Rafidah crosses the hurdle

The Sunday Star, Kuala Lumpur
05 March 2006


Rafidah crosses the hurdle

Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz’s survival in the Cabinet seals her
reputation as the longest serving trade minister in the world and a
formidable one too. Is the stage set for another political term or
will this be her swansong? JOCELINE TAN reports.

THE text message that Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz received a couple of
days after the Cabinet reshuffle read: “Boss, we are having our
political bureau meeting on Friday. Can some Wanita members see you
before that?”

The message was from Datuk Faridah Abu Hassan, Rafidah's long-time
loyalist and secretary of the Wanita Umno wing.

Rafidah promptly text-replied: “OK.”

The ladies had wanted to congratulate the Wanita Umno chief and her
deputy Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil for being retained in the
Cabinet.

“It was supposed to be a simple gathering of just a few people at her
office, very impromptu. But the numbers grew and we came with things
to eat and it turned into a party,” said Datin Shuhanie Deraman,
deputy Kelantan Wanita chief.

There were about 50 ladies, and some had come direct from the
airport, dragging their roller-bags and still in their sneakers.

But they took the trouble to bring along small gifts of flowers, kain
batik and chocolates.

Faridah brought the celebratory pulut kuning or yellow sticky rice
and chicken curry, whereas one Terengganu lady flew in with
containers of the famous east coast nasi dagang. Others brought
rendang, cakes and keropok.

Rafidah's bodyguard, Haji Shaari, who had already donned his songkok
to go for Friday prayers, was asked to recite the doa selamat.

But it was Faridah who announced on behalf of those present: “We
would like to thank the PM for having our two women leaders in the
Cabinet.” Shahrizat staying on as Women, Family and Community
Development Minister had not been an issue.

But for months, there had been speculation that Rafidah might be
moved to a new ministry or even dropped from the Cabinet after the
controversy over the Approved Permits or AP issue last year.

Hence, there was also a sense of relief as the happy group ate,
sipped tea and chatted through the lunch hour.

The International Trade and Industry Minister, some said, had
survived the guillotine.

Some likened it to her second comeback, her first being in 2000 when
she won back the Wanita Umno leadership that she had lost in 1996.

Then again, this is not exactly a comeback.

She was never out although she did come very close to the edge.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's reasons for keeping Rafidah are
well known by now – she is experienced, and APs, the cause of her
annus horribilis last year, are but a small part of what MITI is about.

Not everybody was as delighted as the ladies in Wanita Umno about her
staying on as MITI Minister.

But few could really find fault with the reasons offered for keeping
her on.

“She understands complex trade issues like the back of her hand and
holds her own on the world stage. I know people think that anyone
with her years of experience would be able to do the same but you’ve
got to be smart to begin with and she was never dumb,” said a top
business writer.

Her work continued to impress the Prime Minister even when her
political chips in the party were down.

She is also a workhorse. Barely a fortnight after the reshuffle, she
was leading a trade and investment mission to Europe.

But, said an aide to a minister: “It’s really exceptional that she
has survived after all that has happened. I’m not a great fan of hers
but I've got to admit that there is only one Rafidah.”

Experience and ability aside, the Prime Minister’s decision was also
made with the stability of the women’s wing in mind.

Besides, the women’s wing had remained loyal to Rafidah even as
public opinion surged against her during the AP controversy.

As Faridah put it: “I knew all along she would be in. She is still
our Wanita leader in Umno.”

Still there is no doubt that Rafidah’s survival has been more a
result of her amazing ability as a trade minister than political
considerations.

She now holds the record as the longest-serving trade minister in the
world.

Rafidah has told some of her officers in MITI this will be her last
term and that she plans to call it a day soon.

However, like most astute politicians, she has not mentioned the
retirement word to any of her Wanita Umno ladies.

No one wants to be a lameduck politician.

For instance, shortly before the Cabinet reshuffle, the Wanita chief
told Faridah she wanted to launch the wing’s trademark Keluarga
Sepuluh programme where Wanita members are delegated 10 households
each during the run-up to the general election.

She wanted to meet the Wanita grassroots, and she asked Faridah to
organise the programmes.

It was not the action of a woman with retirement on her mind.

But neither is she desperate to cling on to power.

Even at the height of the AP issue, she did not resort to using the
Wanita wing to rally support for her.

“Some of us asked whether we could do something, make statements, but
she told us not to do that. She asked us to just continue with our
work in the party,” said Shuhanie who is also a Wanita Umno exco member.

Around that time, Shuhanie brought a delegation of women members from
the Malay Chamber of Commerce to see Rafidah at MITI.

“The AP issue was so hot then but she did not allow it to affect her
at all. Instead, she spoke so well about business opportunities for
women, she had good advice for them about what to watch out for, and
what to avoid doing. Everyone was full of admiration for her.”

According to Shuhanie, Rafidah’s emotions showed only when it
concerned her relationship with former Premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Rafidah will be 63 this year, and is a grandmother several times
over. The Iron Lady, said Faridah, has not been in such good health
in years particularly after an albeit successful knee operation last
year.

She has also consciously shed weight and watches what she eats
because she does not want a recurrence of her knee problem.

“She walks faster than me. The other day, I had to chase after her
because she was moving so fast,” said Faridah.

Perhaps the clearest sign of her new state of health is that she is
now able to wear high heels again, a vanity she had to give up the
last few years. She has also gone back to her golf routine.

Still, not many in the party see her staying on beyond this term.

It is unlikely that the Wanita ladies will push her out but people
are already speculating about who Shahrizat will have as her running
mate when the time comes for her to take over.

“At the end of the day, it's about the PM's trust in you,” said a
think-tank analyst.

Is Rafidah the ultimate survivor or will this be her last waltz?

Ends