Zam: Ministers' wives must not look like models

Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin has stressed the importance of Umno politicians reaching out to the people - without their wives appearing like fashion models.

He was commenting on Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, who recently challenged the party divisions to bring back the “wow” factor.

"There is an Umno minister who spoke on the need for the 'wow' factor, to understand the new hopes of the people.

"But do they (the ministers) themselves know what the people like and despise?" Zainuddin asked in his blog posting.

The former Utusan Malaysia editor-in-chief said the image of ministers and their wives must change.

"They must be seen as ordinary people during their visits. They should not portray themselves as being different, with their clothes and lifestyle.

"Ministers' wives must not look like models or fashion queens," he added.

As examples of women who displayed moderation, Zainuddin cited the wives of former prime ministers Abdul Razak Hussein and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, among others.

"If the image of those at the top is very different from the ordinary people, then this is a bad omen for the future of Umno in facing a new generation which does not sync with the feudalistic and elitist mindset," he warned.

Zainuddin further stressed that the top Umno leadership should be willing to reform radically and drastically in their approach to be closer to the people.

Surprise visits need to be done

Claiming that approaching the rakyat through formal visits alone was not enough, Zainuddin said surprise visits were needed to be done.

“Such visits should have leaders, accompanied by a maximum of two bodyguards, without showing the image of formality.

Based on his experience as the MP for Merbok, he said, such approach was more helpful in obtaining actual information from the grassroots, as opposed to getting information through civil servants who only “hide their weaknesses”.

“The people will feel the warmth of Umno when its leaders champion the issues they face in their daily lives in dealing with the government,” he said.

Zainuddin then pointed out how corruption among civil servants was rampant when compared with that among politicians.

“If Umno does not criticise corruption, it will be considered to be in cahoots with civil servants who are corrupt.

“Not all civil servants are corrupt, but because one or two of them are, they have brought a bad name to everyone.

“It’s about time that civil servants are made aware that they are being monitored by Umno,” Zainuddin said.