The backlash to the state contract termination and payment freezing notice was swift and multi-pronged.
Later that Monday, journalists all over were rather shell-shocked to be inundated by calls from politicians - including some of the more reticent ones, who’d usually play the “No comment” card. The key theme was the same as the condemnation gleefully poured vitriol on the Amal administration and predicted its imminent demise.
Everyone was of the view that the Amal administration was moving way too far and too fast, outstaying its welcome in less than a month - in stark contrast to the normal grace period where a new political leadership would usually be given either 100 or 150 days in power first before serious criticisms start pouring in.
Some went so far as warn that there could be some violent uprising among the people of Selangor when key systems and processes start falling apart, while also calling for street protests against the new state ruling. Then, within hours, at least 10 different protest marches had also been announced at various locations around Selangor and scheduled from after the Friday prayers - all organised by “non-political” NGOs.
Attempts by journalists to get any Amal assemblywoman or state leadership to respond to these increasingly louder political denouement got the same standard reply: “We stand by our decision.”
As such, the various state department heads and other civil service staff found themselves bombarded with calls to get any hints of how the new state leadership might respond - given that the journalists had been given free licence earlier on Monday morning to harass these public servants.
From this incessant media probing, it soon became clear that a large number of state employees potentially faced the risk of losing their jobs as they had been hired via third party contracts and not through the Public Service Department. While it could not be clearly determined just how many may be affected, this revelation was enough to add more fuel to the political criticisms and judging by the print media coverage on Tuesday, Selangor seemed likely to be placed under emergency laws to prevent supposed widespread riots.
Despite having predicted this giant political storm, Munusamy was shaken by how quickly the prospect of emergency laws had been raised - he had anticipated this dark spectre to surface only after about a fortnight of initially loud protests, which would have somehow tragically turned violent in the third week or so. As such, the following Monday’s state exco meeting had been planned specifically to defuse this storm of protests but the situation was becoming increasingly untenable for any political face-saving way to save the Amal administration before the weekend.
Further to monitoring the bleak picture the media had painted, Raymond had sent out feelers on the ground and Charlene’s team had been quietly assessing the online debates - with the feedback seeming to be only a little less slanted against Amal. Problem was that only those already vocal before had been making their views known, the silent majority remained deafeningly quiet and Munusamy wondered if this should be construed as good news or if they were being persuaded that Amal was a really bad idea in retrospect.
Fortunately, there had yet to be any major real world protests even as all eyes and ears were tuned to preparations being made publicly ahead of the first wave of protests on Friday, with more slated for Saturday and Sunday. The police had issued half-hearted warnings to would-be participants to ensure any rally would stay peaceful, but Raymond had received feedback that the police would be out in full force over the state with leave frozen for the next one month. Teargas stocks and water cannons were being quietly moved to strategic spots and the dreaded Federal Reserve Unit teams were also being mobilised.
The other main attack Munusamy had anticipated also came true - suppliers to the KM fastfood outlets had informed by noon Monday that stock deliveries would be delayed. When pressed, none were able to commit as to when deliveries would resume as usual, if at all.
Preparations for this eventuality had begun several months back as Raymond had instituted the purchase of several large chilled warehouses at strategic locations so that there would be enough food supply to the fastfood outlets for at least another fortnight. Renovations had also taken place at all outlets to enlarge the freezers, which had ensured the latest deliveries arrived on Sunday night so that there was another week’s buffer.
Still, Munusamy was relieved to have business convention on his side - given that movie releases are always slotted for Thursdays. A charity event to mark the rerelease of his first major blockbuster, remastered with additional footage, had been scheduled for Thursday’s global debut. Some behind-the-scene favours had been called in the moment the nomination dates had been announced and the United Nation’s World Food Programme (UNWFP) had been roped in as the charity to benefit from Thursday’s proceeds of cinemas around the world.
In Selangor, it had also been previously announced that the fastfood outlets would turn into whole-day soup kitchens and UNWFP collection centres for public donations on Thursday. As all the KM outlet suppliers plus countless more had pledged their support earlier to the event, Munusamy could only hope Thursday would be a success as its significance had grown to become far larger than originally planned.
There was no let-up in the media storm, which just worsened into Wednesday night as the UNWFP representatives arrived from Belgium. Since the various service centres for the elected assemblywomen were also located adjacent to or near the fastfood outlets, and they had also been scheduled to join the suppliers’ representatives to serve dinner to the needy, the political significance of the event couldn’t have been any more pronounced.
After welcoming the UNWFP representatives and making sure the delegation had checked into their hotel rooms, Munusamy remained tense and felt unable to return home to get any shuteye. Checks conducted hours earlier hadn’t elicited any confirmations of the various supplier representatives on their attendance and he was finally forced to concede that none would turn up as scheduled. Bitter at the prospect of being checkmated even before real gains could be made with his plan, he spent the next few hours nursing a coffee cup at a nearby diner and took a quick shower back at the office to freshen up before the 6am meeting the UNWFP delegation at the hotel coffeehouse.
