Khalid To Join UMNO? Good Riddance. PAS To Join UMNO? Good Riddance Too

Remember the Grand Saga-Bandar Mahkota Cheras fiasco more than 6-years ago? It was a classic example of gangster concessionaires working together with thuggish policemen in beating up average Joes and Janes, ala Bollywood style. That was also the turning point which showed what type of Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim is. You can read the article here.

Of course when we wrote how Khalid Ibrahim was dragging his feet and tried to play dumb, leaving only Ronnie Liu on the battlefield, readers showed their displeasure for obvious reason. Opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PKR-DAP-PAS) had just taken over the most developed state Selangor, hence everybody was still rejoicing and throwing their support blindly behind Khalid.

In the incident about 20 thuggish policemen beat the hell out of a curiosity-seeker till soaked in blood, and there was no sight of Khalid who should have more reason to champion peoples’ right, considering he had just been made the first chief minister from opposition in Selangor. But that pretty much confirmed the management style of Khalid Ibrahim, a former  PNB CEO from 1979 to 1994.

After PNB (Permodalan Nasional Berhad), he joined Guthrie as its CEO from 1995 to 2003. Needless to say, later he entered politics, joining PKR. As a CEO from 1979 to 2003, that speaks volume about his experience in the corporate world. That was the only reason why he was the preferred candidate to take over the most powerful position in Selangor. It wasn’t his Elvis Presley hairstyle that won him the admiration.

But there’s also a problem. He was so entrenched within UMNO management methodology that he could blend easily with the corrupt leaders. That’s right, just like Khazanah Nasional Berhad (KNB), PNB is another fund manager acting on behalf of the government, which means he was working for the UMNO. That was why only UMNO-friendly individuals can be made bosses in all government-controlled conglomerates or funds.

In fact, Khalid was so entrenched with UMNO DNA that during a political campaign, he mistakenly urged the audience to support BN (Barisan Nasional) when it should be PR (Pakatan Rakyat) instead. Hence, to say Khalid was as clean as Mother Theresa and as innocent as a newborn baby is freaking hilarious. The man also has an ego as huge as planet Mars because he thought he belongs to the 1% intelligent ethnic-Malays.

There’s no doubt he saves tons of money for Selangor. That’s good in corporate world because you need it for “capex”, “opex”, acquisition and what not. But it would be disastrous if money are not spent appropriately in administering a developed state such as Selangor. You may laugh but potholes and uncollected rubbish are serious problems if you don’t spend. Nobody likes to stay in such stinky and deplorable places.

But the straw that broke the camel’s back was his controversial RM66.67 million (US$21 million, £12.6 million) scandal. Actually, his party does not need to spend so much time and resources drafting 6-reasons in a 24-page report to sack him. The RM66.67 million scandal was enough to finish him off. First, Khalid owes Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad some RM66.67 million.

Then suddenly, Bank Islam dropped its loan settlement suit against Khalid, after a former UMNO lawyer Rashid Manaf brokered the deal between both parties. Amusingly, a month later two business deals worth hundreds of  millions of ringgit were signed between Selangor state and Eco World Berhad, the same company owned by Rashid Manaf. Do you really need to be a rocket scientist to smell rats here?

In the real world where banks will sue you till your last underpants if you ever owe them pennies, what are the chances that Bank Islam would let Khalid walks away free without paying a single cent, when the amount in question is RM66,670,000? Just like other corporate guys working for a corrupt regime UMNO, Khalid can’t be that innocent to begin with. But can you blame him? After all, RM66.67 million is a lot of money, which will come handy for his retirement lifestyle.

The moment he rushed the deal which allows the construction of the long-opposed Langat 2 water treatment facility with the UMNO-led federal government, the writing was already on the wall which side he aligned to. It was an amazing working model though – disguises as a Pakatan Rakyat representative but works for UMNO. How he wishes he’s the UMNO Menteri Besar of Selangor.

