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Shahrizat is no sacrificial lamb

By Jacob Sinnathamby | March 12, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 12 — I find it shocking that even till the last, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wanted the last stab to insult Malaysians.

At least we deserve some modicum of respect from the prime minister. Throughout the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), he and his government have insulted us with their indifference to the glaring fact that the BN government granted RM250 million to a family who were ill-equipped to run this feedlot business. Instead, they used the funds to buy properties and live comfortable lives.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s culpability starts and ends with several facts and assumptions including that her expenses were paid by the NFC and that it is likely that her connections allowed her family to get the contract.

It is impossible to believe that the decision makers ,who included Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib, gave the contract and the soft loan to greenhorns with no consideration to the fact that Shahrizat leads Wanita Umno.

But I dare say that Najib’s behaviour and response to this whole scandal has been poor, hardly becoming of someone whom we hope can be trusted to make tough and correct decisions.

Till today, he has not said anything worthwhile about the loss of taxpayers’ money. But yesterday’s comments take the prize of being inane.

He said that Shahrizat sacrificed herself for the good of government and party and that though she was not guilty of any offence, she was willing to quit Cabinet.

She did not sacrifice herself. She was forced out by an administration and political party that had run out of excuses and wayang kulit plays but yet did not have the guts to remove her.

And this is the problem with the PM. He did not remove her earlier because he did not want to upset Umno rank and file and he could not get her to go earlier because only those without skeletons in their closets can act with strength and clarity in difficult situations.

Till the last, Najib could not act decisively or in a principled manner in handling Shahrizat or the NFC.

Worse yet, he tried to put a spin on the political sacrifice made by Shahrizat.

That must have been part of the going away deal.

31 Replies to “Shahrizat is no sacrificial lamb”

  1. So they have decided on the show or sandiwara to put on. The rest is predictable..So what now?

    Honestly, I think its time to ask about Najib family expenditure now that daughter’s engagement party thing has some bite in it.

    So the real question to ask is RM409K engagement party also ‘a sacrifice’ on part of Najib’s family..

  4. She is, in a sense, a sacrificial lamb only if one believes that the benefit of the largesse from the soft loan is availed to and enjoyed too by others not in the public eye in complicity though only she and her family take the rap and fall from grace in an attempt by a Corrupt System to do damage control and prevent it from spreading and avert too great a public anger that may othrwise take revenge from the coming polls. Just like the charge against ex MCA Tun who may be viewed , in a sense, a sacrificial lamb only if one believes he is to take the fall in shield of others who directly benefitted, maybe more in PKFZ scandal. We live in a milieu in which we sufficiently understand that distibution of rewards and punishment here is neither fair nor commensurate with degree of guilt complicity or unfair gain or benefit. Because of decades of abuse where crimes against public property are committed without accountability, we see many ordinary Malaysians in vengeful rage and anger directed against whosoever wrong doer who takes the fall / blame. It resembles the scene eons ago in the Roman Colosseum of a fallen and wounded gladiator looking demoralised at the spectators braying for blood and urging the Emperor to put his thumb down!

  5. This is the usual Najib and BUMNO/BN sandiwara.

    Apology but not really an apology; resignation, not really a resignation!

    When is a resignation distinctly NOT a resignation?

    When, your term of office as Senator (and hence, Ministership) expires on 8th April and your resignation is effective 9th April. Do remember that unless the PM re-appoints her wef 9th April 2012, she cannot continue as Minister anyway, especially since the Pantai Baru Rakyat booted her out as MP at GE 2008.

    This resignation by Shahrizat is therefore a sham and an attempt to hoodwink the people in the boondocks.

    Now, she can still collect her salary up to 8th April and pension.

    What kind of shameless fakery is this?

    Dpp
    we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race

  7. They are not incompetent. They are very competent in stealing. Yes, stealing is their trademark. They know they can steal and get away with it. Thanks to mamakjahat, this is their culture now.

