A toast to Hulu S’gor, Cheers!
That man also had the audacity to discard a minister’s post in the name of principles. He is the only one in Malaysia to have done so, while his contemporaries, wise enough to choose value over values, continue to remain in office.
By RK Anand, Free Malaysia Today
COMMENT A quaint district colonised by politicians is set to witness an epic battle tomorrow between the forces of good and evil, should the voters be influenced by a campaign centred around moral values.
Then again, morals and politicians, like beer and rum, are breweries apart.
Over the past few days, PKR’s candidate Zaid Ibrahim has come under intense attack for his drinking habits, which one Mat Salleh (white man) dismissed as sheer nonsense.
The bemused Mat Salleh could not understand what the fuss was about.
Is he really an alcoholic in the medical sense. Is he dependent on the substance to the point that he would not be able to discharge his duties?
Or is (Zaid claims was) he just someone who enjoys having a drink now and then? he asked.
Then again, like the venerable statesman Dr Mahathir Mohamad had so eloquently pointed out, what do these ignorant Mat Salleh, who hail from countries that defend sodomites, know.
To set the record straight, several minutes were spent explaining to this Mat Salleh that alcohol consumption is forbidden in Islam, and Zaid is a Muslim.
And in this country, Islam and politics are interlinked, and when needed, the religion is employed to fish for votes by politicians from both sides of the divide.
Dissatisfied, the Mat Salleh argued that since Zaid claimed that he has repented and his drinking days were behind him, wouldn’t it be nobler for these holier-than-thou characters to forgive him?
Slightly irritated with this Mat Salleh’s ignorance, I explained that the issue now was more about politics than religion, and as far as divine forgiveness for Zaid is concerned, it would have to wait until after the election.
But the Mat Salleh kept prodding, and I regretted telling him that I was a journalist. Better still, I wished I could send him packing to the Kamunting Detention Centre.
If only he could understand Bahasa Malaysia, I would have bought him a copy of that enlightening newspaper, whose name is too sacred to mention, and all truth would have beeen revealed.
Questions are fundamental obstacles to maintaining peace and order. They force us to think, and that is dangerous. So this makes the Internal Security Act a necessary tool.
And while the sober politicians in Umno would readily agree, Zaid, however, would kick up a fuss, spewing all sorts of alcohol-induced words like human rights and rule of law to mislead the public.
Dr M’s diagnosis: Arrogant and ungrafteful
That man also had the audacity to discard a minister’s post in the name of principles. He is the only one in Malaysia to have done so, while his contemporaries, wise enough to choose value over values, continue to remain in office.
Who does Zaid think he is? Mahathir, a medical doctor by training, diagnosed him as suffering from a case of double disorders, arrogance and ungratefulness.
Does Zaid have the faintest clue as to how many would sacrifice their souls, let alone their principles, for such a position? It is clear that the alcohol has affected his brain.
Zaid is also one of the four Malaysians to make it into Forbes Asia’s ‘Heroes of Philanthropy’, which must surely be a concrete indication of moral decadence.
To make matters worse, Zaid has admitted to owning race horses. And he conjures the excuse that he has a passion for thoroughbreds, but does not gamble.
That is like the sheikhs who own the Manchester City football club saying they bought the club because they love the game but are not gamblers despite millions placing wagers on their team.
