A morning session with The Oracle of Syed Putera

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
August 06, 2011

AUGUST 6 — Once again, I have the pleasure to share with readers, the current thoughts of the Oracle of Syed Putra.

To refresh the minds of readers, the Oracle is the alter ego of Tun Daim Zainudin. You can almost say what the Oracle says is what Tun Daim thinks. It seems now, whatever Tun Daim says is carefully analyzed. And Tun Daim is a dangerous seer. In 2008, he predicted the loss of BN in 5 states. The UMNO generals were up in arms. They vilified him, describing him with all sorts of disrespectful terms. Daim is a pensioner. Daim is out of touch. Daim is irrelevant. When the results came, what Daim predicted was generally true. So how does Daim see the future?

According to the Oracle, it’s a grim future for Umno and BN. the country has no leadership. Announcements were made continuously without understanding what were said. The PM reads the budget in parliament but when it comes to Q&A, Nor Yaakob does the answering. Some people prepare the text and PM who has no time to understand the context, will just read it.

The Oracle related the many occasions when Tun Daim answered he doesn’t understand what the New Economic Model or the various economic initiatives are all about. He only understands basic business models- 2+ 2= 4.

Now if a wily business man like Daim doesn’t understand Najibnomics, what chance do common folks have? Civil servants complained to Daim about having to implement policies which they have no part in giving inputs.

Our economic models are prepared by consultants under the commissar-ship of people like Omar Ong or Idris Jala. The PM’s rating says the Oracle has been sliding precipitously since the Bersih Rally. He handled that one badly. The NGO was already declared an illegal one, yet he allowed them to have an audience with the Agong.

The man who was instrumental in brokering Ambiga’s audience with the Agong was Pak Lah, the former PM. When asked the PM said Pak Lah wanted to help out, but that kind of help hastens his plummeting rating.

The Malays have a saying for this — sokong membawa rebah. All is not well with our country. The majority of the Chinese are not going to vote BN. Moving from one Chinese based party (MCA) to another( DAP) presents no mental hurdle for the Chinese. They are businesslike in their decisions. One, the Chinese are aware that Chinese interests are better looked after by a more aggressive political party.

Two, stepping out from Umno’s shadow offers some satisfaction for the Chinese because doing so, remits a form of punishment to their cocky big brother. The Chinese have long wanted to teach MCA a lesson. MCA will not be able to stop this rising disenchantment. Most important of all, the general economic independence of the Chinese gives them the luxury of choice. They can choose and Umno and BN don’t appear on their radar screen. MCA will probably be left with 5 parliamentary seats. MIC will be completely annihilated. It will be reduced to another PPP and IPF and operates on the same level as Nalakaruppan’s party. The more pragmatic Indian parties will chose to work with whoever comes into power for the sake of the Indian community. The Indian parties do not have friends. They have only permanent interests.

But let’s see what the Oracle says are Daim’s prognosis about my party, Umno. It seems Umno people continue to enthrall themselves into believing that all is still well. They have no inkling that the next GE will be the most formidable fort them.

Some commentators in my blog say, the Pakatan people can never influence the Kampong people. What keeps the kampong people loyal at the moment are the reasonably good prices of rubber and palm oil. They couldn’t care less about the quality of BN and Umno’s leadership. They are worried about the roofs over their heads, food on the table, schooling for the children, jobs for them.

The bumper years of good rubber and palm oil prices are slowly and painfully being cancelled out by the rising cost of living. The price of essential goods keeps in rising while incomes remain stable. Once that tenuous balance is dislodged, then the full wrath of the people will be seen.

So don’t go on banking on the steadfastness of kampong people. Their own political perceptions are continuously being leavened and moderated by those of their more socially and politically conscious children. Sons and daughters come back to kampongs to debrief parents.

The younger generation’s views are shaped by the new media of the internet, twitters and Facebooks. They tell a different story from those which parents are accustomed to. The new stories the children bring demolish the once captive minds of the older generation- minds that were once shaped unchallenged by the old tired and boring media.

The Oracle has been away for quite some time. He has been with Daim on an extended overseas trip. So when I asked the Oracle yesterday (Thursday) where has he been — all he said was somewhere out of Malaysia. I asked why? Nothing to do here in Malaysia. But were you keeping abreast of what’s happening in Malaysia? Of course I do. What’s your thinking on the current political and economic situation? So here are some of the things he said. Najib’s personal rating has plummeted since the Bersih March. It has plummeted alarmingly. Suddenly people realise that Najib is all poster boy, long on popularity, unfortunately short in ability. His handling of the Bersih march was done in a very whimsical way. You can say, the quality of the person handling the Bersih case is like the leadership of a pengerusi JKKK.

A year ago when Najib took over Pak lah, the general perception was that Najib is much better than Pak Lah. He has the looks and better articulation. A few months ago, the Oracle told me, Najib is slightly better than Pak Lah. Now, the perception is Najib is even more terrible than Pak Lah. The PM must be having some communications problem with the Agong.

I was told that Daim recommended the PM speak to Agong before the Bersih event. How the recommendation got transmitted, I am not privy nor did I asked the Oracle.

He (Najib) should have advised the Agong at that time to declare that the King is ready to meet up with Bersih reps and received the memo. While at that, the King could have advised Ambiga and others, as responsible and law abiding citizens that maybe no rally was necessary as now the memo has been received. Or if the march were to be allowed even after an audience with the King, make Amibiga and others responsible for the conduct of marchers.

The police could simply be ordered to step out of the way, save for those looking out after traffic management. Then if anything disorderly did take place, the organisers of the rally will be held accountable.

But the problem is, Najib has too many advisers. They don’t have the political savvy. Their responses are the kind you take directly out from the textbooks read mostly by 3rd world despots. Rally marchers? Use teargas and batons. Get physical with them! Jail them! But the problem here is we no longer lived in a bordered world. It’s now border-less.

If FBC dishes out sycophantic and pandering rendition of events, other media practitioners are more critical and more believable. Najib may say with a poker face about minimal force being applied and while talking to Defterious, scenes depicting actual physical altercations and teargassing are being shown worldwide.

That would make Najib looked like a liar. To be continued……………….how many states will fall. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).