Month: August 2021

Oleh Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi

[Kita sentiasa bersedia memimpin kerajaan sekiranya apa-apa terjadi kepada kerajaan sekarang]

Itu antara kandungan ucapan saya pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO kira-kira tiga tahun yang lalu.

Perhimpunan Agung UMNO 2018 yang diadakan selepas kita tewas Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-14 angkara fitnah.

Apa yang dinyatakan Presiden UMNO pada hari tersebut telah pun dijadikan kenyataan pada hari ini.

Syukur Alhamdulillah, Terima kasih kepada seluruh pimpinan, ahli dan penyokong UMNO yang meyakini iltizam itu.

Dalam ucapan sama saya ada juga menyebut:

Yakinlah awan mendung yang melanda akan segera berarak, menipis dan sirna.

Jika kita bersatu dan kuat pasti bangkit.Jika kita berjaya mendepani landskap politik hari ini kita akan kembali kukuh.

“We are the better option”. Kitalah pilihan terbaik untuk kembali menjadi kerajaan sebelum atau selepas PRU-15.

Maka itu perjuangan UMNO seterusnya. PRU-15 yang bakal diadakan selepas pandemik terkawal matlamat yang sebenar.

Tujuannya tiada selain demi agama, bangsa dan negara. Demi mengembalikan kemakmuran rakyat dan kegemilangan Malaysia.

Syukur Alhamdulillah, Allah makbulkan segala doa dan hajat kita semua ahli UMNO.

Kepada Allah kita berserah parti keramat UMNO sentiasa dilimpahkan Rahmat dariNya

Allahummaa Aameen.

*Kandungan di atas hanya mewakili pandangan penulis sendiri. Sekiranya anda mempunyai pertanyaan mengenai kandungan karya, hak cipta atau masalah lain, sila hubungi Newswav.

Catatan ini pertama kali muncul di laman Facebook Zahid Hamidi.

EVERY time I travel to London and Europe, I have been fascinated by the rich history of the nations. When I include old civilisations like India and China, I am always amazed at how civilisations have survived countless plagues and wars.

Due to lack of science and medicine, there were high casualties of human lives in a plague pandemic. Destruction of properties and infrastructures during wars are increasingly very extensive due to bombs and missiles.

Throughout the history of civilisation, there has been different kind of plagues and the most deadly pneumonic plague was the Spanish Flu. A total of 30% of the world population or an estimated 500 million out of 1.8 billion was infected with an estimated casualty of 50 million deaths (about 3% of world population then).

Spanish Flu, also known as the 1918 Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 virus. The name Spanish Flu is a misnomer. The pandemic broke out near the end of World War I and it was only reported by Spanish neutral media, giving the false impression that Spain was the epicentre of the epidemic.

It was reported that outbreaks of influenza like illness first appeared in 1916-1917 in British military hospitals in France and subsequently appeared in military hospitals in Kansas, the United States, in 1918. Is history repeating itself? Nobody will know the true story of the origins of Covid-19.

All we know is that the pneumonic virus has been co-existing with the human population for the last few hundred years. And it will still co-exist with us for the next few hundred years.

The fact that we have to live with Covid-19 virus is a no brainer. The Spanish Flu was most deadly between the years of 1918-1920 and it dragged on till the mid-1920’s before it finally disappeared.

Modern science today has produced effective vaccines and modern medical equipments and treatments that is able to control the pandemic with lower casualties. Together with improved social behaviours, the world is in a much better position now to control and eventually make Covid-19 fade away. Hopefully for another 100 years.

After the world wars, most affected countries embarked on reconstruction efforts and they reset their priorities from war mongering to economic development.

Similarly, after each pandemic, families, businesses and governments have to reset their priorities from health concerns to economic survival, from personal losses to a hopeful future and most importantly, to handover to our next generation a better, safer and more prosperous world to live in.

Here are some thoughts on how Malaysians can reset their priorities starting today:

Lives vs livelihoods

The only way to solve massive unemployment is to help the micro businesses and small and medium enterprises (SME) restart their operations, as this sector is responsible for at least 50% of national employment. Our banking sector has to seriously consider writing off or reducing these debts (accumulated interests) as a form of support for the cash-strapped enterprises.

Having reduced or no income for 18 months has devastated these small businesses. Rich Western countries have helped the industries with furlough pays etc for more than a year but not Malaysia.

