Kim Jong-Nurul?

One of the most troubling observations of Malaysian politics is the cultism of personalities, such as Tun Razak, Dr Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim and yes, on the opposition side, Lim Kit Siang and Pak Haji Nik Aziz, and subsequently (again but this time on the other side of the political fence) Anwar Ibrahim, wakakaka.

It's troubling because cultism often leads to what I term as ‘Kim-ism’, a word derived from the ‘Great Leader’ (wakakaka) Kim Il Sung, president of North Korea from 1948 to 1994. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il (1994 to 2001), who in turn had been succeeded by his son Kim Jong Un.

Now, would it be wrong for leading politicians to be joined and/or succeeded by their sons/daughters, like Tun Razak was by Najib, Dr Mahathir by Mukhriz, Lim KS by Lim GE, Pak Haji Nik Aziz by Nik Adli (who had the misfortune to be detained for 5 years under ISA for alleged terrorist activities and membership in KMM) and Anwar Ibrahim by Nurul Izzah?

Shall I also add AAB by s-i-l KJ? wakakaka.

Externally, there’s our neighbour Lim Kuan Yew being succeeded by his son Lee Hsien Loong (with another PM Goh CT in between), Soekarno eventually by Megawati, and then there’s the ruling oligarchy of the Philippines which has kept the presidency principally among 3 families.

Even sweetest Aung Sung Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, founder of modern Burma or Myammar.

Sons and daughters (and son-in-laws wakakaka) succeeding their fathers/mothers (and f-i-l) as political leaders are found everywhere, in the USA, Australia, etc and are particularly common in the States of the sub-continent such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

If these sons and daughters are qualified, capable, competent and experienced enough to be political leaders in their own rights, then why not?

But when a young brat is shoved upwards like Kim Jong Un, then it is ‘Kim-ism’. I personally believe Najib being made MB of Pahang at 21 years old was definitely an act of ‘Kim-ism’, though to be fair to him NOW, some 30 over years have since gone by, during which time he was exposed to a variety of political & ministerial positions before assuming the position of PM, not unlike PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.

Najib certainly has the experience and exposure to be PM, thus we should no longer accuse him of benefitting from cultist promotion anymore, though whether he is/will be a good one remains to be seen ...

... which brings us to Nurul Izzah, the so-called Putera Reformasi and beloved icon of the anwaristas.

Many have been the times I read/heard of the preposterous proposals for Nurul to be nominated as the PM of a Pakatan-ruled Malaysia, in the event of the non availability of her father. Those proposals have been so unrealistically moronic, leaving me flabbergasted by the puerile mentality of those blind-as-bats idol-worshippers. Then I could only think of poor hard working, politically far superior Fuziah Salleh, who only lacks the (questionable) pedigree to be considered!

10 days ago, RPK made a far more reasonable proposal to chart Nurul’s progress upwards, one which appears to be practical and not unlike the one Lee Kuan Yew had done for his son Hsien Loong, where the Chosen One is incrementally exposed to various appointments and experiences before finally stepping onto the Hot Seat.

RPK wrote this in his post The need to chart Nurul Izzah’s career path. Some relevant extracts follow:

Nurul Izzah must first be groomed and trained for national leadership. In the next election she should contest a state seat, maybe in her ‘home-state’, Penang. Then, if she wins that state seat, she should be made one of the Deputy Chief Ministers, or at the very least a State EXCO Member (State Minister) of an important portfolio.

This will give her the opportunity to learn the ropes. Her job as a state minister would give her the experience she needs to eventually take on the task of a federal minister, or even as one of the Deputy Prime Ministers (assuming by then Malaysia has three Deputy Prime Ministers once Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government).

Furthermore, this will also allow Malaysians the opportunity to gauge her performance as a Deputy Chief Minister or a State EXCO member. [...]

Even if Pakatan Rakyat gets to win the next election and gets to form the federal government there is no problem with Nurul Izzah spending a stint in the state government before moving up to the federal government in the 14th General Election -- assuming, of course, Pakatan Rakyat wins the 14th General Election. By then Nurul Izzah will be about 40 or so and at just the right age to take centre stage in the federal government ... [...]

Just as my thought asked ‘why not Selangor State?’ I arrived at RPK’s explanation:

“And why Penang and not Selangor?” you might ask. Well, because Umno is saying that Penang is controlled by the Chinese and with Nurul Izzah as one of the Deputy Chief Ministers she can demonstrate that the Chinese do not control Penang and that Lim Guan Eng is not the dictator who runs Penang like it is his personal kingdom. Furthermore, Nurul Izzah would have no problems working with Guan Eng plus we Malaysians would not be losing any sleep wondering whether she would sell out the opposition and go join Umno. This would put to rest the ‘frog’ issue.

I opine very strongly that RPK’s explanation of why Penang and not Selangor for Nurul has been very poor and unconvincing. May I ask of him:

(1) Does this mean Mansur Othman as DCM Penang cannot 'demonstrate that the Chinese do not control Penang and that Lim Guan Eng is not the dictator who runs Penang like it is his personal kingdom', whereas by some magical man man lai power, Nurul can?

(2) Does that mean Mansur Othman, unlike Nurul, is a potential frog?

Let's be frank here Peter. I believe the real reason why you haven't proposed Nurul for the post of Deputy MB of Selangor (assuming all assumptions for this possibility can become true) is because you know that will embarrass PKR in the eyes of DAP, if we were to recall that Khalid Ibrahim fell so sharply and smartly in line with the ‘no deputy MB for Teresa Kok’ “requirement” because he didn’t have the balls and Pakatan heart to insist that she assumed that post – see my post on 24 March 2008 Khalid Ibrahim failed to show resolute leadership?

Thus proposing Nurul as a future deputy MB of Selangor can only bring that spineless acquiescence back into focus.

Peter, you should tell it like it is, rather than come up with such a pathetic excuse (and offend Mansur Othman in the process wakakaka). Sorry matey, you need an occasional rap on your knuckles.