Khairy Jamaluddin Has Qualities Of A Leader, Says His Mother

"My son has all the qualities of a leader," said Datuk Rahmah Abdul Hamid, mother of Khairy Jamaluddin who is contesting the Rembau parliamentary seat in the March 8 polls.

"Many people can be managers but not leaders. He (Khairy) has shown outstanding leadership qualities since he was small," she told Bernama outside the Merdeka Hall of the Rembau distric council, the nomination centre for the constituency.

Dressed in a baju kurung with a white scarf and a Barisan Nasional (BN) vest with the letters "KJ" (Khairy's initials), Rahmah, 72, initially declined to be interviewed but later relented.

Khairy, 32, who is also BN Youth and Umno Youth deputy chairman, is engaged in a straight with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, 30, for the seat.

Asked whether Khairy was capable of championing the lot of the people of Rembau, Rahmah said her son could do it because he was always committed in whatever he did.

"He is dedicated to the race, religion and country. Since his return to Malaysia nine years ago, that has been his mission. He is fully committed to everything that he does, no half-measures," she said.

Khairy received his Masters in Legal and Political Theory from University College London in September 1998 and holds a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from St Hugh College, Oxford University.

Asked for her message to her son, Rahmah said: "My message to him is only that we live in a world where people will remember our kind deeds and contributions and good behaviour."

Besides Rahmah, Khairy's wife, Nori Abdullah, who was also present, said she was very proud of her husband and was willing to shoulder the responsibilities of an elected representative's wife if Khairy was elected.

"I used to follow my father (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) but now I follow my husband," she said, adding that she believed that Khairy would make a good elected representative.

"He is sincere in helping the people," said Nori, who left their five-month-old son, Jibreil Ali Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, at home in Gadong, near here. (Bernama)

***** Frankly I do not wish to take issue with an elderly lady who is justifiably proud of her son. However alarm bells did ring when she said, "he is dedicated to the race, religion and country." Now where does that leave the other half of this country's population if God forbid, KJ becomes the Prime Minister? Is he going to be a pemimpin solely for the Malays to the exclusion of everyone else? The thought is frightening indeed.
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