The financial institutions should forego their short-term profits in the national interest to help reconstruct and rebuild the small enterprise sector. The multiplier effect of a reinvigorated small-enterprise sector will only benefit the financial institutions immediately, from payment of cars, housing and personal loans to higher consumption which improves trading velocity.

The government can help out too in terms of exemption of penalties for unpaid taxes and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions while some form of tax or duties relief should be given to the small enterprises.

The main consideration is to allow these small enterprises to use the balance cash available, if there is any left, to restart their business immediately. Give them some breathing space and oxygen when required. Now that health risks will be greatly diminished via high vaccination, we need to reset our priorities to livelihoods. Not a moment too soon.

The only positive change from this pandemic has been the awareness of personal and public hygiene standards that was lacking prior to the pandemic.

Marketplaces and restaurants are much cleaner, homes and workplaces are more sterilised than ever, and hand washing is now a necessary habit. This reset should be maintained if not enhanced further.

Wearing of masks have been an old habit in Japan and China to protect from pollution. Wearing of masks in food preparation and service-related activities are habits that should be perpetuated in the years to come.

That includes wet market operators and poultry farms where the origin of viruses hopping on to humans often occur. Mandatory work wear maybe?

Workplace

This new concept of working from home for fully employed staff members is an experiment with many unexpected results.

My three children and their spouse are all working from home. My wife is complaining of the high electricity bills for air conditioning and the constant feeding of so many adults throughout the day. Can we claim from their companies some living expenses?

Meanwhile their companies are studying the loss of productivity from employees working from home. A general estimate of loss of 20%-30% in productivity seems to be the rule of thumb. Can we reduce their compensation by a similar percentage? Should we reduce our office space by half?

Come to think of it, we do not need that many employees nowadays as before. Since headcount has been reduced, we still have the same performance.

Now we have employees who love working from home and make all kind of excuses of not going back to work in their workplace. This will become a major problem for management.

The other problem is the need to self isolate at home due to close contact with a positive case. Latest news in the United Kingdom, if you are fully vaccinated, there is no need to self isolate if you have come into close contact with someone positive.

We do need to reset this work-from-home concept. Fair policies for both management and employees will need to be set to prevent workplace misunderstanding.

I believe there will be no one policy to fit all the jobs and not all the jobs fit the work-from-home concept. Eventually there will be attritions due to disagreement on personal choices versus management principles. No winners here.

Next week, we will discuss resets on many other issues including government and national goals. This week, we will have a new government or an old government in a new bottle but whatever it is, we know that we have to co-exist with the same bunch of old politicians, at least for the next one to two years.

If you are fully vaccinated, do go out and enjoy your limited freedom and activities. Cheers.

*The views expressed are those of the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.

(Kuala Lumpur, Aug 22) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had just delivered his inaugural speech at 5.30 pm today, after taking his oath of office as the 9th Prime Minister at Istana Negara yesterday to replace Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who resigned on Aug 16.

He expressed his appreciation to Yang di-Pertuan Agong for entrusting him to lead the country and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for all his efforts & contributions during his time as a prime minister.

He also thanked the rest of the parliament for their support, and wished that all government bodies can unite together in order to fight the pandemic.

Sabri mentioned that Malaysia is a country formed by different cultures and religions, but it is also those that tie us fellow Malaysians together as a family.

With new variants continue to surface, he will make sure that the effort to counter the pandemic will be enhanced and continued. He mentioned that Malaysia was one of countries with the the fastest vaccination rate with more than 500K doses being injected per day. He wished that with the continuous effort, Malaysia will soon achieve heard immunity and exit this pandemic.

He said that Malaysia will purchase an additional 6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, which are expected to arrive early September this year.

He also urged those that have yet to register to get their vaccination as soon as possible so that the nation can go back to normalcy. He then mentioned that the high vaccination rate in Klang Valley had successfully reduced the number of daily cases, proving that vaccination is effective and important.

Many economic sectors have been affected by this pandemic and in order to reduce the impact, the new government will focus on assisting the SME sector as well as industries such as travel.

He stressed that the young generation is very important to the country. Therefore he will ensure that the new government will listen to the younger generation more.

Since GE14, we have faced the change of two Prime Ministers and governments and this is a lost to the country resources. Therefore, he urged that we should all unite together to make sure that the country can progress forward.

