Zaid Ibrahim goes on a sabbatical
October 16, 2009
Why Zaid goes on sabbatical
by Terence Netto
In a further indication of strife within party ranks, PKR’s Zaid Ibrahim announced today he was taking a six-month sabbatical to meet up with various leaders and the rakyat to gain sharper insight into how best to bring about political reform in the country.
In remarks made to Malaysiakini after notifying the PKR headquarters of his decision to go on six months’ leave, Zaid said the furthest thing on his mind when he joined PKR four months ago was to be get involved in factional strife in the party.
“Internecine battles are energy-sapping,” he remarked. “I have no intention to waste my time and energy in such pursuits.” Of late Zaid has been embroiled in controversy – unwittingly, he claims – over the question of who is to be the party’s choice for chief minister of Sabah.
The matter came up for heated discussion at a PKR political bureau meeting last Tuesday when a memorandum criticising Sabah PKR chief Azmin Ali was tabled at the meeting.
Azmin, who was appointed Sabah PKR chief earlier this year, was reported to have gone ballistic over the contents of the memo, which railed against the 18 division chiefs who supported the memo and demanding that Zaid, who came late to the meeting, not go to a Hari Raya gathering tomorrow he had been invited to attend.
Since the time Zaid officiated a book launch in late August in Kota Kinabalu, he has been the PKR leader of choice among Sabahans to attend party functions in the state, his stance of allowing the locals to decide the question of who is to lead Sabah PKR and become the party’s candidate for chief minister further endearing him to the local leadership.
Bone of Contention
Azmin is reportedly on a less populist tack, consorting with divisional leaders he is comfortable with and being seen with a shadowy operator, Sng Chee Hua, whose track record in Borneo politics is anything but inspiring.
Sng, a tycoon from Sarawak, played a role in getting Sabah state assemblypersons, elected on a PBS ticket in 1994, to scuttle and join the BN which then formed a new government.
Anwar Ibrahim is said to have promoted this apostasy from his eyrie in Kuala Lumpur as UMNO deputy president and deputy prime minister.
The unraveling of the PBS government is seen in the perspective of the last 15 years as a critical event leading to the subsidence of Kadazan political power in Sabah and to the worsening of a host of problems now roiling the waters in the state.
Unburdened by lumber from the past, Zaid’s approach and tack to Sabah PKR problems led to the invitation to him to attend the Aidilfitri gathering tomorrow that is now becoming a bone of contention in the party.
Anwar has instructed him not to attend. Zaid’s decision to go on sabbatical from today enables him to circumvent the order and attend the gathering. “The invitations have gone out with my name as the guest,” explained Zaid matter-of-factly. “I can’t let them down.”
“Anwar has instructed him not to attend. Zaid’s decision to go on sabbatical from today enables him to circumvent the order and attend the gathering. “The invitations have gone out with my name as the guest,” explained Zaid matter-of-factly. “I can’t let them down.”
Arrogance at its height.
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 1:43 am
…With Zaid’s good intent and by barring him from attending the raya gathering, Anwar is set to resume his practice of misrepresenting the facts about the special rights of sabah/sarawak stipulated under the formation of the federation of malaysia.
His act of steamrolling what is viewed as sacred by people of both the borneon states and forcibly imposing his own agenda reflects the same all too familiar malayan arrogance . It is like a flashed back to the good ol’ days before his and Mahathir’s allegations of PBS wanting to ceased being part of the federation were disproved, raising anew the question of whether he can’t separate fact from fiction or just cynically knows he can lie to the Malaysian people without consequence.
___________
Danildaud, I talked to Anwar just last week. He understands the situation and respects the aspirations of Sabahans. He will intervene to help in finding a solution to the leadership issue of PKR Sabah, not to worsen the situation. Give him a little time to figure out the best option to put PKR Sabah back on track.—Din Merican
Danildaud - October 17, 2009 at 2:44 am
Anwar’s ghost continues to haunt him.
