OutSyed The Box

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 01:17 AM PDT

The Buka Puasa rounds are peaking. I have attended a few so far, missed a couple and have at least two lined up for next week. Dr Mahathir kicked off the month with a Buka Puasa at the PLF just a few days into the Bulan Puasa. On the 1st August the Deputy PM Tan Sri Muhyuddin Yassin hosted a Buka Puasa for the media and the Bloggers at the New Straits Times in Jalan Riong.

Two days ago Mukriz Mahathir held one for the media and Bloggers at an Arab restaurant in Kampong Pandan. Here is a picture of Mukriz and guests. The senior looking guys are all media heavyweights whereas the heavyweight guys in the picture are all bloggers. (I am seated second from left.) Dato Panglima Lanun Samudera is also in the picture.

So here is the talk that went on at these Buka Puasa. A survey has been done recently in Kedah (with a sampling of 10,000 people) asking the folks who they would prefer to become Menteri Besar. The incumbent Azizan something came in a distant fourth or fifth. The Bashah guy was number two (or three). The poll showed that Mukriz Mahathir is the favorite choice of the majority of Kedahans by far.

The consensus view is that it is up to Mukriz to accept the challenge. Kedah is his if he wants it. If Mukriz accepts the leadership in Kedah he can win the State and become the next MB. Few people have such choices made available to them.

The other person who is almost in such a position is Tokpa or Dato Mustapa Mohamed, the straight faced, straight forward Minister of International Trade and Industry or MITI (Mukriz is his Deputy) who can lead UMNO Kelantan and even become Menteri Besar of Kelantan if he can unseat Nik Aziz.

I believe if Tokpa leads UMNO in Kelantan this time around, the Kelantan people may just decide to give him their vote. Enough voters are tired of the PAS achieving nothing in Kelantan, cheating the people over the gold dinar debacle, embarking on money wasting and failed projects - quite the opposite of the 'god is on our side' bullshit the PAS has been promising Kelantan for the past 20 years. So the right candidate in Kelantan can just tip the scales for UMNO.

In a very short speech (way to go bro) at his Buka Puasa, Mukriz said that he does not shy away from criticism. He said that any politician who cannot accept criticism cannot have a future in politics. I think this is stating the obvious, n'theless it was good that Mukriz did say it. It is a good reminder. He also joked that despite saying so, no one likes to see his face plastered on the front pages of the newspapers for the wrong reasons. He said that he was always available for more direct communication. I think enough people do have Mukriz's handphone contact (including Dato Panglima Lanun).

Here is a general piece of advice to all the Press boys and girls who surround our YBs. You should always be quick on the handshake. Kena hulur tangan cepat macam kilat. Dont worry boleh cuci dengan Dettol Instant Hand Sanitizer - which you must also carry in your left pocket. Otherwise you will be helping spread "penyakit politik" all over the land.

Politicians (like Mukriz and Tokpa) may be pondering between being a Menteri Besar versus being a Federal Minister. Until recently, it was always more glamorous, more powerful and also more senior in rank to be a Cabinet Minister than to be a Menteri Besar. If you were the Minister of Education or Minister of Finance you had a national platform, you had a budget with billions of Ringgit and you were basically king.

In contrast, a Menteri Besar is also king but he plays with a smaller budget. He has immense say over land matters though (the usual road to wealth in the States). But he swims within the borders of his State.

Until the Internet and the Blogs came along and until Ali Rustam came along in Malacca. Both have become major game changers.

The Internet and the Blogs can now highlight the colour of a Ministers underwear or who are his boyfriends (or girlfriends) in an instant. And considering the calibre of many Ministers, their bungles, fumbles, flips and flops make it through cyberspace at the speed of light. So much so that nowadays Ministers like Hishamuddin Hussein, Rais Yatim, Khaled Noordin, Ismail Sabri, Nazri Aziz and others may wish that they were Menteri Besar in some quiet State, away from the scrutiny of the Blogs and the Internet. Well, its too late for that. The times have indeed changed drastically.

Ali Rustam has proven in Melaka (and is still burning serious rubber on the tarmac) that being a provincial leader does not deny you a higher national profile or make you less glamorous. A State leadership role can give you serious power in the party and the country. There is no doubt that Dato Sri Ali Rustam has turned the tables where despite being Chief Minister of the second smallest state in the country he has provided exemplary leadership and developed Melaka into a tourist haven and an economic powerhouse for its people. (I know Rahim Thambi Chik started the ball rolling but it is Ali Rustam who has taken Melaka to its present level).

The same opportunities to show excellence in leadership are available in all the other States. We cannot deny that Pehin Sri Taib Mahmud has also achieved a lot for the State of Sarawak (in comparison with say Sabah or even the other States on the Peninsula).

And the Internet and the Blogs serve as broadcast channels that beam all their achievements at light speed throughout the world. You do not need the blessings of the "mainstream" media to get the due recognition. You can tell your own story on the Net. Just set up a website or a Blog.

So the times have changed and the politics have changed completely.

If Mukriz were to go to Kedah there is so much that must be done and which can be done by an MB with vision. First lets take Kedah's assets ie what Kedah already has. This is important because you must always start your journey with the assets and the strengths that you already have. Kedah has a long border with Thailand but not enough border crossings, duty free zones, bilateral economic zones (for barter and general trade). There is plenty opportunity there.

Dr Mahathir has shown the world what can be done with a backwater like Langkawi. Langkawi has tremendous strengths, the greatest of all being its duty free status. This duty free status can become a pivot to propel high tech industry on the island. There is much vacuum in that area on Langkawi Island. And there is ample room for more tourism development - including attracting the cruise liners. Proper deep water berths are needed.

Thanks to Dr Mahathir again, there is a very succesful high technology industrial park in Kulim, which complements the high tech industries on Penang Island - and in some cases even surpasses Penang. More hi tech industries should be encouraged and greater linkages established with Penang.

If he becomes Menteri Besar, Mukriz can set a target of establishing say 3,000 manufacturing units in Kedah over a five year period (600 manufacturing units a year). This can easily create half a million permanent jobs in Kedah alone. (Not impossible - it can be done).

One time we were nosing around Batu Kurau in Perak and all the way into Selama (Kedah) and Baling. I noticed that many people there dress and look like the Taliban in Afghanistan, complete with men wearing celak (eye liner), serban ekor and jubah. There is a serious need to take the Kedah hinterland out of the seventh century and bring them into the 21st century. Industries, urbanisation, more roads and hiways will help in this direction. Feeder highways linking the Serdang / Selama and Baling areas to the Kulim Highway in the West and the Grik Highway to the East will open more trade into these really beautiful but ulu areas.

The last time we drove into Selama we saw a huge baboon like monkey sitting by the roadside. I think the monkey may still be sitting there.

There is also an opportunity to turn Alor Setar into a "Venice of the North". There are more rivers and canals in Alor Star than in Melaka.

So there is much that can be done and achieved at the State level. Sadly todate very, very few of our Menteri Besars have the vision, the motivation or the 'keinginan' to really develop their States and move their people into the 21st century.

But the Embarrasment Index is surely working against the Federal Ministers. One misstep and you can get fried on the Internet. Imagine if you are a Minister and you make a continuous series of bungles. Instant fame bro.

So it is Menteri Besar versus Menteri Kabinet. Yang mana lebih glamour? Yang mana lebih risiko?

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OutSyed The Box

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