals now outweighs party allegiance. "Fundamentals" means the values of our first national leaders & founding fathers, not the criminal who is now in power.

    If TS Abdul Ghani wants to be part of that, I think the rakyat would welcome him fully.

    ReplyDelete
  3. To the nice gentlemen of Johor

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k32sGEGBRfM

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've never read of any nasty uncouth remarks made by Ghani unlike Nazri etc. He's always struck me as gentlemanly.

    You wrote about Johor politics. Better brace yourself, Annie. Somewhere in the blogosphere, a huge blob of pestilence, hatred and jealousy is slowly stirring, reaching for its gooey keyboard...

    As for TMI, I suspect it'll be reborn in another form. But it's downheartening as another news website lost, whether one agrees with its views or not.

    By the way, arresting those two Aussie journos was a stupid move. It's all over the news abroad. These foreign journalists always stick up for each other.

    Tun M never ran away from the foreign media. He could volley back sarcastic retorts to every question. I suppose that's the difference between a real statesman and a Bugis warrior.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tebing Tinggi XVII14 March 2016 at 15:19

      Neither did the late LKY. Running away from the foreign media, I mean. With his gravitas, world view and command of English, he could more than hold his own with the best of them - journalists & politicians included!

      Delete
    2. "Somewhere in the blogosphere, a huge blob of pestilence, hatred and jealousy is slowly stirring, reaching for its gooey keyboard..."

      LOL, so it's basically this with glasses 7 B.O.?

      https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/Jabba_the_Hutt.png

      Yukky, man!

      Delete
    3. Bogus Bugis warrior, he he he.

      Delete
    4. jabba the hutt much better looking than her.

      Delete

  5. I remember about Khairy Jamaludin .

    ReplyDelete
  6. She loves u so much, Annie. She mentions u in almost all her posts. A thin line separates hate from love. Without love, there's no hate. She loves the little lady of the valley, and that is the ultimate truth

    ReplyDelete
  7. Annie,

    War? Yikes!

    I try to stay away from that kind of yucky stuff - it's unpleasant and it's messy.

    I reckon that the worst part of war is having to clean up after.

    Dried bloodstains are hard to get off clothes. :)

    That is why smart people don't start wars - they are probably too lazy to clean up.

    Stupid people?

    Well, they are stupid, what do you expect?

    Guess who gets to do the cleaning up after the war?

    It's only fair, isn't it? :)

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well if Ghani is as good as you claimed him to be then rakyat will welcome him back. Just sign the non-partisan Deklarasi Rakyat.

    The country is in crisis. The most powerful person is robbing the country blind and making our AGO, Police, MACC, BNM, IRB, SC his personal pets. Nobody (most epecially politicians) should stay neutral. It is either you condone or against the behaviour.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Annie I do not think you know Ghani Othman well. Ask the JCS officers about him enriching Lim Kang Hoe. Thousands of acres of Johor lands been alienated by him to Lim Kang Hoe. His first term as Johor MB was quite sincere. After that as any one before him, Malay interests were squandered. You must be joking Annue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know Ghani very well and I stand by what I wrote about him. I'm not joking. Thank you.

      Delete