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 4:25 am
I THINK I FOR ONE TRUST zaid ibrahim’s judgment on this more then i would anwar ibrahim’s judgment . hence , i am for Zaid Ibrahim going to SABAH.
SABAH and for that matter SARAWAK , never intended to be MALAY COLONIES , when they joined malaysia. so they should be allowed a free hand. otherwise secession would rear its ugly head.
____________
Peach, free hand? There is such a thing as party discipline. Neither Zaid nor Azmin can ignore the decision of the de facto leader and PKR’s biro politik on matters affecting the interest of PKR. Our colleagues in Sabah and Sarawak must understand what PKR stands for—KeADILan untuk Semua. They must bury their differences through dialogue and compromise in favour of the big picture. –Din Merican
peach ann nacion - October 17, 2009 at 4:55 am
ALAS , after reading all this , i too am disappointed and am considering a SIX MONTH SABBATICAL from din merican’s blog . DIN , do i need your approval for this or can i just go ?
___________
Ilham PJ, the decision is entirely yours. Your comments no matter what, as long as they don’t border on the frivolous, are always not welcome. We can disagree, but let us not lose our civility. I am sure UMNO apologists and spinners are monitoring what is being discussed here (this is my presumption) to see whether we are buying their spin.
I am confident that “problems” within PKR will be sorted out by Anwar and the party leadership. There will always be differences but the leaders are united on vision and mission. We, therefore, must not get into the gloom and doom mode and think that PKR will disappear from the political scene. It is a young party compared to UMNO but it is vibrant and dynamic.
Our PKR leaders in Sabah and Sarawak too must show the center that the party comes first before their personal ambitions. They will fritter away the chance of running their respective states if they fail to come to some common understanding on their priorities. –Din Merican
ilham singh - October 17, 2009 at 5:03 am
This is the result of recruiting “hoppers” to the pkr.
Brian - October 17, 2009 at 7:39 am
PKR’s problem is that its leaders still carry that old stinking UMNO mental baggage wherever they go.
With this farce being played out in the media, soon voters will be thinking PKR is nothing more than a excreted by-product of UMNO.
I trust Zaid’s judgment. Azmin should know Sabah and Sarawak are totally another can of fish. The East Malaysians have not forgotten they were sold out by West Malaysian politicians, their natural resources exploited to the hilt with money hoarded to Kuala Lumpur treasury and complicit in all this are the UMNO cronies and lapdogs in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.
And here we are some idiots in PKR doing the same thing as UMNO does. Pushing their weight at the East Malaysians who are trying to differentiate themselves from those UMNO-lapdogs in Sarawak and Sabah. Azmin, go get a life. It is alright to play second fiddle to Zaid if that is what it takes to keep PKR alive.
Frank - October 17, 2009 at 8:20 am
By the way, where is Anwar in all this? Why didn’t he nip this in the bud before it unravels into this mess? .
And of all the people to get the media attention on a tussle between two of his high profile lieutenants, Azmin and Zaid.
Didn’t Anwar know well before-hand that this will get boiled over in public, creating another layer of confusion to PKR supporters and voters?
Having Zulkifli Noordin, a former PAS reject whose Islamic radicalism is a distaste to PAS, and allowed to contest in GE 2008 under the PKR banner, who publicly said he wanted to be a Muslim FIRST instead of being a PKR MP FIRST to his constituency, and still not being rebuked and disciplined for his destabilising behaviour in the last 10 months, is already bad enough for the PKR supporters.
Is Anwar following the standard operating procedure of UMNO in managing PKR: DIVIDE AND RULE?
Frank - October 17, 2009 at 8:39 am
“Otherwise secession would rear its ugly head.”
I don’t think it is legally and constitutionally possible for states within the federation to secede on their own volition. Any constitutional lawyer in the room who thinks differently?
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 8:59 am
I’m sorry but as you guys battle it out, an epitaph for Pakatan is being written. Visiting hours start Monday between 10.00am till 7.00pm.
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 9:05 am
Where shall we bury Pakatan? In a Chinese, Hindu, Christian or Muslim cemetery?? Or shall we let the matter go to the Federal Court for decision by our Abang Aki, the skirt chaser??
