Who is Ismail Sabri – Koon Yew Yin

Now that the Cabinet has cleared Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, for his racially-inciting comments on Facebook, I would like to suggest that he be given leave from his position to undergo a course in Business Economics 101.

This is because, apart from his racist mindset, he is the man who was earlier responsible for the plastic fish box controversy when he was Minister for Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, and as a result of which, fish prices shot through the roof for a period of time.

He was also the man behind the fiasco concerning school bus operators who were provided with short notice to buy new buses to replace old school buses. This was a move which he had to back down from when the bus operators threatened a shutdown of services.

In the kopitiam, when the government's new policies were first announced, besides the public anger, there was much speculation on who would benefit from these measures that would raise the price of fish and school transportation.

Certainly not the fishermen or school bus drivers. Perhaps the companies providing the plastic boxes or school bus distributors? Perhaps their runners?

Ismail Sabri's public service

On second thought, I think that the minister does not need to undergo any business course. This is because, if the blogosphere is to be listened to, he does seem to know a lot about business, especially unreasonable profits and monkey business.

Thus a reader in one of the more respectable pro-Umno blogs operated by Datuk Ahirudin Atan, or more popularly known as "Rocky's Bru" had in July 2012 penned the following advice for other readers on Ismail: 

"Bro Rocky, get the scoop on Companies Commission of Malaysia's tales of corruption, abuse of power and lies brokered by Sabri."... comment made at 6.25am  on Rocky's Bru.

This is a cryptic comment from an insider who appears to know a lot more than he has put on record. Even if we may not think much of the titillating comment, at least it is still out there for the whole world to read and ponder.

This is in contrast to the Minister's Facebook comments on Chinese traders which have been erased since he now claims that he was not directing his comments at Chinese traders only! 

On his side though, we have a prominent columnist in one of the news daily claiming that Ismail has never dabbled in race and religion since the columnist knew him seven years ago. The columnist also says that Ismail's colleagues in law school speak well about him. Well, perhaps the columnist is right but then he may be wrong, and we may be seeing the minister in his true colours. 

So, if that were the case, then it could be futile to send the minister back to business school or to a course on "basics of political integrity" as many think he is unlikely to learn anything. Instead, I suggest that the best thing for detractors to do is to uncover the full record of his service or his disservice to the nation as the case may be.

Let's put the political correctness aside and hang out the dirty laundry in the public arena so all Malaysians can know the true quality of the leaders that we have.

* Koon Yew Yin reads The Malaysian Insider.