Evaluating our future Deputy Prime Minister (and potentially Malaysia's 7th Prime Minister) Part 3

Enter Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (TSMY), a widely known figure whose strong roots sprouted from the strongest fort of them all, Johor. Having years and years of experience as UMNO Vice President, he is ready to move one notch up.

TSMY stood out since the blood bath of March 8th being the sole critique of the current administration. He was one of the bold ones to open up the can of worms and has been pushing for reform in Barisan Nasional. Although one might say that he carries a resemblance of Tun Mahathir as a Malay ultra, he fully acknowledged the importance of wooing support from the Chinese and Indians to solidify BN's position towards gearing up for the next election. He is after all one of the few cabinet ministers left from the Mahathir era, obviously he will inevitably carry some resemblance of Mahathir's style during his strict, decisive and firm regime. This is a plus point.

Just after the debacle of PRU-12, TSMY was adamant for regime change. He led the pack of recalcitrant ministers to scrap the 2010 transition plan. He patiently waited for DS Najib to announce his intentions before announcing his own, trying to avoid tripping himself and having to contest against DS Najib. A very noble gesture of a loyal confidante to Dato' Najib. The nomination numbers from UMNO divisions proved that TSMY's move has wide support within the party.

He was once affiliated to DS Anwar in 1993 as part of the Wawasan team, together with Md Taib and Dato' Najib. The Wawasan Team led by Anwar displaced Ghafar Baba as Deputy President of UMNO, Pak Lah and Sanusi Junid as Veeps.

He is quite a mysterious figure and does not surround himself with a horde of special officers and advisers. He's fully experienced in the federal and state apparatus (Johor Menteri Besar 82-95), becoming an MP an age 25. He is, without a doubt, poised and confident. In addition, he brings with him vast experience in the international arena. He is definitely in touch with the grass root people, especially the rural Malays. This was enhanced during his short stint as Minister of Agriculture. Lots of praises went around in the Ministry for his numerous initiatives to reinvigorate the slow-moving industry.

With all these credentials, unfortunately, he does not escape controversies. Who does in the political landscape of Malaysian politics? He was widely rumored to have stakes in several lucrative projects during his tenure as Menteri Besar, but the allegations remained as such.

Sin Chew on TSMY
Jebat must die on TSMY

Evaluating our future Deputy Prime Minister (and potentially Malaysia's 7th Prime Minister) Part 2

Chief Minister Dato' Seri Ali Rustam is the next contender to qualify to contest the seat of UMNO Deputy President, subsequently elevating him to the Deputy Prime Minister seat.

He should be given the lime light for putting world-class Malacca on the top spot for tourist attraction in Malaysia and making the state one of the biggest revenue generators for the Federal Government.

A fellow blogger himself, he had urged all Wakil Rakyat to setup blogs to disseminate information more efficiently. Nothing of significant interest in his blog to take note of, besides the normal rhetorics of 'don't question the fatwa' and 'thank you for nominating me for the post of deputy president of UMNO'.

Ali Rustam had urged the People's Progressive Party (PPP), a Barisan Nasional component, to leave the coalition if they were unsatisfied with seat allocation during the election fever this year.

He drew fiery criticisms for suggesting that Shah Rukh Khan deserved a dato'ship for exalting tourism in Malacca. Quoting from one blog, "Nampaknya Majlis Raya-Raja Melayu perlu membuat ketetapan bersama dan peyelarasan dalam kriteria penganugerahan darjah dan bintang kebesaran supaya kualiti, kredebiliti dan reputasi penerima anugerah dapat dipertahankan wibawanya".

"Empat tahun yang lalu, Melaka membuat kontroversi yang sama dengan lambakkan penganugerahan darjah dan bintang kebesaran terbanyak kepada 84 orang penerima walaupun Melaka adalah negeri terkecil selepas Perlis".

2 years ago, DS Ali proposed the extension of ERL to include both Seremban and Malacca on the basis of increased tourist arrivals to the tourist state. He has also requested LRT to be installed in the state. This is to be financed by the savings from the oil subsidies. Not so smart there, considering that KL is in dire need of the funds in the hierarchy of priorities due to its dense and increasing population. Although stats suggest that tourists have increased to 4.6 million in 2006 compared to 4 million in 2004, it doesn't render a strong proposition to build a system just yet. The density of Kuala Lumpur is close to 7,400 residents/km2 compared to Malacca's 430 (not including tourists of course). I don't think not having an LRT system would deter the tourists from visiting a world heritage site.

I do give him credit for setting up Malaysia's first solar panel manufacturing facility. This would augur well for our bid to become more energy sustainable and efficient. The company running the show, Sun Power Manufacturing Malaysia, is a subsidiary of Sun Power Corporation, USA. It will commence operations in August 2009. This will also create close to 4000 jobs.

Credit is also extended for the well-oiled economic prosperity in Malacca resulting from tourism, rubber (RM320M), palm oil (RM300M) & manufacturing. I was not able to verify these numbers and had obtained them from his blog. I'm assuming he writes his own stuff and not getting feedback from aides.

On UMNO reforms, according to him, UMNO will commence online registration in the near future. This is a positive step towards drawing potentials into the party and a clear sign that the party is ready to move on in accordance to technological advancements.