___
Too soon to write an epitaph or obituary for PR and PKR. New Yorker Bean, you expect too much too soon for PR and PKR, but you and I gave UMNO too much time for our national good. Some of our generation are still enamoured to UMNO and want to give Najib the chance untuk transformasikan UMNO.–Din Merican
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 9:13 am
few years ago a very wise friend said ” NO FORESKIN NO FORESIGHT “. at that time , this wise friend was referring to the prime minister of 22 years and his ilk in UMNO. I guess it wont surprise anyone if PKR is showing signs of the same problem.
________
Salmiah, PKR is determined to do it differently.–Din Merican
salmiah hassan - October 17, 2009 at 9:17 am
The politics in Sabah and Sarawak are in many ways very different than in the Peninsular. If i may be so bold to suggest that the PKR V-P from there is overly prone to tantrums, emotionalism, tendency to authoritarianism and addicted to amphibian antics.
Otoh, i don’t think Azmin is the right choice for leading the East Malaysians as he can be abrasive at times and seems to be punching above his weight. There are many capable East Malaysians that can lead well, it’s just that the trust levels are somewhat nonexistent since the 1609 debacle. The lines of communication should be more direct with the central leadership.
One way out of this impasse is for Anwar to reiterate strongly the ‘contract’ and chose someone he’s totally comfortable with and who is not parochial. Meanwhile, he has to cultivate the relationship with SAPP, as Yong still has considerable influence there.
Yes Frank, enough of this divide and rule sort of thing. I’m starting to think that this is not a learned response but a genetic mutation – they just can’t seem to get rid of it.
Well Bean, in East Malaysia (at least) abg. aki will have no locus standi and he will go blind with cataracts if he continues to peep at upskirt while mopping around below the longhouses. Btw, he seems to be perculiarly silent nowadays, with nary a peep – must be having his daily eyeful of bushes…
Menyalak-er - October 17, 2009 at 10:19 am
“There is such a thing as party discipline” – Din
The East Malaysians won’t believe it. All they got to do is point PKR to Zulkifli Noordin’s behaviour in the last 10 months.Even PAS could not discipline him and therefore had refused him to be a candidate for PAS.
Would PKR still nominate him as a candidate for the next GE? That is the question in PKR supporters’ mind till the next GE? I will bet heavily there will be campaign against him by PR supporters in Kulim – Bandar Baru and not only that, word will go round the country ,( and it has already, take that for a fact, ) to all NON Muslim PKR voters across the country why PKR should be abandoned for lack of principles when dealing with a maverick like him. PAS sympathisers would why should they vote for a PKR candidate who after becoming a PKR MP, fights on an Islamic platform instead on a Justice platform? Note that Zulkifli publicly said he is a Muslim MP FIRST, NOT PKR MP first. The decision is easy for voters: Might as welll vote for a PAS candidate instead of Zulkifli Nordin. PAS had found him to be a too hot a potato to handle in the first place.
Zulkifli Noordin is an excess baggage for PKR and if he hasn’t thought of jumping ship before the next GE, he should be thinking about it now. His antics is too high profile especially many voters will refresh their memory of his leadership in the Bar Council Forum confrontation, that even embarrassed PKR VP Syed Husin and PAS leadership. NO rebuke from PKR except to say they had a discussion with him. Zulkifli made no apologies for his action and in fact came to Parliament highly emboldened by his action.
No, Din, PKR’s party discipline is yet to be tested.
Frank - October 17, 2009 at 12:47 pm
SABAH and for that matter SARAWAK , never intended to be MALAY COLONIES , when they joined malaysia-peach ann nacion
Unlike the distorted facts that you get from your history books , Sabah/Sarawak never joined Malaysia.
It must be emphasized that Sabah ,Sarawak ,Singapore and Malaya formed the federation of Malaysia.
In Sabah’s case it was
the 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, an agreement made between the state of Sabah (then North Borneo) with what would be the federal government of Malaysia prior to the formation of Malaysia in September 16, 1963. A similar agreement was made between the state of Sarawak and the federal government but with certain
differences.
