Monday, March 16, 2015

Will Hishamuddin be successor to Najib?

In a recent survey, Hishamuddin Hussein (H2O) is the favourite choice to be the next PM. This is despite the fact that there is a serving DPM in Muhyiddin (logical successor) and another Umno VP, Ahmad Zahid, who obtained highest votes (among 3 VPs) in Umno elections.
What could be the reason for those who voted to have chosen H2O?

Just like present PM, Najib, H2O has strong pedigree as a son of a former PM (our 3rd), Tun Hussein Onn. Najib is a son of our 2nd PM, Tun Abdul Razak. Both of them were educated in UK and speak excellent English. They are also known as WOGs (Western Oriented Gentlemen).

Hishamuddin had impressed many people as Acting Transport Minister, when he chaired a daily press conference related to the missing MAS plane, MH370, a year ago. With his many years experience as minister in various ministries, he could easily answer English questions posed by local and foreign journalists. Being Minister of Defence and having a cousin as PM, he could speak with authority on most things.

There is also the Malay feudalistic mentality which encourages the appointment of those who come from aristocratic families (almost like natural succession within dynasties), with the exception of Tun Dr Mahathir who had a very strong personality instead, enough to change his own race to suit the requirement that only a Malay can be a PM of Malaysia.

It is ironic that despite Umno and other rightist groups' insistence on more use of Bahasa Malaysia, they could be influenced enough to be in favour of someone more because of his fluency in English and his education overseas.

By the way, there is a Malay journalist, Fa Abdul, who took a lot of trouble to write an article criticising Tony Pua's pronunciation of Seychelles as 'Sis-chillies'. Fa was rightly condemned for being frivolous by Dr Wong Chin Huat in Facebook:


'Tony Pua can help save our billion dollars but may mispronounce a word. Fa Abdul can correctly pronounce perhaps tens of thousands of words but may not be helpful in saving perhaps even one dollar of our money.

Everyone has different strengths. Mr Pua is a good parliamentarian while Mr Fa Abdul may make a good English teacher and perhaps even a good comedian too, but a good journalist or columnist? That I am not sure if I have to judge her based on this article alone. (I would say she is if you look at her other works.) Top on the yardstick of newsworthiness should be "relevance/impact" when I last checked.'

While on the subject of irony, nothing is more ironic than UMNO (United Malay National Organization), better known by its English initials than its Malay: PKMB (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu). Honestly, each time I wish to refer to this, I had to search and make sure! I am sure even if Umno members were to be asked about PKMB, they are likely to be stumped before realising what those initials stand for.
 


By the way, while on the subject of feudalistic mentality, one evening I was watching a serial on olden China and a former slave was competing with a general's daughter (also goddaughter of another general) to be selected as the Emperor's bride. The ex-slave had won the affections of both the Emperor and his mother. But the latter thought her aristocratic background and upbringing could easily win over them. She degraded the ex-slave as 'San kai tong foong' (Cantonese for wild fowl passing off as phoenix).

In other words, unless we are out of such mentality, we are likely to choose people based on their family backgrounds instead of their own abilities or qualities.

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