Don't Cry for me, Rafidah

The day of reckoning - the day many bloggist waited to pen their vitriols and use it to cast her to the devils. Many said she deserved it. Only a few would had been saddened by the recent events.

She had always being strong and she loves playing the hardball. She has proven that courage and perseverance was her forte, that many men parliamentarian lacks.

The newspaper makes it frontpage - the news was meant to parade her "soft-side", in literal sense, she can be crushed; worst off, by the one man who had been her master, her mentor, and her protector in those good old years when that man was having "One Hand Cover Heaven" (direct chinese translation), which means second to none.

Don't cry for me, Argentina Rafidah. You have done what you need to do, for the nation, for the people, for your relatives, and for yourself. Rightly or wrongly, you have got this far, and had spent the last 20-odd years for the nation and yourself. One stupidity is not the end of the world of politics. The only problem is you don't know when to quit. When that old man retires, you should have walk the same way with him, retire from politics and become his assistant in Petronas and Proton. It would have been equally glamorous and prospective. He would had you walk along him, managing a new empire; but you choose to strive for a few more years of public attention and had difficulty in abdicating the power game. You have not counted your days when it was numbered.

Was she wrong, in particular with Ap and Proton dilemma? Maybe, part of it; but not the sole cause. The AP system was introduced to generate isolated Bumiputras wealth creation. It was never design to benefit ALL or every Bumi as it could not be possible as not many can acquire an automobil distributorship. Therefore, only few could benefit from it.

Is the AP system the primary cause of Proton's failure? Absolutely not and never can be. Proton's failure is system-design - it's inherent and it was design with clutches from day one. It will fail once the clutches deteriorates. It is without exaggeration of the fact that the only reason it manage to survive the last 20 years is because the government erected barriers to shield it from competition and at the same time erect mammoth tariffs to punish those who opt for foreign-made cars. With the high-price of foreign-made cars, many Malaysians had no alternatives but to drive Wira and Waja.

But the day of reckoning for Proton had arrived - Proton financial results is out - the cat is let out of the bag. Proton Holding Bhd has incurred a group pre-tax loss of RM4.3mil for the first quarter ended June 30, 2005, compared with a profit of RM198.3mil in the previous corresponding quarter. The losses was attributed to provisions of doubtful debts as well as reduction in sales volume. The loss was on top of the unrealised foreign exchange-gain of RM22.5 mil arising from the revaluation of a 70million euro loan. The preceding quarter recorded a pre-tax profit of RM165.5 mil.

So, you can see why the hue and cry and blitzkrieg. In Malaysia, went corporations suffered losses, they must find scapegoats. Mahaleel found one in the APs. Then, he lobbied for his godfather's support and get him out into the open confrontation with the ruling regime. Rafidah was trapped within the conundrum. Thus begins the clash of the bumi-AP civilization.

When will this episode end? Difficult, unless Rafidah retires. The war may end soon, it seems, with the cry and the hug on Merdeka.

But the battle will continue. proton's dilemma will not end. AFTA is here to stay. Globalization will devour Proton. Liberalization will trigger greater critical thinking and faster information flow which creates far greater awareness and unveil the cans of worms. The situation is insidious and far-reaching. The government of today would not have the luxury and flexibility to erect further barriers. The impact of globalization, liberalization and AFTA are like an incoming tide, flowing our estuaries and up our rivers, which could not be held back.

To paraphase Lord Denning's words:

"No longer is globalization and liberalization an incoming tide flowing up the actuaries of Malaysia. It is now a tidal wave bringing down our sea walls and flowing inland over our fields and houses - to the dismal of all (within the nutshell of Proton)."