HOME MINISTER LAUNCHES “THE PATRIOT”

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar

The Honourable Minister Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar graciously officiated this blog "The Patriot" on the evening of 24 January 2009 corresponding 27 Muharram 1430H at the Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat Complex, Skudai, Johor Bahru after holding a forum on the Internal Security Act co-organised by The Patriot and The Ministry of Home Affairs.

May the Blessings of Allah be showered upon the events of the evening and those in attendance.

FORUM ON THE I.S.A. AND LAUNCH OF THE PATRIOT

To those who were officially invited but don't have a real excuse for not attending, BE THERE OR BE SQUARE ;-)

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

UPDATED: 18TH JANUARY 2009

PAS WINS HANDSOMELY!

Congratualations to PAS/Pakatan. Commiserations to UMNO/BN.

The Kuala Teranggunites have spoken. They want an affable, humble and a low profile representative. In a span of just over 2 months, Kuala Terengganu has lost two Deputy Ministers. Under normal circumstances, this would be unbearable for the electorate in any other constituency but KT is brave enough to risk the consequences.

UMNO should change its ways by not offering too much development to those who don't want it. They should identify the needs of the respective electorates. We should stop offering Bentleys to those who are contented with Volkswagens. If they prefer a friendly representative to rapid development, we should give them a friend and just offer them the bare minimum in terms of development, enough to get their votes while not forsaking them. We should save the big developments for the places where the voters demand it in return for their support.

Kuala Terengganu deserves YB Wahid as their Member of Parliament from PAS. Overall, it was a clean election and generally a friendly contest between two parties who simply want to serve the people.

UMNO and BN should change their sales pitch and learn not to oversell their product. When supply overwhelmes the demand, it'll make the product cheap. Seek equilibrium for each constituency. We will then see the return of support to UMNO/BN at a much reduced cost and dear promises.

Well done PAS. It's back to the drawing board for UMNO. Perhaps this is the time to reflect and heal. The best time and place to do so is at the State and Federal Conventions leading to the change of guards in March. Let's start a new leaf and begin with the right foot.

PREVIOUSLY.

Today, we will see how Kuala Terengganu will decide. Will they choose a candidate who will deliver Barisan Nasional’s promise to bring development or a candidate who is indeed friendly and humble but can deliver not much more than a smile and a handshake? Ultimately, they will deserve whom they choose. May the people of Kuala Terengganu be given the wisdom to make the right choice.

THE FIRST TIME

No Sime Darby takeover here!

I’m taking time out from the heavy duty politics to cool off for a bit. This continued strain and tense on the back of our necks over who is better at leading the Nation or winning a by-election surely couldn’t be good for the heart. It used to be a once in a 5 year affair, not a daily burden like it is today.

So I’ll throw you a question that’s totally out of the blue.

Do you remember the first time you ever laid eyes on the one you truly love? If you can, would you agree that it was the most magical moment of your life?

It happened to me 19 years ago today on the flight back to school via Los Angeles after the Christmas break. What a sight! It’s one that made me want to be a better man.

A wise man once said that “Some things are better left to your imagination. Once a gentleman gets to know the lady of his dreams better, he’ll discover that she’s not exactly what he expected or dreamed of.” Actually he was wrong on this account. She was and is still everything I ever dreamed of and I am eternally grateful that she chose me to share her life with.

If we can remember the root of a memorable moment, we would learn to appreciate it much better. For instance, if we remember the struggle for Merdeka in 1957 whether by actually being there or by watching and reading the archives, we would treasure our Independence today. If we remember what was told to us in the holy books of how Muhammad, the Messenger of God (PBUH), with much resistence, under the worst circumstances, started the religion from a speck, which spread to a whole Nation and then the entire world, we would observe the Muslim code more carefully and not take it for granted.

Likewise, if you can remember the first time the sight of your life partner burst through you like an arrow, like mine did 19 years ago. Insha’Allah, you will treasure what you have today, not having to realize how priceless she is only after she’s gone.

Always remember your first, your last, your everything!

