Who how

Shucks, Tenaga should have harnessed this. Once every five years, an immense gush of hot air spews out of Parliament, enough to run mega-turbines to power the country for months. It happened again on Friday afternoon and lasted for about two hours.

That’s how I see the 9MP. Lots of numbers and statistics thrown about, lots of “will be…”s, and lots of skimming the surface. But no road map. It is a wish list, an advertising campaign, a morale booster, a buffet spread, anything, anything but a Plan.

In my book, Plans tell you how something gets done. A Plan doesn’t happen at the flick of a switch – it takes into account context, history, strengths and weaknesses. You do a ton of prep work before a plan is fortified and ready. And most of all, when the Plan is announced, you would have assembled a team rumbling and ready to deliver.

It’s all about who and how. They define a Plan’s depth and credibility.

Especially so in Pak Lah’s administration, blazing with the highest voting majority in the country’s history, bursting with the promises the rakyat has longed to hear, yet delivering pittance; backtracking, dimming down, spiraling back into the muddy days of the old.

I was in the car when the radio began broadcasting the PM’s speech. I was lost somewhere between Puchong and Kelang Lama which made the ride worthwhile. With every proposal made, with every allocation of RMxxx million, with every ‘will be’ uttered, I’d wonder: “How? Who?”

It was first amusing, then tiring. Then the recent picture flashed back again, the picture I hate, the picture of a mega-spending, non-accountable Malaysia – man, the speech must’ve been like blood to the sharks in the ‘hood. Cronyhood. Feeding frenzy for the next five years.

All these gift-wrapped under a ‘vision’ of Delivery and Implementation.

If recent socio-political events in Malaysia are an indication of the team responsible for the 9MP, I’m eagerly waiting. For the next general elections, that is.

With Harvard suits hired to prescribe to us what we probably already know and more about our public delivery system;
with tudungs as uniforms;
with Bank Negara interfering with Southern Bank’s future;
with Hishamuddin and gang’s objection to the IPCMC;
with Nazri’s ‘Suhakam will have no bite’;
with Zam’s sermons on nationalism;
with calls to change our lifestyle;
with plans for a crooked bridge;
with Digi-no-3G;
with Scomi’s bus contracts;
with an LCCT mind-bogglingly built 20km away from KLIA’s main terminal;
with 50 Umno Youth members giving MP Loh Seng Kok a protest letter for asking for more balanced history books;
with Selayang councilors on a lawatan sambil belajar in South Africa and MPPJ sports club reaping profits from billboard advertisements

how can I have faith in the delivery of the 9MP?

As all things good and foul must come to an end, the earnest closure to the 9MP came in the form of a prayer, choked in emotion:

“…grant us our prayers; guide us to righteousness and to the path that You bless, provide us with people that are sincere, trustworthy, noble and honest; responsible in building a developed nation – building a united people – we forever seek Your blessings, “Towards Excellence, Glory and Distinction”.



I’m surprised at that.

Pak Lah! Your prayers have long been answered and continue to be answered today. There are many Malaysians who are sincere, trustworthy, noble and honest; who want to be responsible in building a developed nation – who want to be a united people. Not many in your team though. And sadly, many too have left – thousands of intelligent, skilled, compassionate people – but not because they are disloyal. Rather they were denied, dejected and disillusioned by previous Malaysia Plans that hinged on equally great promises but delivered lard to the already fat.

Will yours be any different? Who? How?