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Sunday November 15, 2009

Too close for comfort

ANALYSIS
By JOCELINE TAN


Storm clouds are gathering over Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat for appointing his ambitious son-in-law as CEO of the state subsidiary Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan.

KELANTAN Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has an incredible aura that intimidates as well as attracts people.

But his young and handsome son-in-law Ariffahmi Abdul Rahman was certainly not over-awed by this powerful ulama who calls the shots in Kelantan.

During a luncheon not so long ago at Kelantan Delights, a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur run by Kelantanese Juhaidi Yean Abdullah, Ariffahmi plonked himself next to Nik Aziz with a certain familiarity.

There was a comfortable body language between them.

And while the others around the table focused on the food, Ariffahmi held court, talking about a recent trip to Laos that he had taken on behalf of the state government.

Comfortable bond: Nik Aziz praised his son-in-law as the ‘most capable young man in Kelantan’ shortly before making him the CEO of a state corporation. The Mentri Besar (second from left) is seen here in June at the groundbreaking of a big state project known as Bazar Tok Guru with his wife Datin Tuan Sabariah Tuan Ishak, their son-in-law Ariffahmi (right), and state exco member Datuk Anuar Tan Abdullah (left). — Picture sourced from website of PMBK

Ariffahmi had the attention of the Mentri Besar who listened intently and leaned close to ask whether it was possible to get halal food in Laos.

“He struck me as someone who has personality. He came across as intelligent, confident and he had ideas,” said Juhaidi.

The conversation then turned to family matters as Ariffahmi talked about his children. Ariffahmi’s wife Nik Amalina had just given birth to their sixth child, and Nik Aziz’s 51st grandchild.

The above would have been another day in the life of the Nik Aziz family if not for the fact that Ariffahmi is now the CEO of the state subsidiary known as Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan (PMBK) or Kelantan Mentri Besar Corporation, which is chaired by Nik Aziz.

Nik Aziz has defended the appointment as one based on merit.

Ariffahmi, 36, an engineer, is about to become as controversial as the other famous son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin.

It is an awkward situation that has controversy written all over it.

Ariffahmi joined PMBK as its chief operations officer in 2008 after quitting as an engineer with the Kelantan Water Authority. Prior to that, he was with a development company in the Klang Valley.

His appointment as CEO was an issue even before it took effect in September. Various groups, including some state PAS Youth leaders, had voiced concern and there were also some who had issues with Ariffahmi’s style of working.

The appointment, when it finally took place, resulted in even greater controversy. Some accounts have it as the decision of one man, namely his father-in-law; others insisted it was approved by the board of directors.

To complicate matters, the MACC has come into the picture. It is unclear as yet whether the MACC is probing the nature of the appointment or discrepancies in the running of the corporation.

Things took another twist a few days ago when a staff member of the corporation, Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz, better known by his blogging non de plume “Kickdefella”, was given the marching orders.

Another casualty was chief financial officer Norizan Yaacob, who was reassigned to other duties.

The story is that they had allegedly “leaked information” about the corporation.

Syed Azidi’s situation is quite complex. Although he is on the payroll of PMBK, he works as an aide, and answers directly, to state exco member Datuk Husam Musa.

His dismissal has put Husam in a tight spot because it is well known that Ariffahmi and Husam are not on the best of terms.

Husam had been the Mentri Besar’s blue-eyed boy, but he probably knows that blood is often thicker than water. He has told close friends that the “sky may fall on me” as a result of this issue.

Most people could not understand why Nik Aziz had not looked further afield to fill the CEO post.

Ariffahmi had apparently been an issue for some time. He is probably not as terrible as he has been made out to be, but it is likely he is also not as faultless as his father-in-law seems to think.

“We have questioned the issue of his son-in-law so many times. But he (Nik Aziz) has his own interpretation on things and would brush it aside,” said Umno politician Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

The matter had been widely politicised by Umno politicians who are always on the lookout for ways to embarrass Nik Aziz.

Alwi: The opposition chief in the state had needled Nik Aziz several times about his son-in-law.

At the recent State Legislative Assembly sitting, opposition chief Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad needled the PAS side about the anak menantu or the favoured son-in-law.

