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Latest Hishammuddin gem – “Good guilt, bad guilt”; Isa is “good guilty”

Isa unlike other guilty leaders, says Hishammuddin
Malaysian Insider

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 30 – There’s good guilt and then there’s bad guilt, going by the argument Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein put forward today in defence of Tan Sri Isa Samad’s selection as Umno candidate in the Bagan Pinang by-election.

In praising the man whom Umno once found guilty of vote buying as “a loyal servant of the party”, Hishammuddin also called Isa the “people’s candidate,” in an acknowledgement to polls which suggest the former Umno vice-president was very popular in Bagan Pinang despite being tainted by his corrupt past.

“He is different from certain individuals who, when found guilty by the party, they are willing to curse the party that has served them. Tan Sri Isa is different. He is patient and strong, and his loyalty to the party is one matter which was considered by the top leadership,” he said. Continue reading “Latest Hishammuddin gem – “Good guilt, bad guilt”; Isa is “good guilty””

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Same Old UMNO, Same Old Ethics

By M. Bakri Musa

Biar mati anak, jangan mati adat! (Sacrifice your child if need be, but never your tradition!) Growing up in Negri Sembilan, that wisdom of my culture was continually drummed into me. To those outside the clan, that adage may seem extreme, an ugly manifestation of unyielding and irrational conservatism.

With my children now grown up, I recognize the verity of that village wisdom. Yes, it was hammered into me on the importance of our cultural tradition of fealty towards elders (our parents in particular), but there was also the equally important reciprocal tradition for the elders (who are presumably wiser) to be more patient and forgiving of their young.

It is this fidelity to adat that made my parents not put a guilt trip upon me when I chose a path that was not what they had expected. Cognizant of this adat too is what made me not stand in the way of my children when they too decided to venture on a journey beyond what is familiar to me.
Continue reading “Same Old UMNO, Same Old Ethics”

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Bagan Pinang by-election – a contest between Malaysia’s political past and the future

There was a collective shaking of heads in the country when it was formally announced that Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad is the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election in Negri Sembilan on 11th October 2009.

Both the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir and another Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh had spoken out publicly to warn of the adverse implications and larger repercussions of nominating a person who had been found guilty of money politics by his own political party, but these objections and warnings had been disregarded.

Having lost in all the previous seven by-elections in Peninsular Malaysia after the March 8 general elections last year, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Umno leadership are so desperate for a by-election victory that they are prepared to overlook the larger and adverse implications of Isa’s candidature so long they can be assured not only of a by-election victory in Bagan Pinang but a convincing one.
Continue reading “Bagan Pinang by-election – a contest between Malaysia’s political past and the future”