Opportunist monkeys back home and a Johor commentary

Checked the political stories from home and was not happy at all with what is happening there.

The most depressing was that the fire which was reignited by DAP sec-gen Lim Guan Eng over the kalimah Allah issue last month has spread. Now we have the irritatingly loud mouth opportunist Ibrahim Ali reportedly calling for the burning of bibles with the word Allah in it.

When this fire going to stop spreading is anyone's guess. This is why I always caution everyone to control their mouth. All those liberals talking about how matured Malaysians are nowadays are so full of crap.

Well, now we know that we got an opportunist Chinese kiasu brat as a chief minister stirring up religious sentiments for political mileage on one side and on the other side we have an equally opportunist Malay clown who will stop at nothing to gain popularity. The end result is indeed combustible for our multi-racial and multi-religious society.

With the general election around the corner, I am hoping that PM DS Najib Razak will calm things down once he come back from his overseas trip. I don't really fancy his job though. Previous PMs had the ISA. They simply throw these troublemaking crap heads into the slammer. Now Najib has to really use all of his persuasive power to handle the monkeys and their bananas.

Eh, enough lah about that depressing stuff. You can read the details of that nonsense all over the net, anyway. No need for me to elaborate on it.

Actually, I woke up this morning and realized that I have not written anything about my home state Johor for a long time. My plan to get my contacts in Johor to write in this blog has not worked out. With the GE13 coming soon, they simply got no time for it.

So, for this posting, I'm cutting and pasting this commentary from Johor written by the outgoing NST bureau chief Ahmad Fairuz Othman who has been promoted and transfeered to KL. I was informed that this was the last piece by him in the NST's On the Frontline column.

Ahmad Fairuz is being replaced by Ben Tan as the NST Johor bureau chief.

Johor's political veterans work behind the scenes

AS a state with a formidable track record under Barisan Nasional's component parties, it is natural for Johor to have many experienced leaders who have been around long enough to be well-versed with the highs and lows of politics.

These seasoned politicians, ranging from incumbent policy-makers to former assemblymen and candidates, are a testament to the ruling coalition's wealth of experience.

Five-term state assemblyman Tan Kok Hong, for one, always holds on to the concept of serving the party above all else.

The state executive councillor for international trade and industry, energy, water, communication and environment is approaching 60. He is quite honest about his intention to pass the baton to younger leaders in the coming general election.

But as the convention of BN stalwarts goes, Tan continuously works behind the scenes to ensure an election victory for the coalition under state BN chief Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

Tan is almost certain of the support of the Chinese community in his state constituency of Bekok and in other parts of Johor due to the community's positive response to transformation initiatives under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"The Chinese community would be stupid not to vote for him (Najib)," he says. "Even though there are grumblings from certain sections of the Chinese community, particularly businessmen, when it comes to voting time, they will likely favour the BN."

Tan's optimism may be due to the fact that MCA, as with Umno, continues to regard Johor as a large vote bank.

In the 2008 general election, MCA won seven out of the eight parliamentary seats it contested, and 12 of the 15 state seats it contested.

Tan says BN component party members sing praises of Ghani's leadership for always ensuring the welfare of all the races are being taken care of.

"Even the menteri besar's wife, Prof Datin Paduka Jamilah Ariffin, touches base with many Chinese non-governmental organisations in the state," he adds.

State MIC chief and former state executive councillor Datuk K.S. Balakrishnan concurs with Tan on the uniting factor that exists under Ghani's leadership.

The Indian community in Johor, who comprise the Tamil, Malayalee and Urdu-speaking people, represent about 6.5 per cent of the 1.58 million registered voters in Johor.

But despite their miniscule numbers, Balakarishnan, 65, knows too well that even the smallest group of voters could tip the scale in any direction.

"There are almost 105,000 voters from the Indian community in Johor now, which is a more than 100 per cent jump as compared with the figures from 2008. Back then, there were only 82,000 Indian voters," he notes.

Out of the 26 parliamentary seats in Johor, 10 seats have between 9 and 15 per cent of their electorate comprising those from the Indian community.

These seats are Labis (15.2 per cent Indian voters), Tebrau (13.4 per cent), Gelang Patah (12.4 per cent), Pasir Gudang (11.1 per cent), Segamat (10 per cent) and Kluang (9.8 per cent).

Balakrishnan says much of Johor's Indian community are generally known to be staunch supporters of the BN, and this was particularly evident during the Tenang by-election almost two years ago.

Observers have noted how ballot boxes at Indian-majority areas in Tenang recorded almost 100 per cent support for BN's candidate, Azhar Ibrahim, who eventually won the seat.

Balakrishnan says such support was not based on mere political loyalty, but BN's efficiency in handling bread-and-butter issues, in cluding that of Tamil schools, temples and welfare.

Balakrishnan did not seek re-election as Permas assemblyman in 2008 but remains a regular figure at many party and state functions.

He is most proud of the Gelang Patah MIC-initiated Pongal gathering, which is now in its 17th year.

The festival began as a way to mark the harvesting of crops and sees the boiling of rice, milk and sugar in earthen pots to symbolise good fortune.

"This year's event at the Taman Ungku Tun Aminah stadium attracted more than 1,000 people and it is becoming a more multiracial gathering than ever before," he says.

Meanwhile, state Gerakan chairman Datuk Teo Kok Chee says the party has 60,000 members statewide and despite having one parliamentary and three state seats under BN's seat allocation quota, it was a force to be reckoned with.

"Even if there were no Gerakan candidates in any one seat, we would help the machinery as all of us work under the BN banner."

ahmadfairuz@nst.com.my