I Thought Politicians Don T Say The Darndest Things Anymore

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What is the indicator that politics and democracy are starting to mature in Malaysia? For me, it’s when there are fewer and fewer politicians and elected leaders saying stupid things.
Remember many years ago when writer and filmmaker Amir Muhammad wrote the book ‘Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things’? It was basically a compilation of politicians saying, well, the darndest things. He released several volumes. I guess it couldn’t all be contained in just one.
Some of the quotes that are in the books are such:
“The best way to improve your golf is to chop down the rainforest… We get too much rain in Sarawak - it stops me playing golf.” - Amar James Wong, Sarawak’s environment and tourism minister in 1988.
“Toilets are like new brides after they are completed. After some time, they get a bit spoiled. Even if you do not use them frequently, you need someone to clean them every 25 minutes.” - the late works minister S Samy Vellu in 2005.
“We can’t have everyone sit in Parliament for the whole day for 15 days in a row. You just can’t. The seat will get very hot and if you sit too long, you may get piles.” - Nazri Aziz, minister in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2004.
Nazri Aziz“They (Bangladeshi men) have blue eyes and look like Hindi film actors and they create social problems here.” - Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, home minister in 2006, explaining why Bangladeshi men were no longer allowed to work in Malaysia.
“If you cannot fight rape, better lie down and enjoy it.” - Kota Kinabalu Umno division head Roselan Johar Mohamed in 2004.
From my observations, it would seem that the number of stupid quotes coming from politicians has reduced drastically. Does this mean that our politics and democracy are maturing? Maybe, or maybe not.
Recently, some politicians have been saying really stupid things too. And you wonder if in this day and age, how are they still thinking like that.
DAP family conspiracy
The latest example is PAS MP Siti Mastura Muhammad when she claimed that DAP MP Lim Guan Eng is related to the late Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng and the late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
She said this in a speech she gave to PAS members in Kemaman. She also said that Lim is related to other DAP politicians like Anthony Loke, Nga Kor Ming, Ngeh Koo Ham and Teresa Kok.
The late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan YewLim gave Siti Mastura till Nov 9 to provide the evidence of her claims. She has not and he will be taking legal action. The police have also called her in for questioning. Investigations will happen and I guess we’ll find out if her claims are true or not. To be honest, this is just so amusing for me, and I can’t wait to find out the truth.
She must have really compelling evidence to say so, and can you imagine how dramatic it is going to be if Lim is in fact related to all these Chinese people?
Maybe more evidence will come out and we’ll find out that Lim is also related to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Leslie Cheung, Wong Kar Wai, Anita Mui, Lucy Liu, Ming Na Wen, BTS, Black Pink, New Jeans and Doraemon. Wouldn’t that be fun?
At the outset, the claim that Siti Mastura made just reeks of racism. Is she trying to imply that all Chinese are related to each other?
I mean, sure, if we want to think about it, if we go way back, we are all related to each other. We all came from Adam and Eve, right? That would mean that Siti Mastura and Lim are related too. Then, that would also mean that Siti Mastura is also related to Chin Peng and Kuan Yew. Then how?
Honestly, I think that we have definitely matured and progressed over the decades. It is so much different now than it was in the 1990s. Of course, there are still a lot of areas that need improvement.
But, as we can see, there are still remnants of this old idiotic politics. It is quite absurd that people can still vote for politicians like these. But maybe, we need to keep one or two of them in just so that we can still be entertained and amused. - Mkini
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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