Now it's back to Kuala Terengganu for the last stretch!

Happy Anniversary Sunshine!

WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY TUN?

Wan Ahmad Farid

CHOICES, CHOICES.....

Within 24 hours before Nomination Day in Kuala Terengganu, Tun Dr Mahathir dropped a bombshell by stating that Wan Ahmad Farid was “a very bad choice” to stand as the BN candidate. I’d like to state that the perception that Wan Farid is a proxy and is “someone to be used later if Najib becomes Prime Minister", as was stated in, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/95821, is weak as Najib will be in a strong position to neutralize Wan Farid when the time comes.

Tun Dr Mahathir had 80% of his men in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Cabinet as well as the UMNO Supreme Council. As brilliant as he is, was he successful in using any of them from the outside when he needed them?

Wan Farid may not have a likeable face and his smile may seem like a fake but he is the choice of the Kuala Terengganu Division which is 103 branches strong.

One of the major mistakes the federal leadership made during the last General Elections was to pick outsiders and little known personalities who were Putrajaya’s stooges in the divisions instead of picking proven and more deserving leaders in the same. We even saw wishful thinking UMNO Supreme Councilors who were aliens and didn’t hold any of the top three positions in their divisions standing as candidates there. Naturally most of the branches in these respective divisions preferred not to open their operation centers and even decided to sabotage the campaign.

Now let me take you back to Kuala Terengganu. It needs to be said how strong Wan Farid is in this division. He won easily as the Division Chief and his elder brother beat the late Dato’ Razali Ismail for Division Vice-Chief. The latter was the Member of Parliament for Kuala Terengganu and Deputy Minister for Education at the time. It is very rare if not unimaginable for someone with such a position to fail in his bid for only the third highest position in the Division. But it happened as Wan Farid and his brother were the flavour of the day for the Kuala Terengganu UMNO Division. As regards to how they managed that, can be debated at another time.

The late Dato Razali on the other hand was generally popular in his own right with the mass (which included non UMNO members and teachers) in KT but in his absence today, we cannot afford to antagonize the 103 UMNO branches in the division by appointing someone who isn’t their choice. Only the homeboys know how to tackle the locals and although there are many outsiders manning their own operation centers evenly spread across Kuala Terengganu, they are still considered outsiders and at best are only able to compliment the effort made by the local campaigners. In other words, we need the 103 branches and operation centers to seal the deal. I was there for several days recently until the day of nomination. I witnessed how hard the UMNO machinery from the whole nation including Sabah were labouring for a much needed win. They are evidently not there for a holiday in the East Coast. Dato’ Sri Najib too is working double-time. They are there to win it for UMNO and Barisan.Nasional. As a past leader and until now at least, a revered Statesman, Tun Dr Mahathir should give UMNO and BN his full support and not undermine their efforts just because of his lapse in judgment 5 years ago. Whether bad choice or good, wrong or right, Wan Ahmad Farid is our best possible candidate to win at this time.

Under the leadership of the new Menteri Besar of Terengganu, with the oil royalty firmly back in the hands of the Rakyat, with the careful and watchful eyes of the much respected and loved Sultan, Terengganu should see rapid development under Barisan Nasional in the future. Being the Capital of Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu would naturally be enjoying the lion’s share. Barisan Nasional’s win in this by-election should smoothen and accelerate this process. I’m sure the voters are bright enough to do the right thing.

After pondering over Tun Dr Mahathir’s statement these last few days, I wonder if this “very bad choice” in Kuala Terengganu is as damaging as the one he made 5 years ago to succeed him as Prime Minister. He may be right in his comments on the economy and the development of the country, but he is definitely out of his league to comment on political candidates. History has shown that he made three wrong choices for Deputy Prime Minister and one for Prime Minister. Tun should capitalize on his strength and not dabble with this weakness lest people will soon pay less attention to his comments.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009

The Patriot would like to wish all readers a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! May we all strive to be the best that we can be and try to shoot straighter than in 2008. Make it work! Make it real! Make every minute worth its Sixty seconds!