Fair hearing for underdogs: Dato Hamidah

It was 11:00 PM May 8th 2013.

After finished voting, we quickly packed to head for Sentral to get on the next available ETS to Ipoh.

Our buddy was there for a month helping out the campaign. It's been customary that we would wait out any by-election results together. It is away from the jubilant or mournful crowd and no hobnobbing with politicians.

To cut the story short, that night we waited for the results alone in the hotel. After a series of poor results coming out and DAP was winning this and that seats, we got nervous and stopped entertaining any calls and enquires from inquisitive friends.Sibuklah these non players.

At around 10:30 PM, we called Dato Hamidah Osman, "Macam mana kita Kak Midah?"

Hamidah is the incumbent state aseemblyman for Sg Rapat, Perak and Information Chief of Wanita UMNO.

Not knowing what is to come from her later, the first word she uttered, "We won Perak, It was close by few seats but we regain back Perak."

Hamidah was personally instrumental to win back Perak from the grasp of DAP and the puppet Menteri Besar, Dato Nizar Jamaluddin in 2009 with the departure of three Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen. 

After several exchange of comments and info, only then she revealed.  

"Kak Midah kalah..."

There was a long silence.

This was the woman who through her selflessness helped the three opposition assemblymen in their unfamiliar role as members of the state exco. Her intention was merely to see that the state was run properly.

Consequently, she gained their trust and became the shoulder for them to cry and pour out their frustration with the vicious enfant terrible cousins of Ngeh Koo Ham and Nga Kor Meng. All these was kept confidential without any intention to exploit this confidence.

After a year, the cousins just got too unbearable. It was this trust and friendship that moved them to turn independent and support BN resulting in a power shift to BN. Read MIK campaign for herhere.

This video below by former Perak Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Tajol Rosli attest to this claim: 

She was supposed to break the glass ceiling to be the first woman Menteri Besar but Pak Lah had preferences for Dato Dr Zambery Kadeer.   

"Tak apa.... "

We were awaken from the silence and our wandering

"Kak Midah tak penting. Yang penting, kita pertahankan Perak. Itu pejuangan kita."

Through out the Perak constitutional crisis, Hamidah stand out in handling of the court case and the public debate. She was one of the earliest to realise the importance of these free-lance bloggers.

Subsequently, in her position as senior exco and Information Chief of Wanita UMNO, Hamidah was the voice that the pro-BN press and blogger look forward to hear in any public issues to answer or attacked the opposition.

Hamidah endeared herself with bloggers throughout the series of by-elections and to a certain extent, she became the centrepoint for bloggers to suggest campaign ideas and propaganda.

There is a great sense of selflessness in Hamidah. She is willing to make bold statement on issues relevent to the Malay interest where other UMNO politicians shyed.

For someone, who had sacrifice and contributed immensely to the party and BN to seize back power, Hamidah has not been in a good run lately.

She was supposed to be the Wanita candidates for Majlis Tertinggi. Strangely, as the UMNO election draw near, she realised the race is crowded and something does not feel right. She changed her plan and ran for Naib Ketua Wanita.

Then came threat and aggressive persuasion to get her to withdraw. Someone else was planned for the position. Hamidah was in the way and she would end up elected then the intended one.

Her guts are right because something was brewing at the Division. Last weekend, her list of promoted candidates all made it but strangely she was unable to hold on to her 15 years leadership to defend as Ketua Wanita Bahagian Gopeng.

To the surprise of many, she lost to the former Ketua Puteri. The Puteri UMNO movement under Dato Rosnah Shirlin had been directless and ineffective. The same in Gopeng.

What made the Wanita delegates ready to betrayed her?

It turned out the Ketua Puteri was heavily financed by businessmen close to the Ketua Bahagian. Talk was "resources" was used to dissuade delegates. It is not a coincident that the Ketua Bahagian is linked to a certain someone that have been in Hamidah way.

That certain someone is actively determining whose who in the cai from Division all the way to the top positions including himself. Most delegates have limited knowledge on whose who to vote thus suggestions from above is seldom adhered to.

Strangely, the number of voters is more than the number of delegates. Some votes look like a color copy of the ballot paper.

Hamidah withdrew from the Naib Ketua Wanita race and stick to the plan to risk her head in the crowded Majlis Tertinggi.After what had happened, she is not likely to make it and is clearly an underdog.

Her lost will be a big lost for the party. UMNO needs voices willing to give the right information and not yes man at their highest leadership. 

There is this feeling that there have been a sinister plan to end her career to stop her vocal, brave and confrontational ways. Some coward up there must be thinking that BN cannot attract the Chinese votes with Hamidah around.

At one time, her name was being bandied to be replaced with Dato Kamelia Ibrahim as state exco. Kamelia blew it by insisting to run for the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat. She lost badly and got expelled.

Hamidah could be rather gung ho in her ways but she is an able public administrator and has a good  grasp of public office. She applied her past experience as accountant of a mining company and made the lesser experience one sweaty in their collar.

There was even an intention to fix her with corruption but there was no case.
  
To avenge Perak's downfall, Hamidah is high on the DAP hitlist that they quietly shifted thousands of Chinese to her constituency. But, she could still made it if not for a directive by the division head to sabotage her.

That sabotage continues to today.

The sad part will be that Hamidah, like other past leaders of UMNO that contributed to the party and the struggle, will not be appreciated and even vilified. UMNO, by virtue of it's leaders attitude or it's politics, tend to not appreciate the contribution and sacrifice of leaders.

They usually justify their disrespectful act by saying "itu lain bab, ini bab baru." 

New leadership tend to ignore the elder family member of UMNO and such act made the likes of Tan Sri Muhammad bin Muhamamd Taib to leave the party for the opposition PAS.

Maybe and hopefully there is this oft chance of a realisation among UMNO grassroot delegates to stem such migration and retain leaders and fighters.

Hamidah is at the right age and experience thus it would be a waste to send her to the UMNO graveyard of disuse leaders. Compared to quite a few of other Wanita aspirant, older or even younger than her, Hamidah is still more energetic and dedicated than them.

Vote Hamidah.

-Another Brick in the Wall