To Munusamy’s surprise, there were several other people present as well at the breakfast meeting. And he couldn’t help but smile broadly when informed one of the UNWFP representatives was a distant relative of the recently-instated Selangor Sultanah, who had agreed in her personal capacity to grace the official opening of the soup kitchen by the UNWFP delegation at 7am.
GUERILLA POLITICS in SELANGOR is a satire on how an "altruistic" billionaire secretly funded and formed the next Selangor administration - making it the inspiration of the nation
Sunday 23 October 2011
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Chapter 6 - Robbing hoods
The Monday morning press conference turnout didn’t disappoint.
Anticipating an extra large press corp turnout, the event had been moved to the largest hall within the state secretariat building. And as Jamilah walked in at precisely 9.29am, she noted that all the department heads and support staff who had been at the exco meeting earlier had also taken their allotted places at the back.
During the exco meeting, everyone had been warned not to leak any of the matters discussed until after 10am and that’s exactly what Jamilah began the press conference with once the hall doors were locked. “We have installed a signal disruptor in this hall to ensure all mobile phones and any communication devices cannot be used until we unlock the doors at 10am,” she said, dismissing the ensuing wave of groans. To make doubly sure the embargo stayed intact, Charlene’s team was also monitoring various online and social networking sites, plus the airwaves as well.
When the protests died down, Jamilah got straight to the point. “The Amal administration has noted the countless reports and opinions published over the past few days on how we are about to bankrupt Selangor with our minimum wage plan for all state employees. So, before we reveal the details on the minimum wage plan, let me first address the issue of how we are going to make sure we have enough funds for what needs to be done right. We shouldn’t be called the Right Party if we’re going to do wrong, are we?”
Pausing for the sniggers to fade away, Jamilah continued. “Let me remind you of the announcement made immediately after the final state election results were confirmed. All contracts with the state are to be voided according to the stipulated termination clauses and we had given due notice of this intent. So, let me now explain how that’s going to work to make sure the state will always have enough funds for what we need to do.”
There was shocked silence as the import of these words sank in.
“At the exco meeting a short while ago, it was decided that all payments on contracts will be frozen after this month. To make sure everyone is clear, payments at the end of this month will be made in full and that will be the last until and unless the contract party submits a request for the agreement to continue. Subsequent payments will be made only if the state exco approves the continuance of such contracts.
“We are fully aware that some contracts have termination clauses that stipulate notice periods of up to 12 months or have some sort of penalties if voided. We will address those issues one at a time if and when the contract party makes the submission. Any contract party who refuses to make such a submission or takes us to court without going through this process will be blacklisted immediately from any dealings with the state administration during the next four plus years until the date of the next election, which we have also clearly announced.
“The only exceptions will be the utility firms for power, water, communications and sanitation. For those too, we will be holdings discussions over the next few weeks to discuss various rewards and penalties to ensure we’ll always have the highest service levels in Selangor.”
Jamilah’s gaze swept the hall, noting the largely shocked looks among the journalists. The state staff at the back were all tightlipped, fully aware of the consequences to what her administration had just unleashed. She was also too aware of the media headlines which had been predicted in Munusamy’s script and wondered idly if anyone would come up with her personal favourite “Robbing hoods”. This bombshell would surely dominate all media coverage over the next few days, overshadowing what she was about to say next. It would be exactly how Munusamy had planned it to be - slipping in essentials while everyone’s focus was distracted elsewhere.
“Now, on the minimum wage plan, here’s what we’re going to do. As stated earlier, the minimum monthly wage will be set at RM2,500. This applies to all staff who currently earn less than that and they include dispatch riders, receptionists and all kinds of support staff who are barely able to support themselves. These are people who can be valuable assets to Selangor when given the right motivation because they have stayed loyal to their jobs despite earning so very little.
“To make sure they earn RM2,500 monthly, the state will be paying them the extra amount. In other words, we will top up what they are already receiving from the federal government as they all remain staff employed via the Public Services Department. On top of that, we will also increase the salaries of those now earning between RM2,000 and RM2,999. All these individuals will now have their monthly salaries topped up to RM3,000.
“We would also like to inform you of future pay rises during our five-year administration mandate. From 1 July next year, the minimum wage has been set at RM3,000 and the amount will increase by RM300 every year from the same date. We intend to eventually have the minimum monthly wage set at RM6,000 - but you will have to vote us in again at the next state election for this to become possible.”
Eyes rolled at this not-so-subtle political campaigning and Jamilah simply smiled while she checked if anyone had any doubts about what she had just said. Noting none, she continued: “The pay rise also means state employees will have to become more productive. Details of what we expect will be announced over the next few weeks and here’s some of the major changes we will be instituting.