  8. The so-called appointment of senators as ministers etc is an unusual and unnatural thing that, I think, can only occur in this country.
    Just think, the person concerned was already unwanted by the electorate, but, against the wishes of the people, he/she is still appointed as a member of the cabinet!!!
    So, why have elections?
    Obviously, something must be done to scrap such a ridiculous system.
    Another equally discriminatory practice is the delineation of electoral boundaries.
    I understand that in rural areas, where the BN dominates, a few small towns with small populations have one MP whereas, in urban areas, with large populations, also have one representative!
    Obviously, this will result in the incumbent’s party having many more MPs than the opposition!!
    So, all through all these decades, the opposition has to play with the dice loaded against them.
    This too must be changed.

  9. Wayang Kulit by best leading actor and supporting actress. Wonder if this means that Shahrizat escapes being grilled in Parliament which starts today? All these are played out ‘strategically’ by the leading actor to tango with his oh-so-clever elections gameplan that BN UMNO has… Can’t wait to see him announce that he was ill advised when he has to tuck his tail between his legs after GE13.

  10. The words are carefully chosen.
    One slip…means Najib admits corruptions took place.
    I wonder why Shahrizat did not go to the mosque to swear she was innocent…..thus make Najib’s job easier to renew her Senator-ship.
    Why resign..if you8 are not guilty?
    And if she is…why Najib said so much nice tings about her….insulting smart Malaysians?
    One leg still holding on as one UMNO b kingpin player….Wanita Chief.

    1. Swearing to Quran, Holy Bible, Buddhist Script or whatever religion is not acceptable in the eyes of Laws!

      Surprisingly, it is prevailing and gaining popularity in our Bolehland where many BN suckers and sucky Datuk’s swearing to Quran to prove their innocence! Oops! Rapists and criminals can get away with it.

      WTF for setting up and paying million bucks for Judges and judiciary body? After all, most judges and judiciary system are corrupted and rotten to core!

      Hopeless! Our nation is totally in mess with all these BN/UMNO suckers sucking around…

  12. In the first place the creatuion of NFC could not be justified. The amount was not meant to start any cow business, it was just the spoils for them to share. Now that the matter has become public, well she had to take the blame. If it could be delayed a couple of years after all the CASH has been cashed; just declare that bad business has bankrupt the company. Close chapter; all condos would have been ‘privatized’ by then! It would then pput under PUNB as business failure. No question asked? Yes, the diligence of Rafizi and the other PKR lady made the difference in drawing the Senator into a trap which she could not wriggle out! They plough and plot her and her family into a corner! Well done! I would certainly think such approach can bring is more fruitful then to get involved in shouting with BN monsters! Such sandiwara will be watched and judged by ALL Malaysians!!

  17. To Najib’s warped mind, Sharizat did sacrifice herself. But not before she negotiated for a trade off to get her family off the hook as much as possible in the face of overwhelmingly damning evidence. She cling onto her miniterial post to get the leverage to bargain for the best arrangment for her family.

    It is very well timed. She announced her decision just before her husband was charged for various offences. But her children are let off the hook. Her husband will take all the rap to spare their children the risk of being torn apart and found guilty in an open court. How could Dr Salleh be the only guilty party when the sons’ name also appeared in various properties and furthermore one son is the MD while the other is an executive director. If Dr Salleh had violated the Companies Act, so should the sons who are executive directors of the company.

  18. PKR’s Rafizi Ramli has done great job in his expose on “CowGate”. It underscores the overarching importance of a vigilant and brave Opposition & Civil Society as a bulwark against Kleptocracy in the cause of Democracy. So is Sharizat a sacrificial lamb (as UMNO/BN’s leaders say she is)? Answer is both yes and no, depending from which angle one looks at it. Well it’s a “no” to the oppressed citizenry and the underclass paying taxes frittered away: they will scoff, “what sacrifice? What happens now to sizeable portion of Soft loan disbursed and utilised by NFC on unauthorised purposes? Will there be restitution? Can public monies be recovered?” It is a “yes” – there’s sacrifice- if she has to be perceived (by rakyat and voters) as being “punished” by giving up a ministerial post (a fountain of patronage) and having to countenance a better half being implicated by criminal charges – just to help the ruling party/coalition to rebut its critics, manipulate public perception of political will to fight corruption/kleptocracy and uphold Rule of Law, do damage control, win the GE in order to perpetuate the very kleptocratic system that it pretends to fight (but in reality seeks to perpetuate) by now offering a “sacrificial lamb”.