When Nik Aziz spoke on the final day of the sitting, he side-stepped the issue and instead delivered a religious lecture at the end of which he praised PMBK for its “many contributions to the state”.

“I have no idea what these contributions are because Tok Guru did not elaborate at all,” said Alwi, who is the assemblyman for Kok Lanas.

The son-in-law was also an issue during the Manik Urai by-election, where Umno campaigners harped on his spacious villa-style house not far from the famously humble home of his father-in-law.

There have also been complaints from local traders about the way he handled a PMBK project known as Bazar Tok Guru.

During the fasting month, several giant billboards went up in Kota Baru lauding the glory of the Quran. One of the billboards erected near Nik Aziz’s house featured two of Ariffahmi’s children.

It became a major talking point when a massive storm blew down the billboard a day after Nik Aziz announced the appointment of Ariffahmi as the CEO of PMBK.

“If there was another person (for the PMBK post), it would have been better so as to avoid this controversy. But it’s decided so we should accept it but the media keep playing it up,” said state exco member Datuk Nik Amar Nik Abdullah.

Nik Aziz has 10 children – five sons and five daughters. All except the youngest daughter are married and they have, to date, made Nik Aziz a grandfather 52 times over.

Of his four sons-in-law, Ariffahmi occupies a central position in the family.

“Tok Guru is a family man. Ariffahmi is the only son-in-law who lives in Kelantan so, of course, they see each other all the time,” said Nik Amar.

Nik Aziz is clearly impressed with the younger man.

At a lecture in a mosque in Kota Baru, Nik Aziz described his son-in-law as “lelaki muda yang terbaik di Kelantan” (the most capable young man in the state).

To be depicted so glowingly by the Mentri Besar is one thing. But to have it done inside a mosque, that is what one might call a cloud-nine moment.

A bad sign

But it looks like the young CEO has begun his new posting on the wrong footing.

Most people would want to start a new job on a wave of goodwill rather than sack people and have the MACC barging in and poking about.

And there was definitely a certain arrogance about the way Syed Azidi was sacked.

On Friday, Nik Aziz bowed to pressure and pulled out from a Haj pilgrimage he was planning to make later this month with Ariffahmi and their respective spouses. It was to have been sponsored by a wealthy businessman, Nudin Awang, who is better known as “Nudin Seratus” because of his distinctive car number plate.

The trip became controversial because Nudin apparently had business dealings with PMBK.

Syed Azidi: ‘Kickdefella’ was shown the door not long after Ariffahmi took over in the state corporation.

Parallels have been drawn between Nik Aziz and former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Both are devoted to sons-in-law who are smart, ambitious and seem to know their way to their fathers-in-law’s hearts.

Khairy faced a similar conflict-of-interest situation during his time as a special officer to Abdullah when he was deputy prime minister and then prime minister.

People talked about it no end, and that gave rise to the perception of the powerful “Budak tingkat 4” or “fourth floor boys”, which damaged Abdullah.

A great deal of politics is about perception and Khairy, for all the right and wrong reasons, was blamed as one of the causes of Abdullah’s downfall.

Nik Aziz seems to have ignored the lessons to be learnt from Abdullah’s experience.

“He has ruled in Kelantan so long, he thinks he is invincible,” said Annuar.

Will his son-in-law be his ruin?

“I doubt it will damage Tok Guru greatly. It is not a big thing in Kelantan and his own party people will stand behind him,” said restaurateur Juhaidi.

Nik Aziz’s word still carries a lot of weight among many Kelantanese. If he says cronyism had happened during the Holy Prophet’s time, then who are they to contradict him?

Besides, Kelantan people are very pragmatic. They are known for their business sense, are not afraid of hard work and are always on the lookout for a good business deal. They understand the advantage of having a family member look after the business.

But PMBK is not a family business. It is a government body. If PAS is to be seen as a party that promotes good governance, it has to be seen as doing so.

The reluctance of PAS politicians to speak on the issue hints at the fact that they are just as uncomfortable about the appointment. They are not bad-mouthing Ariffahmi but they also have little that is positive to say about him.

Nik Aziz is still a very influential figure in Kelantan after almost 20 years in power. But in politics, it is dangerous to take the people’s feelings for granted.

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