A Man for All Season : Zaid Ibrahim

I have had my thoughts on Zaid ever since that lunch I had with a PAS operative at Restoran Haslam beside Hospital Tawakal in Jalan Pahang. If you know anything about Restoran Haslam you would know that it is the most convenient, not to mention most delicious, restoran if you want to catch lunch and also the latest happening in KL from the PAS perspective: Harakah and other PAS functionaries are neighbors of Restoran Haslam.

It was over lunch many years ago when my lunch companion leaned over the table and asked me “Napa Pak Lah nak ambik Zahid masuk cabinet?”. Trying to appear knowledgeable when you do not know whom he was talking about is not an easy thing – especially when you are trying to have lunch in a crowded Haslam restoran! But I was cool and replied “Biasa lah tu”. By the end of lunch I was suitably knowledgeable of why Pak Lah should NOT take Zaid into his cabinet!

That was many years ago. Since then Zaid has conducted himself in a manner that tells me that he is a nice man with too much money for his own good! He has been a Minister in a Barisan Nasional government and a First Tier leader within an opposition party – PKR. Both are positions that people will kill for to secure and yet Zaid upon securing these positions, turns around and tells those that have given him those positions to “stuff it.”

He then proceeds to KITA – which I though would have been and could have been, a welcomed Third Force within the political scenario: One that could possible make a difference to a winning or losing political entity after the 13^th general election. A Third Force that could keep the bastards in politics honest!

Once again Zaid tells us NOT to second guess his intentions. Yesterday he tells us that KITA is throwing their lot with the opposition – with Pakatan Rakyat!

What does all this say about Zaid? Here is my take of him which I forwarded to a fellow blogger for comment:

‘Zaid Ibrahim : Nice guy. Cannot take instruction even if his life depended on it. Has too much 'Fuck You' money to be beholden to anyone. Seeks continuing role in national politics but his ability to stay for the long haul is suspect”.       

And the response was:

Your assessment of Zaid is spot-on.

With just one proviso. That was made just before he made the announcement about throwing his lot with Pakatan Rakyat. When he did make that announcement I only had this to say to him: “Right on Brother!”.

Zaid is one of those human beings that try to do the right thing by him and by all of us –“tries to do” - is the operative word because he is still trying and has not got there yet. We have need of people like him. Principled, good at heart and not beholden to anybody. I hope Dato’ you will continue to be yourself and do what you think is right not only for yourself but also for us, the Rakyat.

What you did yesterday was magnanimous. It tells us that you will do the right thing no matter what. You have taken your fair share of:

“cheap, gutter politics served to diminish his relevance to national politics when he's one of the best, most sincere & honest pollies we have & when Kita could have portended a higher, better & certainly more intelligent level of politics”

So said my fellow blogger about Zaid.

I hope that Pakatan Rakyat will respond accordingly. We have need of you Dato’ if we are to have the change we want in the way politics is done in our country. Syabas!