  20. We must understand that corruption is universal phenomenon arising from the greed of every human heart for an unfair advantage that power enables. However what is advantageous for a select few with power to abuse is disaster for the majority without and hence corruption has to be fought by eternal vigilance and system check and balance. Here the fight (as compared to elsewhere) is particularly uphill and difficult because of the distortion arising from the society being divided along race and religion lines that provides those in power unique advantage to exploit these racial and religious schisms to hold on the positions of power in perpetuation of a kleptocratic/patronage system. Occasionally this system offers a sacrificial lamb, so that the rest of the pack of wolves can carry on in their predatory pursuits. Among themselves the offence is to get caught with hand in the kitty. It will spoil the racket so someone in the spirit of ‘one for all and all for one’ has to be “sacrificed” temporarily for system maintenance. Within the system there are always way and means for the one sacrificed to be redeemed (once the heat is off) with appropriate recompense for “sacrificing” in protection of the system for rest of the pack. So it is trite that no one should be too elated with “sacrifice” talk when sacrifice is intended for maintenance of a moribund system!

  21. Wot? Resign now? Some 4 or 5 months after the scandal was uncovered? Not resigning quick enough is already an insult to the people and a denial of her responsibility. And now to describe her resignation as a sacrifice is really senseless and irrational. In one word, such description is stupid. In fact, it is as stupid as the 1malaysia slogan and as idiotic as the lame and ridiculous “minta maaf” wayang.

    Sudahlah jib. Habis lu umno.

    “ABU”

  22. People applaud the hauling of NFC’s chairman to court & Sharizat’s resignation as first step or even milestone in fight against systemic corruption/kleptocracy. This is a one big mistake. It is not. It is a lid to contain the spilling out of unsavory practices going on behind the scenes. These damage control measures could (1) provide the legal ‘sub judice’ excuse to prevent further public comment on the issue (2) divert public attention from issues on whether or how soft loan/public monies frittered may ever be recovered; (3) divert public attention if not silence demands to investigate further who else (besides NFC’s executives) is implicated or accountable for the fiasco; (4) provide pretext for even the Public Accounts Committee to stop further investigation of NFC; (5) spruce up BN’s image to maximize its chances of winning in next GE so that the same patronage practices of influence peddling, conflicts of interest, breach of public duties, misuse, embezzling of public funds could be continued/perpetuated. For these gains, the ‘sacrifice of the lamb’ is well worth it.

  23. http://www.thesundaily.my/news/319366

    In court–

    Judge: Do the defendant plea guilty of not guilty?

    Defendant’s lawyer: Not guilty, my lord. He has no experience whatsoever in handling a company. He studied elementary bookkeeping in Kemahiran Hidup until Form 3, for which he obtained a ‘D’ in his PMR. So he does not understand cash flow projections, balance sheet and debit or credit an account. He is also very weak in English, and does not understand what a ‘condo’ means. He thinks a ‘condo’ is like the Mr 003 he wears in bed.

    Judge: That so? OK, I find the defendant not guilty. He is free and needs not repay the RM250,000,000 loan. Court dismiss!

  25. You gave 250m to Sharizat’s husband’s NFC..
    You gave Kidex contract worth billions to Tun Zaki’s wife’s company..
    You gave half billion for Tajuddin to settle out of courst..
    You gave Sarawak to Taib..

    What will people say?…. The gov always donate to make tycoons, if we don’t vote BN, this country takda pembangunan.

  27. //Like Najib says, everything is about perception//

    Perception is not about what people think of you, it is about your doing/deeds that make people think that way.

    When economy is bad, you ask us to change life-style. When you look corrupted, you ask us to change the way we look at you. Because we change we survive, because you never change you doomed (hopefully, we change @ GE13 or we doomed togather).

    If those holding public office can’t live up to public expectation and perception, unless they are shamless, otherwise how can they hold on to their office? Ask senator Koh and Sharizat…. what shamless means? they will tell you is equal ro pride.

  28. Shahreezuk gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: “That’s the ugliest baby that I’ve ever seen.” Shahreezuk goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to Jibby who was sitting next to her: “That driver just insulted me!” Jibby says: “You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I’ll hold your monkey for you.”

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