MGG Pillai Commentary View

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Heads I lose, tails I lose

THE PUTERA UMNO HEAD, Dato' Azeez Abdul Rahman, has not given a convincing reason he was not caught in a vice raid at the Holiday Villa recently. He has refused to speak to the press then. UMNO leaders do not talk to the press unless they want to. Others who ought to know better spoke on his behalf instead. Even the profile of him in the Sunday Star today, 15 January 2006, portrays him as one who is misunderstood. What the article did not mention is that he is a creature of Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, who appointed him, and it was to save him that he disappeared by the back door in the wake of the police raid. That may not be true. What he says my be true. But the other version has imprimted itself in the public mind. His story is of an Indian, for that is what he is though constitutionally he is a Malay, a former waiter, a former salesman of second hand cars and guns who has been pushed to UMNO national politics as head of Putera UMNO, an organisation meant to Malay youths between 18 and 25.

He told the paper he was on his way back from Kedah when the spa was raided. It could be true, as his other mea culpa in the article, but it came too late. That is new. There are so many versions on where he was, after rumours spread that he was involved. He allowed these rumours to spread. He should have come out then and cleared the air. Instead, government ministers, who normally tell lies, said he was not there. Others who should have known, as it became clear from the article, kept quiet. But the profile about him, laudatory as all profile of UMNO figures are, revealed more questions about him. What was not mentioned will now be spread as rumours throughout the country. He comes from Kampung Medan, outside of Kuala Lumpur. He has risen to be head of Putera UMNO because of his UMNO connections. But his career is finished before it started in the centre.

Whatever his personal foibles and ambitions, his refusal to see the press at the time has allowed rumours to fly, the presence of people in power at the scene, all beholden to Mr Khairy, and what they said – 'I am a dato. and I was not arrested' or words to that – did not do him any good. Mr Khairy himself should have said Dato' Azeez was not involved. Whatever spin is now released will not excuse him. Mr Khairy has shown he has another attribute: he is a poor judge of character. That may be unfair, but that is what his choice of Dato' Azeez shows. The future of Putera UMNO, as a vehicle of Mr Khairy, or even as an UMNO creation, is over. It is just another organisation that has no purpose. What Dato' Azeez can do now to save Putera UMNO is to leave it, and start afresh in local politics. He was catapaulted into fame, and he did not know that what was okay in his local bailliwick was not okay in the national stage. He says he is a servant of the party, and Putra UMNO is like a factory to process the young chickens 'before they do into the big market'.

That Putera UMNO is not. It is a vehicle for Mr Khairy has used to get rid of Dato'Hishamuddin Hussein, the UMNO Youth leader, before the next party elections. It was formed, as usual without thought, so that it was a male alternative to Puteri UMNO. The Puteri UMNO was formed because the young professional women of today thought the UMNO's women's wing, Kaum Ibu, staid and was peopled by women who did understand their problems. It has become the most original political unit that in Malaysia since the Second World War. Besides getting the young professional women a politicial life, it has also forced other political parties, in the National Front and outside, to copy Puteri UMNO, and form similar avenues for its young women professionals. But Putera UMNO does not have such credentials. Mr Khairy's and Dato' Azeez's difficulties only makes Putera UMNO a bad idea.

What Dato' Azeez should realise is that the political leader of today must be transparent, as he and his patron are not. Gone are the days when a newspaper article will stop rumours. UMNO itself is split, and those against in UMNO would ask questions, even if the opposition would, or dare, not. Dato' Azeez is pushed into the national front, no one knows him, and after his explanation to one reporter, his future as a political leader is in doubt. The gossip about him is not nasty, he says. But it would spread widely when there is no information. And UMNO leaders are wrong if they think there will less talk if lthey don't. He admits to notoriety as a salesman in second hand cars and guns. He is unknown in national politics. He could be everything he says he is, but if he does not talk, or has other dato's to cover up for him, he lets rumours fly. One article about him in the Sunday Star long after the incident is not only insufficient, but too late.

He cannot get to central politics and to the top by keeping quiet. Mr Khairy realises it now. He keeps quiet because of his patron. The political scene is different today. He is stalked because of his patron. 'Let people say what they like about me,' he says, 'I see it as free publicity.' He is a survivor. He could be where he is if he was not. But it would be in other areas than politics. He has already given Putera UMNO, as its head, a bad example. If that is what Putera UMNO is all about. He say people do not deserve an explanation so long as his bosses are happy. He says his family knew he was in Alor Star. Therefore his conscience is clear. But how could the police charge him, when so many in the government came to his aid. The doubts about his presence at the spa will continue. Putera UMNO has become a dead organisation. If UMNO leaders have accepted his explanation, he cannot be removed as Putera UMNO head. That is a two-edged sword. If he is, even UMNO leaders do not accept his explanation; if he is not, Putera UMNO is dead. After what he has said in the Sunday Star, he cannot resign as well. It was better if he had kept quiet.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@streamyx.com