“Firstly, all state administrative hours will be extended to better serve the public. Four months from now, all state offices will be open from 7.30am to 7.30pm. As such, all state staff will be required to work a minimum of 10 hours daily and there will be flexible meals hours to ensure there’s always someone available to attend to the public at all times while the office is open. During the fasting month, all Muslim staff can leave at 5.30pm. We have consulted the department heads and they say many of the staff are already working such long hours and that it won’t be difficult to make the necessary adjustments.
“There will no longer be any overtime payments from then and the RM2,500 minimum wages will also be paid only from this period onwards. The current salaries will remain during the next three months and we will be announcing several other changes to cater for the work-hour adjustments, including staff with families to take care of and also their school-going children. The department heads have been instructed to come up with proposals related to this and we will be announcing our decision on such issues within the next few weeks as well. There will also be some form of monitoring and penalties for anyone who fails to meet work expectations or abuses the system.
“Lastly, the full video recording of this press conference will posted on the state website from 10am and as usual, the exco meeting minutes will be available from 7pm. We will also post the full agenda for the next exco meeting then. We have given full authorisation to every state employee to speak to the media with absolutely no restrictions whatsoever on this matter and so, feel free to speak to the department heads and their staff at the back of this hall on what I had just announced.”
All the journalists turned and saw the various state employees seated at designated desks at the back of the hall. And while they did so, Jamilah and the state exco members slipped out of the exit behind the rostrum.
Anticipating an extra large press corp turnout, the event had been moved to the largest hall within the state secretariat building. And as Jamilah walked in at precisely 9.29am, she noted that all the department heads and support staff who had been at the exco meeting earlier had also taken their allotted places at the back.
During the exco meeting, everyone had been warned not to leak any of the matters discussed until after 10am and that’s exactly what Jamilah began the press conference with once the hall doors were locked. “We have installed a signal disruptor in this hall to ensure all mobile phones and any communication devices cannot be used until we unlock the doors at 10am,” she said, dismissing the ensuing wave of groans. To make doubly sure the embargo stayed intact, Charlene’s team was also monitoring various online and social networking sites, plus the airwaves as well.
When the protests died down, Jamilah got straight to the point. “The Amal administration has noted the countless reports and opinions published over the past few days on how we are about to bankrupt Selangor with our minimum wage plan for all state employees. So, before we reveal the details on the minimum wage plan, let me first address the issue of how we are going to make sure we have enough funds for what needs to be done right. We shouldn’t be called the Right Party if we’re going to do wrong, are we?”
Pausing for the sniggers to fade away, Jamilah continued. “Let me remind you of the announcement made immediately after the final state election results were confirmed. All contracts with the state are to be voided according to the stipulated termination clauses and we had given due notice of this intent. So, let me now explain how that’s going to work to make sure the state will always have enough funds for what we need to do.”
There was shocked silence as the import of these words sank in.
“At the exco meeting a short while ago, it was decided that all payments on contracts will be frozen after this month. To make sure everyone is clear, payments at the end of this month will be made in full and that will be the last until and unless the contract party submits a request for the agreement to continue. Subsequent payments will be made only if the state exco approves the continuance of such contracts.
“We are fully aware that some contracts have termination clauses that stipulate notice periods of up to 12 months or have some sort of penalties if voided. We will address those issues one at a time if and when the contract party makes the submission. Any contract party who refuses to make such a submission or takes us to court without going through this process will be blacklisted immediately from any dealings with the state administration during the next four plus years until the date of the next election, which we have also clearly announced.
“The only exceptions will be the utility firms for power, water, communications and sanitation. For those too, we will be holdings discussions over the next few weeks to discuss various rewards and penalties to ensure we’ll always have the highest service levels in Selangor.”
Jamilah’s gaze swept the hall, noting the largely shocked looks among the journalists. The state staff at the back were all tightlipped, fully aware of the consequences to what her administration had just unleashed. She was also too aware of the media headlines which had been predicted in Munusamy’s script and wondered idly if anyone would come up with her personal favourite “Robbing hoods”. This bombshell would surely dominate all media coverage over the next few days, overshadowing what she was about to say next. It would be exactly how Munusamy had planned it to be - slipping in essentials while everyone’s focus was distracted elsewhere.
“Now, on the minimum wage plan, here’s what we’re going to do. As stated earlier, the minimum monthly wage will be set at RM2,500. This applies to all staff who currently earn less than that and they include dispatch riders, receptionists and all kinds of support staff who are barely able to support themselves. These are people who can be valuable assets to Selangor when given the right motivation because they have stayed loyal to their jobs despite earning so very little.
“To make sure they earn RM2,500 monthly, the state will be paying them the extra amount. In other words, we will top up what they are already receiving from the federal government as they all remain staff employed via the Public Services Department. On top of that, we will also increase the salaries of those now earning between RM2,000 and RM2,999. All these individuals will now have their monthly salaries topped up to RM3,000.
