Mat Taib should come clean on a lie he once told

Raggie Jessy

On the 15th of April 2015, The Malaysian Insider ran an editorial carrying what appears to be a prophecy of a kind. According to the report, former UMNO vice-president Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib assured Dr. Mahathir that he was not alone in his quest for answers from Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak.

That’s right folks; Mat Taib is back from the political memorial park with his appraisal on the state of affairs. And while he’s at it, he may just as well tell you who the next Prime Minister of Malaysia will be.

According to him, there are too many indicators to suggest that the country is on a lapse under Najib’s administration. For this reason alone, Mat Taib advised the current administration to view Mahathir’s criticism positively. Be that as it may, the once Chief Minister of Selangor appears to have jumped onto Mahathir’s bandwagon, echoing calls for a more transparent form of governance.

Actually, that’s precisely what all of this boils down to; transparency. It seems that everybody who is anybody can now afford the leverage of a very disjointed UMNO to talk about transparency. And that seems to be the game plan for many politicians these days.

You see, many have since come to the fore playing both ends against the middle. That is to say, they’re fuelling the Najib-Mahathir spat in a manner that would serve to their interests without jeopardizing their careers. They believe that UMNO has seen the best of its days, and things just couldn’t get any better.

So the story goes, that Mat Taib wants Najib to quit taking solace from the party’s patronage and own up to Mahathir by answering his questions. “Dr Mahathir was decisive in all cases involving the country, he wants the best for the people,” he was quoted as saying by the Insider.

In short, Mat Taib is on transparency the way Anwar has been on Kajang. Ironical, particularly since it is coming from a guy who once pleaded ignorance to Australlian laws on account of English illiteracy. You read right; in 1997, Mat Taib was acquitted over charges of currency irregularities in Australia because he told the Australian court that he did not understand English.

Twelve years later, the same Mat Taib took a swipe at his critics by telling them how proficient he was in English. It was the run-up to the 2009 UMNO general assembly and elections, when Mahathir swooped in and took a potshot at Mat Taib.

That’s right. Both Muhyiddin and Mat Taib were vying for the No. 2 post in 2009 when Mahathir came along and told the nation just why he preferred Muhyiddin over Mat Taib. Being the cynic that he is, Mahathir quipped that Mat Taib simply wasn’t cut out for the job because he didn’t understand English!

Anyway, a jolted Mat Taib began shouting his credentials from the rooftops. The disgruntled politician went so far as to tell us how most of his exams, including the London and Malaysian Cambridge Examinations, were conducted in English. But alas, Muhyiddin’s victory was pretty much written on the walls. You see, such was Mahathir’s charisma back then, that when he backed someone for a post, UMNO was capacitated to wire the candidate’s victory through the jungle telegraph days ahead of polls.

Actually, Mat Taib should have just learned to keep his mouth shut, and just maybe, people would have gone fifty-fifty with him on the matter. You see, 12 years is a helluva long time for one to master the language. So he could have just delivered a speech or two in crisp English and let the people put two and two together.  That is, of course, if his proficiency in the language was what he claimed it to be. But no, Mat Taib had to tell us how good his English was since his varsity days, because he was itching to offer a comeback to Mahathir.

There’s a point to this; Mat Taib had openly confessed to an outright lie. He earned himself an acquittal in Australia over charges of currency irregularities, citing a lack of comprehension of the language. But the same Mat Taib has since come to the fore professing mastery of the same language since his University days.

Thus, not only is Mat Taib in contempt of the Australian judiciary, he may inadvertently have raised alarms abroad over our conviction as a nation to uphold the truth and maintain integrity, particularly since he was allowed a shot at Deputy Presidency in 2009 despite the gaffe.

And this is the guy who now talks about transparency, echoing the calls of the very man who once mocked him over his lack of proficiency in English. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is irony to the highest degree for your musing.

Perhaps Mat Taib should settle down and respond to this article before making further attempts to seek answers from Najib.