Khir Toyo - Spinmeister Par Excellence.
Even if Khir Toyo were to be sacked as Selangor MB, kicked out of Umno and banished to the political wilderness, he need not overly worry. For he has one God given talent that he can put to good use; No not dentistry, but SPINNING. Never in the history of Malaysian politics has there been or have I seen such a consummate doctor of spin. The other spin king Zainuddin Maidin can't hold a candle to the redoubtable Khir Toyo - Spinmeister par excellence.
Many are the occasions where he has employed this talent to full use and for maximum effect. It has helped him in times of trouble and has extricated him from deep shit more than once. Yesterday he spun true to form once again and left the impression that he is a daring, honest and fair leader!
The following is an NST report of an interview with the diminutive dentist. Read and learn!
Excerpts of the interview with Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo
Q: You have asked Zakaria to resign, but his term expired last September. There does not seem to be any logic in this?
A: We have to appoint new councillors before September. Otherwise, the council cannot do its work. Letters to councillors were sent before September to get their reply as to their acceptance of the position. All accepted. The swearing in ceremony is just a formality. Zakaria has already got his appointment letter and has signed and returned the letter. That is why I have to ask him to resign.
Q: Why do you allow state assemblymen to be councillors ?
A: About 90 per cent of Selangor is urbanised and people complain to state assemblymen. If we don’t put state assemblymen there, how do we link them to council presidents? They have to have an avenue to raise all the problems.
Q: Are you happy with the way the Klang Municipal Council handled Zakaria’s case? It looks like they did not want to take action against him.
A: I do not know what happened. I asked the council president. Some officers did not take action because he is respected in Klang. To me, a leader must follow all the regulations. That is why I gave a directive to all councillors . If they cannot clear in two months all debts, quit rent and assessment arrears, I will remove them.
Q: Is there a need to allow two people from a family to sit on a council?
A: We have to be fair. Sometimes, they are knowledgeable, professionals or have positions in the party. It is mainly because of capability and sometimes party position but sometimes we do not allow. Take Zakaria. His daughter-in-law is a graduate, gives a lot of advice and information to the council. She contributes a lot. His son is also a good contributor. We do not want councillors who are quiet, do not even utter a word but come out of meetings and complain about everything.
Q: If a councillor does not perform, can you terminate his service before his term ends?
A: Of course. If they fail to attend a full board meeting three times without any reason, we can remove them. The president can submit a report to the state. We can remove them irrespective of whatever position they hold in the party, even state assemblymen.
Q: There are allegations that Zakaria can be rude. Why did you take so long to act on this?
A: His style is like that. He likes to speak loudly. As far as I am concerned, when I chair meetings I have no problem. The local authority must take action.
Q: Are you reluctant to take action? Are you intimidated by him?
A: If I was frightened, I won’t take action. Last time I acted against Pandamaran (Zakaria had wanted to develop part of a field but other councillors opposed and Dr Khir intervened and stopped the development). There is no fear or favour.
Q: How did he manage to get a second term as state assemblyman when he had problems? For example, he had slapped DAP state assemblyman Teng Chang Khim in the state assembly.
A: Our procedure is to get candidates vetted by the anti-corruption agency and the police and they say there is no case against him. I can’t say anything. So he got another term.
Q: What will happen to Zakaria’s Klang division? They seem to challenge your leadership by calling for him to be retained.
A: That is for the party to decide. I read the statement by the division’s deputy president. I have given a full report to party headquarters.
Q: Are you in touch with Zakaria?
A: I called him a few times and even yesterday. My job is to advise. I cannot force people to follow my advice although I am boss. Sometimes people think the advice is not important, their opinion is more important.
Q: Will you recommend Zakaria for another term as assemblyman?
A: That is to be decided by the PM.
**** As you can see poor, innocent Khir Toyo does not know anything. You can't blame him if those responsible to vet the candidates like the the ACA and police are sleeping on the job. (What an appropriate word, vet, for persons like Zakaria!) Any difficult or potentially risky question gets the stock answer, referred to Party HQ, referred to PM etc. You simply can't beat Khir Toyo, spinmeister par excellence.
Many are the occasions where he has employed this talent to full use and for maximum effect. It has helped him in times of trouble and has extricated him from deep shit more than once. Yesterday he spun true to form once again and left the impression that he is a daring, honest and fair leader!