The 20 point agreement was written for the main purpose of safeguarding the interests, rights, and the autonomy of the people of Sabah upon the formation of the federation of Malaysia. It was originally envisaged that Sabah be one of the four entities in the federation, the others being Malaya, Singapore, and Sarawak. However as times passed, Sabah and Sarawak has ended up being merely one of the 13 states in the federation.
There has been numerous calls for the agreement to be reviewed to take into account numerous factors that’ve been altered only to benefit the Malayan ruled central government.
To date, these cries have fallen on deaf ears. Anwar , whom many are counting on to provide the very much needed ractification of these lopsided affair seems more interested in hijacking the whole process once again.
Danildaud - October 17, 2009 at 2:43 pm
danil ,
i am glad to inform you that the history book i read and the one you read is the same . i understood it exactly how you have spelled it out.
our good old prime minister of 22 years distorted this 20 point agreement too and accordingly short changed both sarawak and sabah . lee kuan yew was smart . he walked out the first opportunity he had and took singapore with him .
the crooked bridge was an attempt by this same prime minister of 22 years to bring singapore back across the crooked bridge . but lee kuan yew being the leader that he is , saw a crooked mind behind the crooked bridge. alas , the rest is history danil.
peach ann nacion - October 17, 2009 at 4:02 pm
peach ann nacion
Sarawakians and Sabahans never learn, do they? Or they are SUDAH LUPA.
And they keep voting UMNO-led BN in power in 2008 when the rest in Peninsular is trying to kick them out.
Yet the East Malaysians want to decide things for themselves yet they can’t see the forest (pun unintended) from the trees.
The East Malaysians have a falsely placed pride. We can that BODOH SOMBONG and UMNO is exploiting this to screw the Sarawakians and Sabahans. After 22 years of the Mahathir regime, they still haven’t learnt.
Frank - October 17, 2009 at 6:08 pm
correction:
“We call that BODOH SOMBONG….”
Frank - October 17, 2009 at 6:08 pm
“No foreskin, no foresight” Salmiah Hussan.
Are you saying tean has no foresight?? are you saying Sharizat has no foresight?
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 9:38 pm
ooops … are you saying Sharizat has foresight? Tok Cik, what do you think?
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Sheeesh … I’m confused by this latest slogan “No foreskin, no foresight”. Besides being a racist comment.
Mr Bean - October 17, 2009 at 9:44 pm
dear mr bean ,
” NO FORESKIN , NO FORESIGHT ” is not intended to insinuate anything racial nor religious . it is just that in my good, wise friends opinion those without foreskin don’t seem to have any foresight . SIMPLE IS’NT IT ?
FOR example , the prime minister of 22 years lorded over the country with impunity and invoked many policies which suggested he did not have ” FORESIGHT “. SO if you assume that he shed his foreskin when he reached puberty then it is little wonder why he has no FORESIGHT . BOLEH FAHAM KE ?
IN the case of zaid ibrahim , if u read his blog and his speech before the OXBRIDGE crowd , it suggests that he has a lot of foresight and is darn insightfull too . we dont know if his foreskin is still intact but it must be . but those who decided that he should not go to sabah – we are sure they dont see zaid ibrahim’s foresight nor his insightfullness . hence , we are sure that their foreskin is not intact.
salmiah hassan - October 17, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Frank,
I’ll be less civil neither will I counter your accusations with fancy laid out sentences.
In its stead , i’ll be a snob(bodoh sombong) like what you’ve accused us Borneon’s of and outright vulgar, so comprende this:
In my line of trade, a business venture which is located at the eastern coastline of Sabah bordering Southern Philippines , heartland of the notorious ‘Abu Sayaf’ . The phrase ‘ the pen is mightier than the sword’ has no significance one damn bit. The trick of the trade is to talk less and be fit as a fiddle, in case circumstances demand that you are force to jump into the depths of the sea after the vessel you are in gets blown to kingdom come.