“We would also like to inform you of future pay rises during our five-year administration mandate. From 1 July next year, the minimum wage has been set at RM3,000 and the amount will increase by RM300 every year from the same date. We intend to eventually have the minimum monthly wage set at RM6,000 - but you will have to vote us in again at the next state election for this to become possible.”
Eyes rolled at this not-so-subtle political campaigning and Jamilah simply smiled while she checked if anyone had any doubts about what she had just said. Noting none, she continued: “The pay rise also means state employees will have to become more productive. Details of what we expect will be announced over the next few weeks and here’s some of the major changes we will be instituting.
“Firstly, all state administrative hours will be extended to better serve the public. Four months from now, all state offices will be open from 7.30am to 7.30pm. As such, all state staff will be required to work a minimum of 10 hours daily and there will be flexible meals hours to ensure there’s always someone available to attend to the public at all times while the office is open. During the fasting month, all Muslim staff can leave at 5.30pm. We have consulted the department heads and they say many of the staff are already working such long hours and that it won’t be difficult to make the necessary adjustments.
“There will no longer be any overtime payments from then and the RM2,500 minimum wages will also be paid only from this period onwards. The current salaries will remain during the next three months and we will be announcing several other changes to cater for the work-hour adjustments, including staff with families to take care of and also their school-going children. The department heads have been instructed to come up with proposals related to this and we will be announcing our decision on such issues within the next few weeks as well. There will also be some form of monitoring and penalties for anyone who fails to meet work expectations or abuses the system.
“Lastly, the full video recording of this press conference will posted on the state website from 10am and as usual, the exco meeting minutes will be available from 7pm. We will also post the full agenda for the next exco meeting then. We have given full authorisation to every state employee to speak to the media with absolutely no restrictions whatsoever on this matter and so, feel free to speak to the department heads and their staff at the back of this hall on what I had just announced.”
All the journalists turned and saw the various state employees seated at designated desks at the back of the hall. And while they did so, Jamilah and the state exco members slipped out of the exit behind the rostrum.
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Chapter 5 - At the palace
All that anticipation and agonising proved to be unnecessary as the Selangor Sultan gave his consent to the entire Amal line-up as submitted. But the atmosphere in the palace remained tense as all the faces within remained neutral and pensive, as if still doubtful whether the Amal administration could actually bring about any positive changes to the state.
Privately, Jamilah felt they couldn’t do any worse than the previous administrations - but also realised no one would draw a fair comparison simply because the Amal group were all females and there were higher expectations to live up to all round. Still, the Sultan had agreed to her request for him to inaugurate an impromptu state exco meeting immediately the swearing in - a surprise move that had also raised some eyebrows and also sent a clear message that Amal meant business, not wanting to waste any time to get down to work.
The Sultan didn’t stay long and the change in his tone as soon as the doors to the exco meeting room were shut augured well for the new administration. Smiling broadly and acknowledging everyone by name - showing he had done his homework - the Sultan voiced his support for all the initial steps taken so far by Amal. “Keep up the good work and don’t disappoint me or the people of Selangor who had voted you into power,” he said before leaving them to their deliberations.
The exco meeting didn’t last long, over in 20 minutes as scheduled. And despite the earlier announcement of the Press conference time, Jamilah had to cool her heels for almost 10 minutes for journalists who had gone to partake refreshments served, being so used to previous sessions which would stretch for hours past schedule.
Skipping the preliminaries, Jamilah got right to the point. “For the rest of our allotted time to administer Selangor, until we call for the next election three months before our tenure expiry as we had informed you last week, please take note that we will be punctual and stick to our schedules strictly. Allowance of only 10 minutes will be given until the end of this month for others to get used to our need to be prompt at all times. I don’t want to issue any more reminders.”
So used to bantering with previous politicians who rarely lived up to such definitive pronouncements, a cheeky journalist asked: “What happens if one of us happens to be late because of traffic jams?”
Jamilah didn’t bat an eyelid. “Firstly, one of the first steps we’d be taking is to completely eradicate traffic jams within Selangor so no one can use that as an excuse any more. Secondly, journalists or anyone expected to attend a state event will not be allowed to enter the relevant rooms, which will be locked exactly on time after this grace period till month-end. That person or anyone from the organisation he or she represents will be barred entry to the next state event as well. We will put up the notices of such barred entry plus the reason why at the event concerned, also on all invitations sent out and on the state’s official website. If anyone wants to act in a juvenile manner, we’ll treat you like juveniles until you learn to respect the right of others to expect punctuality.”
“What are you? My mother?” that same journalist responded, a cheeky smile remaining firmly planted on his face.
“Maybe it’s time you started listening to her,” Jamilah snapped back with a steely smile. “Let’s not waste any more time on this inane exchange. Here’s what we’ve decided on today, if you are all ready for what we’re assembled for.”
Seeing the nods, she said:”During our short meeting with the Sultan, all our alternates were also introduced and they are ready to stand for by-elections in case that need ever arises. As you are all aware, each of us has two alternates and they will be working closely with each assemblywoman.”
