KJ, charismatic but dangerous

Malaysiakini

3 days ago

YOURSAY | 'Are there no other educated and capable leaders in Umno?'
Khairy's rumoured cabinet return: Reform opportunity or political gamble?
Cyclonus: Khairy Jamaluddin, better known as KJ, is an impressive intellectual (or appears to be) with lots of charisma. But this is what makes him even more dangerous. The younger crowd will trust him blindly, no matter what his agenda.
Amid the 1MDB scandal, he supported jailed former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak. You would think a smart guy like him could see through Najib when the rest of the civilised world could.
However, KJ put loyalty to Umno and Najib above the good of all Malaysians and Malaysia. That was very disappointing and dangerous. Forget him.
GreenFalcon2290: Ah, yes, KJ is known as a 'progressive and reformer'. Like Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi?
Where are the voters located, urban centres or elsewhere? Are PAS voters desperate to vote for progressive, reformer candidates? How many in the Parliament are progressive and anxious to get a leader? Nice.
In 2016, KJ was embroiled in a controversy surrounding a RM100 million scandal involving the Youth and Sports Ministry, where he was its minister.
If the ministerial post was a certainty, would KJ make this bizarre statement that he is busy? Do you know anyone for the past 67 years who was too busy to accept a minister position?
As for his remarkable qualities, they seem very common and routine for anyone working in the corporate world. Interesting? No.
Milshah: Something appears to be not right. Umno should be a party where there is a good pool of educated and capable young leaders. What happened to all the educated and capable Umno leaders?
I refer to another article related to the retirement age for politicians, where the young ones were supportive, but the old guard were against the idea. They (politicians) do not know when to quit and let the younger generation take over.
They 'cantas' (get rid of, as in trimming a branch on a tree) potential leaders, or they do not give them opportunities to lead, as they see these young leaders as threats.
I'm not talking about party central committees but division leaders as well. They want the position for life and will 'cantas' any young leaders who could take over from them.
Then, when the party asks: Where are the young educated capable leaders? There is no one, comes the answer. Why? Because all of them have been 'cantas' already.
FairPlay: What's so great about KJ? He is also an old wine in a new bottle, as the saying goes. He may not be as old as the others, but soon, he will fall into the group known as 'recycle'.
There is no future (whatsoever) if the politics in the country keep rebranding old and recycled wine as new wine.
We have 68 years of journey as a sovereign nation. Where is the nation today when compared with the tiny red dot south of the border?
Headhunter: We thought he had crossed the Rubicon (point of no return) and had moved on. He is better off if he joins the likes of outgoing Economy Minister and ex-PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who recently resigned from his minister post. They can move to or form a new party.
Umno is fundamentally rotten to the core, and nothing much can be done to revive it. The entrenched old dogs will not easily or willingly give up their lucrative positions and will not give him a free rein to 'kill their golden goose'.
He will be seen as a threat, as history has shown. Furthermore, his past grassroots supporters have moved on to find new pastures.
Coward: KJ is already in Umno. In fact, despite his sacking from Umno in January 2023, he has remained in the party.
He has his flaws, but overall, he is one of the more capable and less tainted leaders in Umno. As such, his return to the government is probably good news instead of bad.
KJ is definitely one, if not the only, candidate who will be chosen by an Umno leader who has the party's future. However, other undeserving and definitely way worse candidates will likely edge him out because they have the ears of Umno leaders.
Umno leaders are also those who are known to prioritise themselves over the party.
Winning Scarecrow: Khairy must enhance his Islamic credentials before making a comeback. Anwar needs leaders who can help him accomplish his goal of making Malaysia a great Islamic state.
Young Malaysians have indicated in surveys that they prefer to have leaders with a strong Islamic background like Anwar, newly minted PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and other leaders from PAS.
We cannot find such leaders in Umno so far, so Khairy needs to prove that he is more Islamic than PAS leaders before being accepted again by Malaysians as their leader.
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