Wednesday 26 January 2011

F.L.O.M Division in the PM's office?..clapping thunder in the distance?

I was having a good chat with friends at one of the Mamak Bistro in Sri Hartamas last night. Talking all sort of stories about our country, Interlok, the Tenang elections, anti Malay DAP recruiting more Malays, Lee Kuan Yew bodek PM Najib(some negotiation between Malaysia-Singapore must be going on there) etc. etc.


Talking about PM Najib, invariably it will be about the NEMs, the ETPs the EPPs, ya its hard to keep up with those short form words isn't it, of course his great support of the vernacular school, the cancellation of the PPSMI, is UMNO/BN better off under Najib or Pak Lah? but I say at least now we can see some one in charge and very many firm decisions being taken and the fuel and food subsidies are taken away incrementally. Amidst the talking a friend mentioned the FLOM Division under the PM's Office. 


My friend said FLOM Division stands for First Lady Of Malaysia Division. I said, say what? I have heard rumours about the PM's wife having an office there, BUT a whole support Division manned by Civil Servants? Now that's new (to me lah). As we have our notebook with us we Google (such are the wonders of technology and the internet) and found this :

rosmah mansor 5 Rosmah Mansor Semakin Berkuasa di Malaysia?

The above is a snapshot from the PM Office of Malaysia website taken from here. Granted that the acronym F.L.O.M is not explained in the website but Malaysians are clever people you know and can make very intelligent assumptions and the follow up speculations on what it means.

I also note that while all the Divisions in the PM's office is shown "as it is", Example. Office of the Principal Secretary,Escort Unit, Office of the Political Secretaries, Office of the Advisors, Secretariat Division, Media Division, Policy and Research Division, Public Relation Division, Economy Division etc. BUT, F.L.O.M Division stands out. 


F.L.O.M makna apa?

Google a bit and you will find these colorful articles here, and here are some examples. Google a bit more and you will find this very interesting comments section from The Scribe Dato' Kadir here. The words "meluat" or "too much" is often quoted in the comments, this couldn't be good for the PM and the BN Government in the battle to gain positive perception among the mind of Malaysian voters. I think in politics perception IS everything.

Anyway, our chit chat last night ended with a question, does Malaysia has an official First Lady? 


Well, I think not, First Ladies are title for the President's wife (eg. US First Lady Mrs. Michelle Obama) not a Prime Minister's Wife (refer to the  British Prime Minister's wife). Another friend said that our Perlembagaan does not even mention a First Lady title for the wife of the PM who by the way becomes Prime Minister after he can show to the DYMM yang diPertuan Agung that he commands the majority in the Dewan Rakyat. Another friend said that because we are a Parliamentary Democracy the nearest we have of a First Lady is the Raja Permaisuri Agung. Hmm, the mind boggles.

Ok now lets get technical, if F.L.O.M Division under the PM's Office umbrella is the Acronym for First Lady Of Malaysia, then does it mean now that our Prime Minister recognise it as such. Agaknya dibawah peruntukan Undang-Undang mana kah F.L.O.M divisyen ini ditubuhkan siap dengan anggota penyokong yang terdiri dari Penjawat Awam Kerajaan yang gaji mereka tentu dibayar oleh Kerajaan? More importantly, what is F.L.O.M Division Scope of Work and limits of Authority? The rakyat have a right to know especially now that F.L.O.M is in the public domain.

PM Najib is our Prime Minister, he is not there because he does not know things, so I am sure he must have his good reasons for ordering the establishment of F.L.O.M Division in his office which in effect makes it part of the ruling Federal Government. 

The crunch will come when the matter is brought up by the Opposition in Parliament and in their political campaigns  and ceramahs, and then, there are the ordinary people talking on the streets, people who are for or against the BN led federal Government. Don't kill the messenger OK but I hear clapping thunder in the distance, make no mistake, this matter will be politicized because it will score big political points for the Opposition. 

Ultimately the buck stops at the PM's desk. I hope that PM Najib have the right and convincing answers in the face of the gathering storm.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a tough situation any way you look at it.

Although statistics are not available, most married men will agree that they have to give in to the other half. Most men are also terrified beyond reasonable doubt by their wives. So, they try to avoid battles that cannot be won by giving in.

The PM, Opposition Leader, Nik Aziz, you and I are victims of this unavoidable circumstance. I may be wrong, but until there are statistics, I stand corrected.

eddy said...

Well Anon there is a famous quote by Zsa Zsa Gabor: A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.

Anonymous said...

Zsa Zas Gabor was right. In fact marriages evolve between three rings.

Engagement ring, Wedding Ring followed by the Suffe-ring!

A GOOD MAN DOES NOTHING.