Making sure the gender emphasis was noted, Jamilah continued: “All three will work as a team to ensure there are no disruptions in any way to whatever needs to be done for their constituencies and also for the people of Selangor. Similarly, our exco members and their alternates have been announced before the state election and continuity will be maintained to cover any eventuality like illness and so on. At no point will this administration ever be affected by anyone absent or unavailable because the alternates will step up to do the job needed.“
Seeing no hands raised to ask any questions, Jamilah move on to the next topic. “As the Right Party or Parti Amal, our focus is not on making all kinds of changes. We’re here to implement and enforce the law as it currently stands and only make changes which are absolutely necessary ad right. At this point, we will not be changing anything done and will allow existing state administrative decisions to stand as they are. Everything will be status quo for three months but the respective officers will be called to account for anything done outside the rules from the date we were elected into office.“
Hands quickly shot up and a journalist asked: “What about decisions made before? Will you be checking into those too?”
Jamilah smiled. “We will not do anything about those. If at all, we will make new decisions to comply with existing rules or formulate new rules which would make such decisions void moving forward. For example, all ‘Lawatan Sambil Belajar’ and training sessions during office hours will now need to be tabled at state exco meetings for approval at least two months in advance. We want to make sure all state funds are spent wisely. Any of these scheduled for the next three months can proceed but the state officers involved will have to pay back every sen spent to the state if we later find such allocations to be unnecessary.”
Bedlam ensued as journalists began vying for Jamilah’s attention, with shouts of “Are you going to stop corruption?” loudest among them.
“Be patient,” Jamilah assured. “We will attend to everything in due time. Our first priority would be to reiterate for anyone having contracts with the state that they should be reminded a total of six days of notice have already passed for terminations. At today’s meeting, we have decided that all such contracts will be allowed to lapse according to their stated contractual notice terms unless the organisation submits within the next six months a request for the contracts to remain valid. So, there’s no need to rush into such issues just yet as we will be discussing each of these contract validity submissions at every exco meeting from now on.”
Calm ensued as her words sunk in. Taking the imitative to continue while the journalists were still preoccupied jotting down her words, Jamilah said: “The full minutes of today’s exco meeting will be posted on the state website at exactly 7pm tonight, and the same applies for every one of our future minutes. All exco meetings will now be scheduled for 8am every Monday and the press conference will be held at exactly 9.30am sharp. Please don’t be late.”
Jamilah turned as if ready to walk out of the room, but held onto the microphone. “Just to give you all a heads up on the main item on the next exco meeting agenda - we will be seeking to implement for all state employees a minimum monthly wage of RM2,500.”
Ignoring the questions shouted out in response, she slipped out of the room with the rest of her exco members.
Privately, Jamilah felt they couldn’t do any worse than the previous administrations - but also realised no one would draw a fair comparison simply because the Amal group were all females and there were higher expectations to live up to all round. Still, the Sultan had agreed to her request for him to inaugurate an impromptu state exco meeting immediately the swearing in - a surprise move that had also raised some eyebrows and also sent a clear message that Amal meant business, not wanting to waste any time to get down to work.
The Sultan didn’t stay long and the change in his tone as soon as the doors to the exco meeting room were shut augured well for the new administration. Smiling broadly and acknowledging everyone by name - showing he had done his homework - the Sultan voiced his support for all the initial steps taken so far by Amal. “Keep up the good work and don’t disappoint me or the people of Selangor who had voted you into power,” he said before leaving them to their deliberations.
The exco meeting didn’t last long, over in 20 minutes as scheduled. And despite the earlier announcement of the Press conference time, Jamilah had to cool her heels for almost 10 minutes for journalists who had gone to partake refreshments served, being so used to previous sessions which would stretch for hours past schedule.
Skipping the preliminaries, Jamilah got right to the point. “For the rest of our allotted time to administer Selangor, until we call for the next election three months before our tenure expiry as we had informed you last week, please take note that we will be punctual and stick to our schedules strictly. Allowance of only 10 minutes will be given until the end of this month for others to get used to our need to be prompt at all times. I don’t want to issue any more reminders.”
So used to bantering with previous politicians who rarely lived up to such definitive pronouncements, a cheeky journalist asked: “What happens if one of us happens to be late because of traffic jams?”
Jamilah didn’t bat an eyelid. “Firstly, one of the first steps we’d be taking is to completely eradicate traffic jams within Selangor so no one can use that as an excuse any more. Secondly, journalists or anyone expected to attend a state event will not be allowed to enter the relevant rooms, which will be locked exactly on time after this grace period till month-end. That person or anyone from the organisation he or she represents will be barred entry to the next state event as well. We will put up the notices of such barred entry plus the reason why at the event concerned, also on all invitations sent out and on the state’s official website. If anyone wants to act in a juvenile manner, we’ll treat you like juveniles until you learn to respect the right of others to expect punctuality.”
