On Valentine’s Day, Shafie was dropped from the cabinet. A UPM DVC, Shafie’s close ally, SMSed me around 4 am the next morning:
“Saya diminta oleh pihak ‘atasan di luar’ utk dptkan feedback rombakan kabinet baru Pak Lah. Tak sedap pun tak apa. SMS kpd saya.”
I SMSed back asking him to reveal who is that ‘atasan di luar’. He refused to name the person on SMS. However he later called and gave me a name. I yet to give him my response. But I did forward the messages to a colleague. He SMSed back “Too late. Damage done!” “Rupanya cerita Hindustan belum habis. Ingatkan hero dah menang. Rupanya cerita masih panjang. Yet to know who are the real hero and crook!”
Today a friend brought an NST and showed me this news. One thing keeps bugging me is “What will Prof Zohadie and Prof Zulkifli’s comments be?” I am more interested to hear what Prof. Zohadie will say about the Pak Lah’s chop (on Shafie.) in a press statement. All my colleagues wished Zohadie gives a short statement. One colleague will love to hear Zohadie cites a pantun “Siakap kerisi gelama ikan duri; Asyik kacau VC, cepat jadi mantan menteri!” Another wished Zohadie would say “Allah makbulkan doa saya. Doa orang yang teraniaya cepat dimakbulkan Allah!” I am wondering if Zohadie will just say “Kapok!”*.
*What is “kapok”? When I was young, I used to bully my cousin’s son who is a few years younger than me. Whenever my mother scolded me for bullying him, he would always say “Kapok!” The first time I heard that word, I had to ask my late father what “kapok” means (as my father had never taught us Javanese). He told me “kapok” in Javanese means “padan muka”.
_______
'Despite rumours, I was hopeful'
June Ramli
NST 17 Feb 2006: KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs.
He had heard speculation that he might be dropped from the Cabinet, but Datuk Seri Dr Shafie Salleh was full of hope that he would be retained.
When the announcement was made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at 2.45pm on Tuesday, and aired live, the former Higher Education Minister said he was not taken aback.
"I heard speculation that since former Information Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, new Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid and I did not win seats in the last Umno elections, we would be dropped from the Cabinet in the reshuffle.
"However, despite the rumours, I was hopeful that I would be retained as a minister.
"But I was not surprised (at being dropped)," he told the New Straits Times at his house in Petaling Jaya.
Shafie watched the announcement in his office at the Higher Education Ministry with his staff and Malaysian Ambassador to Libya Datuk Zulkifli Yaacob.
Asked if he was sad when he heard the news, Shafie laughed.
"I watched the announcement with Datuk Zulkifli. When my name was not announced in the line-up, he (Zulkifli) felt embarrassed, but I told him... No, it’s OK," he said.
Shafie said he then finished some paperwork and packed a few books from his office before leaving the ministry at 5pm.
"I was working that morning as usual and discussing policy matters with a University of Malaya lecturer involved in a training course on international politics and economics for Myanmar diplomats and administrators.
"I even told her that I would visit the university sometime soon."
Shafie said Zulkifli had come to see him to discuss ways the ministry could help Libya become an educational hub.
"Libya looks at us as a good model for Third World countries and he wanted me to help conduct some kind of educational expo there."
Asked if it would be easy for him to switch himself off from his ministerial position, Shafie replied:
"Yes it will, and I think Datuk Mustapa Mohamed (the new Higher Education Minister) is great for the job because he was chosen by the Prime Minister."
Shafie said he would meet Mustapa on Monday to hand over the reins at a simple ceremony.
"I have helped put a foundation to this ministry created in 2003. Now, I think what Mustapa needs to do is to launch it," he said.
Asked whether his spats with former Universiti Putra Malaysia vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Mohd Zohadie Bardaie and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Mohd Zulkifli Mohd Ghazali could have resulted in his exclusion from the Cabinet, he replied: "No, I don’t think so. That is nothing, it was just an administrative matter. "
On whether he had failed the Prime Minister in not turning the country into an educational hub, he said: "For the record, I must say, I used to come back from work every day at 10pm. There is much to do in the ministry. Sometimes my wife (Datin Dr Mizan Adiliah Ahmad Ibrahim) had to bring me dinner.
"I like the ministry and I have worked hard and tried my best to do everything I could."
Did he know why he was dropped? "I don’t know. He is the Prime Minister and he can choose his Cabinet ministers. It is his prerogative. But I can tell you that I am still loyal to him (Abdullah) and I only work for Umno."
On his future plans, Shafie said he would devote more time to Umno and his constituency, Kuala Langat.
"I met Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today. I told him that I wanted to be more active in politics and offer my expertise to the party. I am trying to get an appointment to meet the Prime Minister."