The following is an NST report of an interview with the diminutive dentist. Read and learn!
Excerpts of the interview with Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo
Q: You have asked Zakaria to resign, but his term expired last September. There does not seem to be any logic in this?
A: We have to appoint new councillors before September. Otherwise, the council cannot do its work. Letters to councillors were sent before September to get their reply as to their acceptance of the position. All accepted. The swearing in ceremony is just a formality. Zakaria has already got his appointment letter and has signed and returned the letter. That is why I have to ask him to resign.
Q: Why do you allow state assemblymen to be councillors ?
A: About 90 per cent of Selangor is urbanised and people complain to state assemblymen. If we don’t put state assemblymen there, how do we link them to council presidents? They have to have an avenue to raise all the problems.
Q: Are you happy with the way the Klang Municipal Council handled Zakaria’s case? It looks like they did not want to take action against him.
A: I do not know what happened. I asked the council president. Some officers did not take action because he is respected in Klang. To me, a leader must follow all the regulations. That is why I gave a directive to all councillors . If they cannot clear in two months all debts, quit rent and assessment arrears, I will remove them.
Q: Is there a need to allow two people from a family to sit on a council?
A: We have to be fair. Sometimes, they are knowledgeable, professionals or have positions in the party. It is mainly because of capability and sometimes party position but sometimes we do not allow. Take Zakaria. His daughter-in-law is a graduate, gives a lot of advice and information to the council. She contributes a lot. His son is also a good contributor. We do not want councillors who are quiet, do not even utter a word but come out of meetings and complain about everything.
Q: If a councillor does not perform, can you terminate his service before his term ends?
A: Of course. If they fail to attend a full board meeting three times without any reason, we can remove them. The president can submit a report to the state. We can remove them irrespective of whatever position they hold in the party, even state assemblymen.
Q: There are allegations that Zakaria can be rude. Why did you take so long to act on this?
A: His style is like that. He likes to speak loudly. As far as I am concerned, when I chair meetings I have no problem. The local authority must take action.
Q: Are you reluctant to take action? Are you intimidated by him?
A: If I was frightened, I won’t take action. Last time I acted against Pandamaran (Zakaria had wanted to develop part of a field but other councillors opposed and Dr Khir intervened and stopped the development). There is no fear or favour.
Q: How did he manage to get a second term as state assemblyman when he had problems? For example, he had slapped DAP state assemblyman Teng Chang Khim in the state assembly.
A: Our procedure is to get candidates vetted by the anti-corruption agency and the police and they say there is no case against him. I can’t say anything. So he got another term.
Q: What will happen to Zakaria’s Klang division? They seem to challenge your leadership by calling for him to be retained.
A: That is for the party to decide. I read the statement by the division’s deputy president. I have given a full report to party headquarters.
Q: Are you in touch with Zakaria?
A: I called him a few times and even yesterday. My job is to advise. I cannot force people to follow my advice although I am boss. Sometimes people think the advice is not important, their opinion is more important.
Q: Will you recommend Zakaria for another term as assemblyman?
A: That is to be decided by the PM.
**** As you can see poor, innocent Khir Toyo does not know anything. You can't blame him if those responsible to vet the candidates like the the ACA and police are sleeping on the job. (What an appropriate word, vet, for persons like Zakaria!) Any difficult or potentially risky question gets the stock answer, referred to Party HQ, referred to PM etc. You simply can't beat Khir Toyo, spinmeister par excellence.
posted by The Malaysian. at 11/02/2006 02:45:00 PM
2 Comments:
If we take away our learned preconceived/local acquired knowledge I would say he seems to be in charge of Malaysia, albeit the shortest President East of the USA. Check with CNN ? or even BBC ?
Obviously the others( who?) are totally non-existent.
Thats our Chief Minister of the only fully developed state and defacto King of Malaysia, the true blue untouchable.! The rest of the 12 other states are near Timbuktu, along with dinosaur fossils.
way to go shorty !
But seriously I think he is better than our 3 year old 'Chief Executive' who I heard is now paralysed around his lips.....
...and I also heard he has now acquired 'hollowman' status.
Shortest President east of the USA!! I'm sure Toyo won't appreciate that going into the Malaysian Book of Records toniXe.
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