“What are you? My mother?” that same journalist responded, a cheeky smile remaining firmly planted on his face.
“Maybe it’s time you started listening to her,” Jamilah snapped back with a steely smile. “Let’s not waste any more time on this inane exchange. Here’s what we’ve decided on today, if you are all ready for what we’re assembled for.”
Seeing the nods, she said:”During our short meeting with the Sultan, all our alternates were also introduced and they are ready to stand for by-elections in case that need ever arises. As you are all aware, each of us has two alternates and they will be working closely with each assemblywoman.”
Making sure the gender emphasis was noted, Jamilah continued: “All three will work as a team to ensure there are no disruptions in any way to whatever needs to be done for their constituencies and also for the people of Selangor. Similarly, our exco members and their alternates have been announced before the state election and continuity will be maintained to cover any eventuality like illness and so on. At no point will this administration ever be affected by anyone absent or unavailable because the alternates will step up to do the job needed.“
Seeing no hands raised to ask any questions, Jamilah move on to the next topic. “As the Right Party or Parti Amal, our focus is not on making all kinds of changes. We’re here to implement and enforce the law as it currently stands and only make changes which are absolutely necessary ad right. At this point, we will not be changing anything done and will allow existing state administrative decisions to stand as they are. Everything will be status quo for three months but the respective officers will be called to account for anything done outside the rules from the date we were elected into office.“
Hands quickly shot up and a journalist asked: “What about decisions made before? Will you be checking into those too?”
Jamilah smiled. “We will not do anything about those. If at all, we will make new decisions to comply with existing rules or formulate new rules which would make such decisions void moving forward. For example, all ‘Lawatan Sambil Belajar’ and training sessions during office hours will now need to be tabled at state exco meetings for approval at least two months in advance. We want to make sure all state funds are spent wisely. Any of these scheduled for the next three months can proceed but the state officers involved will have to pay back every sen spent to the state if we later find such allocations to be unnecessary.”
Bedlam ensued as journalists began vying for Jamilah’s attention, with shouts of “Are you going to stop corruption?” loudest among them.
“Be patient,” Jamilah assured. “We will attend to everything in due time. Our first priority would be to reiterate for anyone having contracts with the state that they should be reminded a total of six days of notice have already passed for terminations. At today’s meeting, we have decided that all such contracts will be allowed to lapse according to their stated contractual notice terms unless the organisation submits within the next six months a request for the contracts to remain valid. So, there’s no need to rush into such issues just yet as we will be discussing each of these contract validity submissions at every exco meeting from now on.”
Calm ensued as her words sunk in. Taking the imitative to continue while the journalists were still preoccupied jotting down her words, Jamilah said: “The full minutes of today’s exco meeting will be posted on the state website at exactly 7pm tonight, and the same applies for every one of our future minutes. All exco meetings will now be scheduled for 8am every Monday and the press conference will be held at exactly 9.30am sharp. Please don’t be late.”
Jamilah turned as if ready to walk out of the room, but held onto the microphone. “Just to give you all a heads up on the main item on the next exco meeting agenda - we will be seeking to implement for all state employees a minimum monthly wage of RM2,500.”
Ignoring the questions shouted out in response, she slipped out of the room with the rest of her exco members.
Chapter 4 - Sobering reality
Walking through familiar corridors felt surreal for Jamilah despite there seeming to be no changes at all within the KM Studios office lot in the past month she’d been absent, after resigning from all her posts in the firm to take on the helm at Amal a mere 24 hours before nomination day..
Even at the late hour of 10pm, there was still lots of activity going on as there were always several movies, promos and TV series being worked on at any point in time - from actors and directors to lighting, sound makeup, costumes, props - plus the various support crew and catering staff. But unlike past sojourns through the constant rush, where greetings were largely passing nods or quick interruptions for project finance updates, Jamilah’s emotions were overwhelmed as people around her just stopped whatever they were doing and began applauding loudly.
Unable to fight back tears, Jamilah could only wave back weakly as she tried to smile. The short walk seemed to stretch overlong as she struggled to acknowledge the outpouring of support for the state election win and she was glad when the crescendo finally got cut off by the central office building sliding doors. Jamilah then simply let her father guide her to his office, located conveniently near the entrance, giving her the chance to regain her composure before they walked together to the boardroom.
Inside, there were another round of hugs - even from Munusamy - before everyone was once more seated at their regular places. Jamilah was the exception, guided to the head chair, as Sook Yuen had been appointed the financial controller as her replacement. Munusamy simply stood as was his wont, dismissing Jamilah’s objections at being guided his chair that was always kept empty otherwise.
There was no real need for Jamilah to repeat any details on the preceding five days as everything publicly known had already been reported widely in the newspapers. Munusamy’s biggest fear had come true and they were to consider together how and if any of the other alternatives could be palatable to the Selangor electorate.
“What did the Sultan say exactly?” Munusamy asked.
