Not Just Pretty in Pink - Part 2

Today, I had a good banana leaf lunch with Mr. Italiano, ZR and TallChick, our new friend from Puteri UMNO. Predictably, much of the discussion during the delicious lunch revolved around politics and TallChick became the focus of our "grilling" session.

The poor girl - she probably never expected it. She must have felt like a Minister in Parliament, facing the Opposition, during question time. But we were pleasantly surprised. Her answers were candid, sincere and honest. It bordered on naivete at times, but just like our session with her friend, FutureHope, it was refreshing.

Some of the things we found out, took us aback. We found out that all the Puteri girls were doing most activities on their on expenses. No one reimbursed them for their petrol or food expenses incurred in Puteri activities. Sometimes, the activities even infringed on their own personal leave and weekends.

So why did she do it? It was not as if, big contracts or positions were coming their way. Aside from Azalina, (who has graduated to the Wanita ranks) Puteri UMNO did not even have a Minister from their party.

Her answer was simple: "I want to do my part for the people. Politics was a good avenue". So, why not take the NGO route, we asked her. "An NGO is too specialized. I want to be able to assist in a more general fashion and participate on a wider level, to reach out to the people directly and not any particular specialist community, covered by the NGO".

Good answer. Makes sense. The girl has a good head on her shoulders.

We provoked her even further - how do you defend yourself against all the accusations, criticism and slander thrown against the whole UMNO machinery? Don't you feel that your work on the ground is unappreciated and that people only tend to look at UMNO as a whole and perhaps, not recognize the contribution of the components like Puteri?

Another simple retort flew back: "We can't please everybody, we can only try our best. We just focus on what we have to do and not let things like this, get to us. My chief used to say to me - "if you want to be a good leader, you have to be able to take all the comments/criticisms, take note of them and figuratively, "put them away in a store room." So that's what we do."

ZR threw her another curve ball - what makes you think that Puteri UMNO would not turn out like Pemuda UMNO one day, where almost everyone talks about getting municipal, state and federal concession contracts? We expected her to get defensive on this and give us an answer based on blind optimism and loyalty.

We were disappointed. She replied: "There's no guarantee that it will not happen. But I will make sure that the people under me and I, will not turn out into that sort of people. That's the best we can do - but we all have to do our parts. It does not suffice to just talk, criticize and stay on the outside."

Wokay. Man, we were bowled over. Honest and very human answers, from a local political player - damn, it was refreshing.

TallChick impressed us. She didn't know very much of UMNO history or heritage, her political "know-who" and access to the grapevine was limited, she was "green" and almost optimistically naive on UMNO at times, but her sincerity and commitment to Puteri UMNO and their projects on education and younger children, were unquestionable.

There really should be more people like this, in the system. Especially, in the other UMNO component wings. Strong, dedicated and loyal footsoldiers who worked for the benefit of the people - sometimes, with very little reward or recognition, for their efforts.

To her, politics was not all "big picture" of how and how much, you can change the party, but it's more about service to the main constituents - the rakyat. As long as you're dedicated and keep delivering the benefits to the people you serve and represent, you are contributing and serving your function as a party member.

The boys ate humble pie, today.

For all our knowledge and exhaustive debates and analysis of UMNO over the years and our list of arguments and rationale of "why we should NOT join politics" - the simple, sincere dedication and service that TallChick exemplified towards the rakyat , totally blew us away. She was serving the people, and we were still debating the pros and cons, at the coffee shops. Shame on us.

Sometimes, the simplest explanations and motivations are the easiest to digest and accept. It's mathematically proven too, by Pythagoras - the shortest distance between two points, is a straight line. To me, TallChick proved that theory with her sincere moral stand and actions - she walked a straight line, despite all complications.

And the boys re-learnt something new today - that sometimes, the message does get stronger, with a messenger who lives by it. It's refreshing - and we're tickled pink.