I am constantly subjected to either choosing to use my brains or brawn at a blink of an eye.
Slightly over a year ago , I had a Malayan counterpart , an umno connected person . Although without foreskin , he was definitely with foresight and had lots of guts. Who despite the comforts of doing business in his home turf , was brave enough to tag along into the dreaded Abu Sayaff land.
A place unlike your ‘Musa Hassan’ guarded neighbourhood , an ensuring save environment for brats like you to let-out your tantrums. This one place , wise guys like you will have your foreskin, head and all , fed to the dogs.
(no pun intended as well)
Danildaud - October 18, 2009 at 2:45 am
Oops! This is one place…
Danildaud - October 18, 2009 at 2:58 am
Danildaud
Life and death bravery on the frontiers of wherethe law of the jungle rules doesn’t mean a thing in politics. The pen may not be mightier than the sword, but there is much in history you can learn that it is always the pen that is the first cause for the sword to be drawn. Those who are forced to draw the sword are victims of the pen in the first place.
Where you are doing business is unruly is because of politics, a signature was inked with a PEN not with a sword to marginalise those secessionists who are creating problems between Philippines and Malaysia. In my line of work, I have been to the western and northern parts of Mindanao and to Tawi Tawi with protected armguards and met with those AK 47 carrying ex Commandos of the MLF who are now trying to live a settled life outside the jungles of Mindanao under the mid-90s peace plan and it was politics that settled the conflict, though the peace in those areas is still a work in progress.
So you don’t have to lecture me about foreskins on what it is like in those troubled areas and for folks like you, you are just trying to earn your buck in those places while letting others decide the faith of Sabah and Sarawak.
My sympathies have always been with the poor folks of Sabah and Sarawak since the early 70s who are being bamboozled with Kuala Lumpur propaganda while their natural resources and riches being looted like nobody’s business and with the complicit of well connected Sabahans and Sarawakians.
Go take a cold shower and see what has happened to the resources of East Malaysia and who had been enriched most. You have at least one UMNO supported East Malaysian whose company is raping the forests of the Pacific and if you have not been to PNG as I have been, these are the people who have given East Malaysians a bad name.
Tak bodoh sombong lagi ka?
Frank - October 18, 2009 at 4:20 am
“IN the case of zaid ibrahim , if u read his blog and his speech before the OXBRIDGE crowd , it suggests that he has a lot of foresight and is darn insightfull too . we dont know if his foreskin is still intact but it must be . but those who decided that he should not go to sabah – we are sure they dont see zaid ibrahim’s foresight nor his insightfullness . hence , we are sure that their foreskin is not intact” Salmiah Hassan
Dear Cik Salmiah,
I don’t get it. The reasoning is a bit convoluted and I need your help.
You seem to be an expert on foreskins and you have drawn a co-relationship between the two – a hypothesis that needs testing.
M has an audience with Tok Mudin usually at age 12 (age of puberty for boys, 11 for girls). Off comes his foreskin (and off comes hers?). As M ages and with experience comes wisdom and with wisdom comes foresight i.e. ‘in most cases’ – that would be the usual caveat. The long and short of the matter according to you is that people like M don’t have foresight because they don’t have foreskins, or to be more precise, no longer have them. Is that not your hypothesis?
Now this is where it gets a little confusing for me. Perhaps I live in a country where for most people parting company with their foreskins is not in keeping with the tradition of their forefathers. You say Zaid Ibrahim has plenty of foresight and but yet you suggest he could still have his foreskin. The presumption is that being a Malay and a Muslim he no longer has his foreskin. But like in all presumptions, this presumption is rebuttable. Now do you know something about Zaid Ibrahim that we do not know, that you want to share with us??
That seems to be an aberration.
You’ll have to excuse me. This politics of the foreskin is something new to me.
Mr Bean - October 18, 2009 at 5:32 am
“SO if you assume that he shed his foreskin when he reached puberty then it is little wonder why he has no FORESIGHT . BOLEH FAHAM KE ?” Salmiah Hassan
Saya tak faham le. Maybe Tok Cik faham kot. Dia selalu jumpa dengan Sharizat. Sharizat ada banyak foresight.