Jamilah pursed her lips tightly before responding. “You’ve all read the official statement from the palace, which states the Sultan will announce the decision in exactly a week whether to grant his consent to me becoming the first female Menteri Besar. When he met us all at the palace on the morning after the election results were announced, he uttered only one word - ‘Congratulations’. The officials there handed us individually a copy each of the same public statement and we were then ushered out. It’s probably the shortest audience ever any politician might have had with the Sultan.”
Rizal then asked: “What was his expression and tone? Was he smiling and friendly? Or was he cold and standoffish? Did he acknowledge any one of you when you all entered the audience hall? What about when you were all ushered out? Was there any eye contact whatsoever?”
Jamilah shrugged. “I can’t tell. He kept staring at only me and kept his expression blank throughout. His voice was neutral as well. He definitely wasn’t friendly for sure. And neither were any of the palace officials, who treated us carefully but without any real warmth. But I won’t go so far as to say there was any outright rejection. I have been going over that audience countless times in my mind during the past few days and I still don’t know what to conclude.”
“And yet,” Munusamy said to underline the reason for the late boardroom meeting, “invitations had gone out at 8.30pm to all dignitaries and the media for the swearing in ceremony at the palace from 10am tomorrow. I find it very strange, especially since the Sultan has yet to announce whom he’s consented to as the next Menteri Besar.”
Jamilah handed over her invitation card. “I’m worried too. None of us had been contacted by the palace since that audience with the Sultan, apart from the hand-delivery of the invitations about an hour ago. Do you think the Sultan’s going to appoint the Shah Alam MP instead?”
That possibility had been highlighted as a very real risk in Munusamy’s election script for Amal, which had fielded only females candidates all over Selangor, including their backups. And with no campaigning whatsover, this fact had been made fun of in the various ceramahs conducted by the other parties’ predominantly male candidates in days before the election. But, the quiet feminine touch featured both in person at the fastfood outlets, various other community-focused events scheduled ahead of the vote and also on the Amal website had won the hearts of the electorate nevertheless.
The script had also posed the likelihood that one of the many males who held senior positions in Amal might be picked to be the Menteri Besar in the alternative, despite none of them having stood for the state election. There was no concern about this issue for none of the Amal males would have accepted such an appointment in any case.
In the meanime, Jamilah and her fellow candidates had continued to be visible at the fastfood outlets and at prior-scheduled Amal-organised events - that had attracted even larger crowds than usual. The candidates had also made it a point to visit several other constituencies as well daily. leaving them little time for personal matters. As such, each candidates’ daily schedules had been posted several days in advance at the fastfood outlets and also on the Amal website so that the people within each constituency knew when exactly the candidates were available and to allow for some personal time off.
Whether Jamilah would be selected had become the hottest discussion topic among the public and even beyond Selangor as politicians chosen by the electorate in other states and also at the federal level had voiced countless opinions - which all amounted to her being rejected. The outlook was bleak but Munusamy remained confident his strategy was right. Jamilah could only pray the Sultan would eventually decide so.
“You must admit this distraction has kept the focus away from the most important factors the new state administration will be putting into place,” said Munusamy. “There’s been hardly any mention of the next election date or the contract termination notice you had announced.”
Seeing Jamilah remaining tensely silent, Charlene chipped in. “You’d all be happy to know there’s been lots of online support for Jamilah to be appointed the Menteri Besar. Most of them also feel the Sultan has no choice but to graciously give his consent to Jamilah as any other alternative is bound to provoke lots of public anger. And the Sultan is one who does listen closely to the people in his state.”
Seeing a trace of smile on Jamilah’s face as she nodded in gratitude to Charlene, Rizal said:”Still, it would be a major psychological blow for Amal if the Sultan doesn’t agree with our nomination. As it is, we’re still seen as political lightweights and chances are we won’t be taken seriously enough to be an effective state administration if we start on this wrong footing.”
Sensing no further gains could be made in the discussion, Munusamy brought it to an end. “The other candidates, who are also valued members of our family, have been waiting long enough for us to start on their celebrations together with those who have remained with the studio. Since this will be the last time any of them in the new Selangor administration can come visit us here over the next few years without any accusations of bias, including you Jamilah, let’s give you all a really heartfelt temporary goodbye.”
Even at the late hour of 10pm, there was still lots of activity going on as there were always several movies, promos and TV series being worked on at any point in time - from actors and directors to lighting, sound makeup, costumes, props - plus the various support crew and catering staff. But unlike past sojourns through the constant rush, where greetings were largely passing nods or quick interruptions for project finance updates, Jamilah’s emotions were overwhelmed as people around her just stopped whatever they were doing and began applauding loudly.
Unable to fight back tears, Jamilah could only wave back weakly as she tried to smile. The short walk seemed to stretch overlong as she struggled to acknowledge the outpouring of support for the state election win and she was glad when the crescendo finally got cut off by the central office building sliding doors. Jamilah then simply let her father guide her to his office, located conveniently near the entrance, giving her the chance to regain her composure before they walked together to the boardroom.
