More Image Makers for Mohd Najib

A Kadir Jasin

IF you have the bad luck of being in a leaking boat, you should try to stay calm. Being born and raised in a riverside village, I can say one or two things about surviving a leaking boat.

Start by knowing your boat (or sampan). Even if your sampan is leaky, you can still safely make a journey to your destination if you know how. First, determine the location and size of the leaks. Second, gather materials that you can use to plug the leaks. Coconut husk, old cloth and mud are useful.

The mud can be used as temporary sealant. But you must know the type of mud to collect.

Last but not least, have one or two coconut shells or tin cans to scoop the water out.

The Umno pinisi (Bugis sailing ship) under its captain, (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, is leaking and listing.

A stranded Bugis pinisi

Many things have been done to keep it afloat and steady. The latest being the removal of its Information Chief, (Datuk) Ahmad Maslan and, in his place, the appointment of (Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima) Annuar Musa. Ahmad was given a new job – the head of Umno’s cyber troopers.

As Information Chief, the 49-year old Ahmad was intended to be the fresh face of Umno and its NEP-poster boy. He is the son of a Felda settler and, by his own admission, was a high-achiever.

Ahmah Maslan cooking up storm

 He did his undergraduate studies at New Zealand’s Victoria University and scoring CGPA of 3.85 when doing an MBA at the National University of Malaysia (UKM).

But he proved to be too clever for his own good. His unflinching support for the Prime Minister and his penchant for lecturing of the public have made him a favourite target of lampooning by the online media.

So his latest job of promoting Umno in the cyberspace looks like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

How he is going to fit into the party’s ongoing plan to acquire and control the independent online media has to be seen.

Apart from Annuar, he has other propaganda operators to compete with – among them the Cabinet’s chief communication strategist, (Datuk) Abdul Rahman Dahlan and PMO’s media handlers like (Datuk Seri) Farid Ridzuan, Habibul Rahman Kadir, (Datuk Seri) Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad and Encik Rizal Mansor. He also has to contend with outside operators at home and abroad.

The Lover of Rome

The appointment of Annuar as Information Chief is the reflection of the growing desperation of the party.

In recent years, this 59-year old Kelantanese is better known for his involvement in football than politics.

He is the Kelantan Football Association President and recently stole the limelight when his team received the sponsorship of celebrity businesswoman, (Datuk Seri) Hasmiza Othman aka Vida.

Smitten, Annuar went pink for Datuk Vida

It does not surprise me if his sharing of the limelight with the voluptuous businesswoman has raised his profile in Umno and, thereby attracted Mohd Najib’s attention.

In it current sad state of affairs, Umno needs every bit of a boost no matter how insignificant or absurd. Thus Mohd Najib’s 40^th anniversary in politics was celebrated on grand scale by the mainstream media. Some said the 40^th anniversary was Annuar’s handiwork.

Annuar wasted no time in going full throttle praising his boss. He was reported as saying that Mohd Najib’s stewardship of the party had been the most peaceful, adding that there was no shake-up until after six years, unlike during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era.

That sideswipe of Dr Mahathir is no accident. He has an axe to grind with his former boss. Annuar rose during Dr Mahathir’s era.

He was widely recognised for his “I love Rome more” speech at an Umno General Assembly at the height of the Anwar Ibrahim crisis in late 1990’s.

Dr Mahathir made him Minister of Youth and Sports Minister in 1990 and in 1993 promoted him to the post of Rural Development Minister where he served until 1999. In 2002, while no longer a minister, he was investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency, the forerunner to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), in relations to the alleged misappropriation of RM36.5 million fund for the hardcore poor (PPRT) in his home state Kelantan.

Poverty is widespread in Kelantan

He was not charged. Instead the ministry’s Secretary General, (Datuk) Dr Abdul Aziz Muhammad, was tried, found guilty and jailed for five years but was later acquitted by the Appeal Court. Abdul Aziz was widely seen as a scapegoat in the case.

Having seen the record of Umno’s information and propaganda campaign in recent years, especially after the 2013 general election, the task ahead for Annuar and Ahmad Maslan would be monumental.

It is hard to expect the Annuar-Ahmad Maslan partnership to do wonder for Umno and its beleaguered President.

Wallahuaklam.