In order to achieve political stability, he concluded his speech by mentioning that he is willing to work with the opposition to handle the Covid-19 pandemic together and invited them to join the National Recovery Council.

YB Ampang (Zuraida Kamaruddin), we have to admit that behind those feisty political speeches, the façade of a no-nonsense politician and the sturdy defiance you took against expert opinion, you definitely have a wicked sense of humour.

On a serious note, when we first read about your offer to go to Afghanistan on a mission to promote women’s rights, it was thought the media misquoted you. We were also wondering if one of our journalists had ventured into satire.

Besides, there was also apprehension if you had been misquoted. What, you may ask? Many politicians have previously taken the easy way out by blaming the media after putting their feet in their mouths.

Phrases like “twisting facts”, “misunderstood what I meant”, and the tired old cliché of “putting words in my mouth” are familiar. In your case, it is apparent that you are doggedly pursuing something close to your heart.

So, we checked with colleagues who said that you did not say such things in or utter these words in an interview or at a gathering. They told us that to ensure you meant every word, you decided to put them in a statement. How clever! How considerate.

You have saved your media advisers and consultants from having to call up editors to complain that the report misquoted the boss. That’s also good because the public no longer have to read denials.

The written statement is the perfect defence when confronted by many cronies and wannabes who would like to get into your good books by admonishing the media on your behalf.

We also believe your offer is not just one-upmanship against former colleagues who find themselves in the unemployed queue.

It is said that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop and having been unemployed for just four days, innovative ideas and plans have cropped up. Just think of the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who are currently twiddling their thumbs having nothing to do.

Just make a guess as to the number of ideas for humanity that they would have come up with. Even if a paltry 1 percent is acceptable, what a wonderful society we will have.

There would have been no need to walk around in a hazmat suit or pose for cameras holding hoses; there wouldn’t have been any quarrels with experts on public health and the money saved would have gone to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahmah in Klang, which is in dire straits due to lack of medical equipment.

But back to your plans. Already, the offers are pouring in. One lawyer, yes, a lady who also has a good sense of comicality, has offered to buy you a one-way ticket but this is if the new administrators in Kabul allow your feet to touch their land.

If you can’t, head to Karachi or Lahore and then travel by road to Peshawar and through the Khyber Pass and arrive in Afghan territory. There will be great sceneries including bomb craters to see.

On reaching your destination, do not propose or introduce sanitisation of the roads, building, furniture and fittings in offices. The Afghans have their own way of dealing with the problem – they just exterminate pests, viruses and humans too.

If you need someone to give Afghan women expert advice on grooming, you can always turn to fellow unemployed minister Rina Harun, who can help, because she knows a thing or two about make-up and make-overs.

There’s also Dr Adham Baba, another out-of-job minister to improve the regime’s tattered image internationally by making conference calls and communicating with leaders of 500 nations. We are certain air suam will feature extensively at his meetings.

Sometimes, our politicians seemed fixated on the happenings outside the country while ignoring the issues in their backyard.

YB, if you are talking of better opportunities for women and girls, I wonder why you did not take a stand against child marriages. No one wanted you to take up cudgels to do battle but the least you could have done as a lawmaker was to convince fellow MPs of the need to protect young women.

Instances of girls being asked to discontinue school and get married are no longer isolated. Would you allow your teenage daughter or granddaughter to marry a man who is old enough to be their grandfather?

The elephant in the room cannot be ignored. Nor will it go away by remaining spineless – afraid to express views for fear of being derided by people on your own side.

Now that you have plucked up the courage to offer to go to war-torn Afghanistan compared with many of your unemployed male counterparts, who would prefer to spend retirement with their grandchildren, can you walk the extra mile for our girls?

While the whole world rallied behind Malala Yousafzai for her stand on education for girls, you could also enjoy the same if your root for empowerment and opportunities for Malaysian girls. Is that asking too much before you step on the plane to Kabul?

It is normal practice to give plum postings abroad for failed politicians or their spouses. Will you consider being our first ambassador to Afghanistan? Although Malaysia will lose a brilliant minister, you must go where your heart takes you.

R NADESWARAN offers a tongue-in-cheek view of the happenings and darndest things said after the government was dissolved.

*The views expressed are those of the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.