And what did PAS say about Khalid Ibrahim’s suspicious dealings with Bank Islam? They support Khalid as Chief Minister but are willing to re-assess their stand on the issue if Khalid is prosecuted by the authorities such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the courts. Has PAS been smoking grass lately? PAS must have been too obsessed with hudud that they had increased their smoking intakes.

When was the last time MACC had send anyone who is UMNO-friendly behind bars? Going by their fabulous logic, PAS should dissolve their party, hug and kiss Mahathir before joining UMNO in a big wave. That’s because MACC has never prosecute Mahathir so the former prime minister must be an angel (*grin*). Well, perhaps that was the intention of PAS after all - to join UMNO, again.

We had written numerous time that PAS’s Hadi Awang cannot be trusted.Between Anwar’s PKR and Najib’s UMNO, he likes the latter the most. In fact, the moment UMNO is being mentioned, he gets multiple orgasms. His only problem is the split within PAS – the conservatives and the progressives. Anyway, Hadi is not a smart person to start with. He was given the chance torule Terengganu between 1999 to 2004 but he screwed up and booted out. Then, they ruled Kedah but screwed up equally bad and booted out.

PAS can only excel in rural area with more than 80% ethnic Malay where they could talk and sing song about hudud till kingdom comes. Amusingly, PAS thinks they’re invincible and adorable, with tons of fanatic fans as if they’re more popular than Justin Bieber. And that’s precisely the consequences if Pakatan Rakyat continues to allow PAS to act as if the Islamic party is kingmaker – the loss of Teluk Intan seat recently.

On one hand, PAS wants to act as “taikor” and wanted his representative to become Selangor Menteri Besar. But on the other hand, PAS realizes they will most likely screw up again, the same way they did it in Terengganu and Kedah. They’re just purely village champion without partnering with PKR and DAP. It’s mind-boggling they still think they won 15 Selangor seats because of their Islamic philosophy.

History doesn’t lie, if PAS could spend some minutes looking at the chart below, perhaps the senses could get into their thick skull that they cannot survive alone. But does it matter whether PAS decides to pull out from their 6-year-old alliance and fight a lone ranger battle, or simply to join UMNO once again?Actually if Selangor Sultan decides to dissolve the state assembly for election, it’s better if PAS pull out.

After the water, hudud and bible crisis, Selangorians are ever ready to punish Pakatan Rakyat. Like it or not, UMNO will win more seats, if there’s a new state election, but not enough to recapture the wealthy state. And here’s the dilemma if PAS remains in PR after this Sunday’s meeting – how many seats should be allocated to PAS, knowing the non-Malay would cast their protest votes, the same way Teluk Intan people shown their displeasure.

While PAS is dragging its feet over whether they should support its allies or Khalid-UMNO coalition, Najib administration is grinning from ear to ear. Have you realize how quiet UMNO and its outsourced extreme group Perkasa have been, ever since  Khalid’s sacking? Hmm, perhaps something is indeed cooking between UMNO, Khalid and PAS after all. PKR and DAP should get ready and prepare for a state election with the assumption PAS is no longer with them.

Talking about state election, it would be another interesting chapter to test the integrity of two Sultans – Perak and Selangor. During Perak’s fiasco, the Sultan didn’t allow a request by PR’s Menteri Besar to dissolve the state assembly, thus giving advantage to UMNO. The Sultan also didn’t bother to let the assembly decides if the then PR state government have indeed lost the confidence of the assemblymen.

So, using the same scenario, if Selangor Sultan allows Khalid to drag till November before a confidence vote and subsequently dissolve the state assembly, which will give advantage to UMNO, that would paint a picture ofdouble standard. But of course, Selangor Sultan is a “wise man” who would act fairly, no (*tongue-in-cheek*)? Will Khalid join UMNO? Will PAS join UMNO? Good riddance then. It’s better to clean up the house now than wait till the next general election.

-financetwitter