He is not a big fan of debates, which is a downside, in my opinion. Leaders must be able to take up the challenge for healthy debates in order to articulate their views, convictions and opinions. Debating is a fundamental skill that numerous leaders are still struggling with. The idea that debating is a mere political game is unacceptable. US Presidential and Vice presidential candidates take months to prepare for this and the debate between Biden and Palin clearly showed Americans who they were going to vote for (between one who was fluent in foreign policy and one whose vocabulary was limited to 'you betcha'). Of course, the sensitivities here are different, therefore requiring different format, structure or audience if necessary.

Finally, it was not such a good move for Dato' Seri to criticize the Selangor state government over its RM100m pig farm project. He's got one pig farm problem in his back yard, unresolved for scores of years in Pengkalan Balak.

I have yet to hear his stance on a myriad of national education or economic policies, two of the most important workloads for the next deputy prime minister. Managing national policies compared to state administration is analogous to comparing the NBA to coaching collegiate basketball.

The fundamental question is this: desire and democracy put aside, does he make the cut to be the second in command? Unfortunately, the fate of the nation is controlled by a band of no more than 2,500 UMNO delegates. That is scary stuff.

Siapa paling layak?

Evaluating our future Deputy Prime Minister (and potentially Malaysia's 7th Prime Minister) Part 1

Update 1 (13/11): Tun Mahathir's comment


Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, 62, has received enough nominations last weekend to contest for the post of Deputy President of UMNO. He is currently the Minister of Rural Development and was a big surprise to be reactivated by Prime Minister DS Pak Lah into the cabinet after his long slumber from active duty in the government. Muhd Taib was detained in Brisbane some 12 years ago for failing to declare currencies equivalent to A$1.26M in cash, which he carried in his duffel bag. The source of money was never questioned.

Muhd Taib had clearly breached the Australian customs law. He was later cleared by the Australian court due to his poor command of the English language, therefore not being able to interpret the omnipresent declaration signs at the airport. So he claimed. Had he been a nobody from Malaysia, he would have been in jail. The Star reported on 31 Dec 96 that TSM2T would continue serving as MB after the international humiliation! He was then asked to resign. The good Tan Sri claimed that the cash was for a property acquisition and but was never proved.

His blog is pretty regular. Nothing exciting except the normal rhetoric of strengthening UMNO, fighting for Malay rights and eradicating poverty (which should be a straight-forward cause for any Malay politician). Initially aiming for the post of Vice President on the basis of strengthening the party. When interviewed on national TV, he said "saya dah banyak kali ambil SPM, bagilah peluang ambil STPM pula". Very inspiring......

"Kalau mahu dilihat rekod terdahulu saya pernah memenangi jawatan itu dalam tiga pemilihan pada 1993, 1996 dan 2000 sebelum tewas pada 2004. Saya menawar diri kerana mahu membantu memperkasakan parti untuk berdepan dengan cabaran baru".

Now aiming for the post of Deputy President. Perhaps in his mind he could achieve more as Deputy President, in the name of "stabilizing the party". He should first remember the causes for the instability in the party. Can't he help stabilize the party by just being a senior member of the party? Isn't it time to make way for younger blood? I reckon he'd be a great asset for Mubarak.

"Tidak timbul soal saya akan menarik diri kerana niat dan tujuan saya menawar diri adalah untuk membantu menstabil dan memperkasakan parti. Oleh itu saya menyeru pimpinan bahagian akan bersedia memberi sokongan kepada saya agar ahli berpeluang untuk memilih pemimpin secara lebih terbuka".

On his cabinet portfolio, he had earlier proposed a digital mapping system for rural development. This proposed system would catalog existing infrastructure and status of amenities. Other than that, there has not been anything refreshing or exciting in the ministry.

"Bagi saya peta ini amat berguna untuk kita terus merancang pembangunan di kawasan luar Bandar. Hanya dengan melihat peta sesebuah kampong atau pekan dan melalui penanda warna yang kita berikan, pihak kementerian atau pegawai yang bertanggongjawab akan mudah mengetahui status sesebuah kampong tersebut".

He is currently a state assemblymen, so if he wins, a by-election is in order. Only a Member of Parliament can table bills and legislation at Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister must be able to do so in the absence of the Prime Minister. Which Selangor MP is willing to make way for Muhd Taib?

Not to mention the fact that he has been UMNO Information Chief and should be jointly held responsible for the disastrous general election. Barisan Nasional got slaughtered in the internet media. We should have seen it coming and countered effectively. There was no countermeasure for the alternative media. Clearly the Information Chief should be on top of this. Muhd Taib was superfluously off the ball in his prediction and preparation going into the general election.

"Umno is intact. There is no crisis in the party".

"There may be a 10% swing in votes but it’s manageable".

"It’s always “hot” but we win each time. In Kelantan in the last election, we had internal problems and so we lost just a few seats. It was not because of PAS’ strength that we lost. We could have won. This time around Umno is very intact. I have a feeling we can win in Kelantan".

Given his age, I doubt that DS Najib would consider him as a successor should he win. Because of his tainted record in Brisbane, it'd be open season on BN candidates in the next general election (again). You really wonder why divisions would nominate such a candidate (ahhh, perhaps there is other form of motivation in the equation). Do you really think he is fit to be the next Deputy Prime Minister?

To be continued......