From Clement Stanley
Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi just landed an uncalled blow on Ismail Sabri Yaakob who is the party’s vice-president and the prime minister.
In his outburst, Puad said, among other things, that Umno no longer needed a “poster boy” for the 15th general election (GE15) as this was no longer “relevant”.
The Barisan Nasional logo, he said, would do just fine.
Funny how this comes just after Najib Razak is sent to Kajang prison to serve time.
To now say that the chosen “poster boy” will be more of a liability to Umno at GE15 than an asset smacks of total disrespect for Ismail.
It makes you wonder why Puad didn’t say this when the Umno Supreme Council met to announce that Ismail would be the “poster boy” for GE15 a couple of months back.
This tells me that to someone like Puad, Ismail is no more than a tool to be made use of. Someone who, despite being a loyal servant of Umno all these years, can be tossed aside just because he decided to remain uninvolved with the apex court’s decision regarding the SRC case.
Puad may have lost total respect for Ismail but I believe the majority of Malaysians are prepared to salute Ismail for his stand on the matter.
It was about principles and integrity. It was about not being pressured into submission by your own party colleagues. It was about being bold and brave. It was about staying true to your moral values and allowing justice to run its course. And for this, Puad wants Ismail to be punished by not having him as the “poster boy” come GE15.
How Umno chooses to treat Ismail as a member from here onwards is their call. For every action, there is always a reaction. I can only say that he has earned my respect and that of many others in the way he chose to handle this delicate situation.
Not at all easy or comfortable but I am sure our prime minister knows exactly what he is doing. To me, Ismail is proving to be a leader with strong attributes. Just because he does not dance to your tune, you say he is weak.
I salute him for standing tall.
Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.