Inside, there were another round of hugs - even from Munusamy - before everyone was once more seated at their regular places. Jamilah was the exception, guided to the head chair, as Sook Yuen had been appointed the financial controller as her replacement. Munusamy simply stood as was his wont, dismissing Jamilah’s objections at being guided his chair that was always kept empty otherwise.
There was no real need for Jamilah to repeat any details on the preceding five days as everything publicly known had already been reported widely in the newspapers. Munusamy’s biggest fear had come true and they were to consider together how and if any of the other alternatives could be palatable to the Selangor electorate.
“What did the Sultan say exactly?” Munusamy asked.
Jamilah pursed her lips tightly before responding. “You’ve all read the official statement from the palace, which states the Sultan will announce the decision in exactly a week whether to grant his consent to me becoming the first female Menteri Besar. When he met us all at the palace on the morning after the election results were announced, he uttered only one word - ‘Congratulations’. The officials there handed us individually a copy each of the same public statement and we were then ushered out. It’s probably the shortest audience ever any politician might have had with the Sultan.”
Rizal then asked: “What was his expression and tone? Was he smiling and friendly? Or was he cold and standoffish? Did he acknowledge any one of you when you all entered the audience hall? What about when you were all ushered out? Was there any eye contact whatsoever?”
Jamilah shrugged. “I can’t tell. He kept staring at only me and kept his expression blank throughout. His voice was neutral as well. He definitely wasn’t friendly for sure. And neither were any of the palace officials, who treated us carefully but without any real warmth. But I won’t go so far as to say there was any outright rejection. I have been going over that audience countless times in my mind during the past few days and I still don’t know what to conclude.”
“And yet,” Munusamy said to underline the reason for the late boardroom meeting, “invitations had gone out at 8.30pm to all dignitaries and the media for the swearing in ceremony at the palace from 10am tomorrow. I find it very strange, especially since the Sultan has yet to announce whom he’s consented to as the next Menteri Besar.”
Jamilah handed over her invitation card. “I’m worried too. None of us had been contacted by the palace since that audience with the Sultan, apart from the hand-delivery of the invitations about an hour ago. Do you think the Sultan’s going to appoint the Shah Alam MP instead?”
That possibility had been highlighted as a very real risk in Munusamy’s election script for Amal, which had fielded only females candidates all over Selangor, including their backups. And with no campaigning whatsover, this fact had been made fun of in the various ceramahs conducted by the other parties’ predominantly male candidates in days before the election. But, the quiet feminine touch featured both in person at the fastfood outlets, various other community-focused events scheduled ahead of the vote and also on the Amal website had won the hearts of the electorate nevertheless.
The script had also posed the likelihood that one of the many males who held senior positions in Amal might be picked to be the Menteri Besar in the alternative, despite none of them having stood for the state election. There was no concern about this issue for none of the Amal males would have accepted such an appointment in any case.
In the meanime, Jamilah and her fellow candidates had continued to be visible at the fastfood outlets and at prior-scheduled Amal-organised events - that had attracted even larger crowds than usual. The candidates had also made it a point to visit several other constituencies as well daily. leaving them little time for personal matters. As such, each candidates’ daily schedules had been posted several days in advance at the fastfood outlets and also on the Amal website so that the people within each constituency knew when exactly the candidates were available and to allow for some personal time off.
Whether Jamilah would be selected had become the hottest discussion topic among the public and even beyond Selangor as politicians chosen by the electorate in other states and also at the federal level had voiced countless opinions - which all amounted to her being rejected. The outlook was bleak but Munusamy remained confident his strategy was right. Jamilah could only pray the Sultan would eventually decide so.
“You must admit this distraction has kept the focus away from the most important factors the new state administration will be putting into place,” said Munusamy. “There’s been hardly any mention of the next election date or the contract termination notice you had announced.”
Seeing Jamilah remaining tensely silent, Charlene chipped in. “You’d all be happy to know there’s been lots of online support for Jamilah to be appointed the Menteri Besar. Most of them also feel the Sultan has no choice but to graciously give his consent to Jamilah as any other alternative is bound to provoke lots of public anger. And the Sultan is one who does listen closely to the people in his state.”
Seeing a trace of smile on Jamilah’s face as she nodded in gratitude to Charlene, Rizal said:”Still, it would be a major psychological blow for Amal if the Sultan doesn’t agree with our nomination. As it is, we’re still seen as political lightweights and chances are we won’t be taken seriously enough to be an effective state administration if we start on this wrong footing.”
Sensing no further gains could be made in the discussion, Munusamy brought it to an end. “The other candidates, who are also valued members of our family, have been waiting long enough for us to start on their celebrations together with those who have remained with the studio. Since this will be the last time any of them in the new Selangor administration can come visit us here over the next few years without any accusations of bias, including you Jamilah, let’s give you all a really heartfelt temporary goodbye.”
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