Mr Bean - October 18, 2009 at 5:39 am
Mr Bean
New buzzword: “Fore-skin politics of Malaysia.”
Definitely less provocative than to say “racial and religious politics of Malaysia.”
No?
But I kind of like the idea.
Frank - October 18, 2009 at 5:42 am
Hello Frank,
You ada banyak foresight ka? Cik Salmiah wants to know.
Mr Bean - October 18, 2009 at 5:44 am
Mr. Bean
Maaflah.. kurang foresight. Tapi lebih foresight jika banding dengan orang asal dari Sabah dan Sarawak.
Frank - October 18, 2009 at 5:51 am
Mr Bean
The current MCA crisis is caused by two camps in MCA.
Those who are very close to UMNO and they are those who lost their foresight when they reached puberty and the second camp are those who say MCA should not be bullied by UMNO, and these are those who wisely retained their foresight. Looks like those who had not lost their foresight are winning in MCA after the GE 2008 debacle.
Just putting an empirical understanding to Cik Salmiah’s theory.
Frank - October 18, 2009 at 6:01 am
Hey! Frank . what armguards escort you’re talking about – the PNP and why were you there for, part of Yong Teck Lee’s(the then CM of Sabah) mission to secure the release of hostages?? Word on the ground , a large portion of the federal funded millions in ransom money was pocketed by this Chinky- ah pek and his KL cohorts
Or were you a representative of a Philippine base Japanese firm exploiting Tausug kids to dive the depths of the Sulu Sea in search of Octopus.
The southern phillipine bandits are armed to their teeth with hi-tech American weaponry , weapons that are easily secured in the black market. When you say they were in possesion of the obsolete Ak-47 , you were probably dreaming and mistook a Vietnam brothel for Mindanao or Tawi tawi island.
These are the very people infiltrating Sabah shores at their whims and fancy with total blessings of the federal govt and have by know altered demographics of the entire state.One reason why , BN keep on winning elections
So, if your balls are still intact go bring your ‘bodoh sombong’ mumbo jumbo to putrajaya and stop picking on the poor dusun,rungus , bajau tribes etc..etc
Danildaud - October 18, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Danildaud
You been to Tawi Tawi ? Its only one hour by boat. Or keeping safe from the rest.
You been to Vietnam and Cambodia to see what was it like after the war there?
You must be watching plenty of Hollywood movies about bandits and terrorists in the comfort of your home protected by the Malaysian govt to come and boast of your knowledge of illegal weapons. So you have been in contact with these guys and making illegal deals huh?
If not, don’t come and chest up your bravery just because you happen to earn a living on the east coast of Sabah with some second-hand knowledge of the conflict ?
Frank - October 18, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Now! Now!frankie boy, There goes your tantrums once again , answering each question with more questions!
You’re beginning to sound more like Ilham and like Ilham , all you can do , it seems is to vent out childish accusations . A typical metrosexual freak.
I’m pretty much done with you . Now go debate Bean over foreskins , you guys seem to enjoy each other.
Oh! With the kind of high powered engines that i’m using , it takes me less then an hour to reach Tawi tawi and the governor of Jolo is a personal friend of mine.
Danildaud - October 18, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Danildaud
The governor of Jolo is a personal friend of mine.
That’s good news.
If you go to Tawi Tawi I can give you some names for you to be treated like a VIP.
Thank you for the exchange. Please note, no personal malice intended at all to what I have said.
Good luck and of course do take care. Those places are worse than “cowboy” towns. I am always reminded when I am in those conflict areas that my life is only worth the cost of a bullet. Cheers.
Frank - October 18, 2009 at 6:52 pm
The PKR is too small a party for two tigers. Please bring back Wan Aziziah and let her run the party until we can knock these two heads and make it into one.
Thumb Logic - October 18, 2009 at 8:48 pm
We can settle for a two-headed monster.
Mr Bean - October 18, 2009 at 10:11 pm