The Art of Rhetoric

I would like to believe that I am well trained in the art of rhetoric. It is a case of "syiok sendiri", of course. But then again, if I am  not even able to be "syiok" about myself, how would others be "syiok" with  me? And today, in the spirit of "syioksendiri-ism", may I bore all of you with my thoughts on this subject.

It is common knowledge that some of our Ministers – and members of Cabinet – are quite intellectually challenged. This is obvious from the various statements which they make in public. Zahid Hamidi's "we must respect their culture" – when he was trying to deflect the embarrassment caused to the BN, and himself, caused by the Chinese sex concert – was but one example of an absolute failure of the brain  to take control of the tongue.

Further back in time, Nazri Aziz's "he called me because I am his Minister" – uttered while attempting to explain why the Lord President called him to issue a denial respecting the Linggam tape – was a shining example of a lack of appreciation of how the legal system worked.

Mahathir Mohammad is a champion when it comes to rhetoric. After his retirement, he is fond of laying the blame for everything which has gone wrong on everybody but himself. "I did not sack Tun Salleh, the tribunal did", said him. Of course, he forgot that he was the one who established to tribunal. "I did not put Anwar in jail, the Court found him guilty and put him in jail". Yes, yes, haven't we all heard of that too. "I did not destroy UMNO, Abdullah did". "I did not this, you did".

What these esteemed intellectuals failed to realise, and appreciate, is the fact that their audience are not at all stupid. Their audience are not some 3 year-olds with phlegm running down their nose holding a half sucked lollipops standing still with mouth wide opened in awe of them and their speeches. In fact, it is quite stupid of them to think that we are.

READ MORE HERE: http://art-harun.blogspot.com/