Why I do what I do

This article is written in plain, simple English, to let your average Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh (pardon the pun) who may be a little weak in English, know that my articles don’t concern them.

Raggie Jessy

I wrote an article recently. I exposed Lensa and Jingga 13 for who they really are. I explained that they were Anwar’s henchmen, his secret weapon. I cautioned people that they were being led into believing that Lensa wants Anwar to quit. I explained that Anwar was really using Jingga 13 and Lensa to identify his enemies while simultaneously turning all of you against PAS and UMNO. I revealed that Anwar really wanted to fan unrest by getting you worked up over Lensa’s remarks, while reminding you of his 1998 reformasi struggles.

And I said all this in high powered English.

Many have approached me since. They want to know why I wrote the article in high powered English. In fact, they wanted to know why I write the way I write. According to them, I could have reached a wider audience that included your average kampong Minah or the typical estate Marimuthu with simpler, down to earth English. They felt that simple English would have sufficed, and would have been more effective. They wanted my points to reach a wider audience.

So no, this article isn’t about Anwar, Najib, Lensa or Jingga 13. This article is about why I do what I do, and why I write how I write. And this article is written in plain, simple English, to let your average Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh (pardon the pun) who may be a little weak in English, know that my articles don’t concern them. And this article explains why it should not concern them.

I am concerned about them. But I don’t concern them. There’s a difference between being concerned about them, and being their concern. I am concerned about them, simply because your average Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh (I chuckle every time I take a piss at Chin Cheh) who aren’t well versed with the language (English), are typically uneducated or poorly educated. This is a fact one can’t deny. In Malaysia, a typically educated person is well versed with the English language.

That is not to say, I loathe uneducated people. I don’t. But I worry about them. I worry, because your average uneducated Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh are typically gullible. They are generally at the bottom million, since a typically uneducated person is typically in the lower income bracket. And the typically lower income bracket uneducated Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh have a crucial say in the political arena. Many of them depend on government policies, aid and spur of the moment goodies to make ends meet.

I’m not being arrogant. No. I’ll be accused of being arrogant, but I’m not. I’m simply outlining mere facts. We can’t run away from facts. We, as responsible citizens, ought to distinguish fact from fiction, and learn to say things as they are.

Now, back to your typical ‘bottom million’ Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh, who are uneducated and financially challenged. Many like them are ‘bought over’ by sweet words and lame theatrics by your average assemblyman, especially when an election or a by-election looms around the corner. Eventually, they succumb to their theatrics, and vote these politicians in. And these politicians want to stay in power as long as they can (Government or opposition). And in the process, they may prefer that your average uneducated Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh remain relatively uneducated. I’m saying they may; this may not necessarily be true all the time.

In cases where they do want you to remain relatively uneducated, changes are ushered in gradually, if at all. To an educated person, these changes may not be enough, or may be out of sync with the politician’s competency. That is to say, the politician may be able to do much more than he does for these people. But he doesn’t, because to these people, these changes are huge and very meaningful. They’re gullible. They’re simpletons. And they’re not too rich. RM50 may mean to some, what RM500 or RM5,000 means to others. It’s relative.

But a politician is generally from the top hundred. I prefer to use the term ‘top hundred’ rather than ‘top million’, because politics is such, that it is the ambitious, educated and somewhat capitalist minority that really rules over the majority. That is really the order of things in a democracy. You really can’t fight it, unless you prefer communism or dictatorship, which are different ball games altogether, with a different set of problems to go along with them.

Now, I spoke at length on this in another article. In fact, I explained why it is always the rich and educated minority that imposes conditions on the average income earner (and the relatively uneducated majority). But it is not for me to explain democracy or communism or even dictatorship in this article. That would touch on a range of issues too big to fit into this article. No. This article is about why I do what I do.

I do what I do, because I won’t be able to change the mindsets of your average uneducated Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh in periodic articles. It isn’t what I am good at, nor is it my preferred modus operandi. Besides, your average uneducated Minah, Marimuthu and Chin Cheh is easily influenced by any politician who is manipulative and sweet talking, and who belongs to a party supported by the majority in vicinity. As such, influencing them in a lasting manner requires that they constantly be fed reliable information from the ground itself. That is to say, there needs to be a heavy presence on the ground near elections. Now, I can only be in one place at a time.

And it isn’t my role, because everyone has a role. In politics, the people’s representative who got voted in has a role. His role is to effect, change or maintain policies that would affect a people. His role is to administer his territory, however large or small it may be.

Likewise, columnists have their roles, as do critics. And we have many types of columnists and many types of critics. I am a columnist as much as I am a critic. And I am all about the top hundred. I have a role, as does Utusan, the Star, Najib, Anwar and even, Raja Petra.

There are enough columnists and critics who address the bottom million. And there should be those who address the top hundred and expand them into the top thousand. And the top hundred really comprises educated and financially-able persons who can manoeuvre politics where it matters most.

The present top hundred comprises people who drive the bottom million, one way or the other. They play manipulative and complicated ballgames that confuse the bottom million into believing that the sky can be purple or green. The bottom million really goes along with what these manipulative and educated people strive for. And Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang know this best.

And at the end of the day, the ball is really in the courts of these manipulative, rich and educated minorities. Who wins will depend greatly on who plays a better game. And you will find the bottom million cheering for the winner to this manipulative game.

This is really the order of things in the political arena, regardless of whether you choose to hate me or love me for saying it.

So now you know why I do what I do, and why I write the way I write. I want to expand the top hundred by properly informing others like them who are relatively silent, and in the process, turn the top hundred into the top thousand or possibly, the top ten thousand. And when we have the top thousand, we will have a ‘top 900’ in excess, who are properly informed and enlightened, who in turn, will properly drive the bottom million. And things can then go either way.

And to let you know this, I wrote in plain, simple English.

Cheers.

Raggie Jessy