The Sleepy man

Regularly, every day he does his daily dizzling.
He always looks forward to the yawn of a new day.

Abdullah Badawi had bought much openness and transparency to his administration, while on the international stage the PM had established greater rapport with world leaders, especially the superpowers. “This new climate has spurred the economy, more so with new growth corridors and sectors created,” said Umno Information chief Senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhamad Taib.

“Wherever in the world, leaders are bound to have some weaknesses. That’s a norm. But to say that there is widespread opposition to his leadership, I disagree,” he said, adding that Abdullah’s leadership style fitted in well with the prevailing situation in the country and the world.

“The Cabinet is solidly behind him if compared to the time Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mounted a challenge against Dr Mahathir who was just in his fifth year as prime minister. Half the Cabinet supported Tengku Razaleigh.”

“I notice Abdullah is very firm in determining the direction of the country. If some people say he has lost direction, I disagree. Abdullah is very clear in where he wants to go,” he said.

Lecturer Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, said :

"His plans are excellent and practical. But he is being let down by poor implementation."

"The policymakers, the ones who execute it and the target group are three distinct bodies. What happens is that sometimes the policymakers fail to explain the fundamentals of the policies to the executing agencies.

"Those who are supposed to implement the plans would either take their own time in executing the plans, or because they do not have a clear idea what the policies intend to achieve, carry it out halfway. And this is where the policies fail."

Okay, give PM's "half past six" govrernment a chance to prove ' Malaysia Boleh'.



Tun Dr. Mahathir, the 'old man' was in power for 22 years, he wanted Malaysians to become productive, not to sleep. and, now, Mahathir discovers that Malaysia has a Prime Minister who sleeps.

He is late for appointments because he is still sleeping. Important visitors have to wait two hours because the Prime Minister has not woken up from sleep yet. The Prime Minister sleeps during important meetings and at public functions, in full view of 1,000 guests.

This is not Mahathir. This is something Mahathir cannot tolerate. And for the Prime Minister of Malaysia to do this is something Mahathir cannot accept. Of course, it is not wrong to sleep, especially when you are not in the best of health like Abdullah. But when the cat is away, the mouse is at play -- or rather the rat;

Okay, forget about the Crooked Bridge, the supply of sand to Singapore, the SAF flights over Malaysian airspace, the APs, Proton, MV Agusta, and all those other bones of contention. We have spoken about them at length and most by now know the issues involved.

As he enters his fourth year as prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi still does not get it! He is concerned with his son-in-law’s pot of rice, not that of the rakyat. Since he cannot brag about the nation’s economic achievements under his leadership, he is reduced to boasting of his son’s wealth. There is no glory if his son (and son-in-law) were rich but the nation poor.

Someone ought to tell him that he was elected to lead Malaysia, not to take care of the well-being of his grown-up family, its friends and cronies. His advisers and family members have convinced him that those critics are out to bring him down. If Abdullah persists with his present pattern, rest assured that this belief would be self-fulfilling.

Abdullah is impervious to the plight of the poor devastated by his recent reduction of oil subsidy. The demands by civil servants for a 40 percent pay hike reflect the general increasing cost and declining standard of living.

Gone are his promises of open tenders and competitive bidding. Mega-projects like the second Penang link and the new palace are being awarded without much discussion or formal tender processes. He has yet to deny disbursing RM600 million to Umno operatives at the recent general assembly, the most obscene and expensive display of money politics.

About ten months after the cancellation of the crooked bridge in Johor and there is still no full accounting of the total costs, including the hefty penalty payments. He spent hundreds of millions on the Monsoon Cup for a sporting event that hardly registered on the Malaysian consciousness.

Abdullah’s self-admitted poor time management is not an acceptable excuse. His frequent and obvious inattention and dozing off should not be tolerated. If the burden of the office is too much for Abdullah, his advisors, ministers, and senior Umno politicians owe it to the nation to tell the man to give it up and let others more capable take the helm.

This is not the time to be nice to any one individual; it is a time to be nice and considerate to all Malaysians and to worry about their pot of rice. To remain competitive, Malaysians, leaders and followers alike, must work hard and smart. Malaysia does not need nor should it tolerate sleepy heads.


Held up by bloopers - NST
Abdullah Brings A New Climate In Leadership And Administration - Bernama

Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Mahathir