Tajuddin S Out So Who S Next

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Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz deserves praise for making the bold decision to sack former Prasarana chairperson Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, immediately. It was not a difficult decision for Zafrul to make. It was either him, or Tajuddin.
If Tajuddin refused to resign, he would have dragged Zafrul (above) into the gutter, with his reputation in tatters and un-salvageable.
The Minister of Finance Incorporated is the sole shareholder in Prasarana, which owns a majority of Malaysia's public transport network.
In Tajuddin's train-wreck press conference (PC) on May 26, after the LRT incident on the night of May 24, he made no attempt to hide his lack of compassion for the crash victims, his lack of knowledge about his role as Prasarana's chairperson, his lack of understanding about PCs, his lack of humility, lack of morality and lack of respect for his own staff.
The PC was excruciating to watch, but the aftermath is revealing because of the way different groups, including the rakyat, reacted.
First is Finance Minister Zafrul. Some of us may not have much faith in the courts, our MPs, or the establishment, but every minister, MP, celebrity, politician and businessperson is fearful of the court of public opinion. Zafrul listened to the rakyat and did the right thing.
Tajuddin's swift removal is how things should be done in the government and civil service.
In the past, Malay leaders were full of emosi (emotions). No one was sacked, or punished, even if they committed a serious crime. If only more ministers, senior politicians and heads of departments were as decisive and alert as Zafrul was on Wednesday.

Tajiddin Abdul Rahman
Tajuddin had nothing to lose because he knows his party (Umno-Baru) will back him, and that PN is dependent on politicians like him to maintain its slim majority. However, Zafrul is still young, is not a politician, has no political ambitions of which we are aware, and if he tires of being in government after GE15, can return to work in the private sector.
What of Tajuddin himself? The man is incorrigible, arrogant, patronising and insensitive. And these are just some of the nicer words to describe him.
Tajuddin’s press conference (PC) showed his narcissistic tendencies. It was all about him.
He could not visit the crash site because he had been at an important meeting. His health was more important, as he had to prepare for his second vaccination on the following day. He was generous with his time and would enter the tunnel, first thing in the morning. He did not like being provoked, meaning, he refused to be made accountable.
The PC was more evidence that Tajuddin was on an ego trip. He laughed, he joked and talked down to the reporters. He potentially risked a diplomatic incident by insulting the reporter from the PRC.
Are the Prasarana staff secretly jubilant?
He failed to notice that no one was laughing and he failed to appreciate the best efforts of his aide, the lady with the red scarf, to his left, to rescue him before he made a bigger fool of himself. The arrogant Tajuddin brushed her aside and said he could manage the PC. He failed.
It would not surprise anyone if the staff at Prasarana are secretly jubilant at Tajuddin's sacking. If he is this clueless and irresponsible, and difficult to get rid of despite the allegations of corruption, cronyism and conflict of interest, he must be a nightmare to 'work' with.
One wonders how Tajuddin would react if the video of his PC were to be replayed for him to watch. Would he squirm, or would he claim that he "misspoke"?
Did he think people would consider him generous, with the RM1,000 help offered to all the injured victims? The man has been spoilt by dabbling in money politics. He probably thinks money will placate the anger of the victims.
Would Tajuddin have been as flippant, if lives had been lost?

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak
Interestingly, Tajuddin's former party president, the convicted criminal Najib Abdul Razak, was desperate to make his presence felt. He claimed that Tajuddin would soon apologise, and resign at a time designated by Umno-Baru.
It takes one dishonest man to recognise another. If Tajuddin had an ounce of integrity, he would have apologised and handed in his resignation without having to be told.
Najib knows that Umno-Baru has lost political dominance and influence. Telling all and sundry that Umno-Baru would decide when Tajuddin should resign must have infuriated Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Theirs was a clash of egos and Najib unwisely poked the hornet's nest. It would not surprise anyone to learn that Muhyiddin had probably prompted Zafrul to sack Tajuddin.
Najib was left with egg on his face, Zafrul was the hero, and by association, Muhyiddin is the big boss, not the pretender Boss-ku Najib.
Interestingly, the Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Ahmad Maslan expressed his sympathy and shock at Tajuddin's sacking. Are most members of Umno-Baru as clueless as Ahmad Maslan?
They must be, because they have been unable to get rid of Tajuddin, despite his sexist and racist jibes in Parliament and his tag as the RM6 million man.
Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong must tread carefully. If he were to heap all the blame on the hapless driver, he would face our scrutiny.
Does Wee know what happened to the millions of ringgits poured into the latest technology to run the network, into the central computer system, the failsafe protection and warning devices both on the train and at the control centre?
The air traffic controller in the disappearance of MH370 was asleep. Was someone also asleep at the Prasarana control centre? Why did they fail to observe the movement of the trains on their screens?
A PC, with foreign reporters in attendance, aims to find answers. This PC became an internet sensation for the wrong reasons. No editor will complain because viewing and reader's figures will have been spiked.
There is one downside. Political appointees to GLCs, nepotism, cronyism and conflict of interest will repel foreign investors. Zafrul will have to address these issues. - Mkini

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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