Not politics again....

I started following politics at a young age. Politics for a 7-year-old boy was waiting for the Prime Minister’s motorcade passing by our house. We used to live in the vicinity of the Prime Ministers House. Every time the motorcade passes my house, I’d be alerted by the sirens of his outriders. I would rush out to our balcony and stand in attention saluting when the PM’s car passes by. I was just awed by the fact that this man is the “boss” of the country.

The PM at that time was Tun Hussein Onn. My father would always commend that Tun Hussien was an honest and clean leader, unlike his successors. Tun Hussien’s stand on corruption was simple; he wouldn’t have any of it. In 1976, the ACA charged Datuk Haron, at that time Head of Umno Youth and Chief Minister of Selangor, for abuse of state funds. Tun Hussien never interfered. He left the ACA to do its job, knowing well that Datuk Haron had strong grass-root support.

For the past decade or so, I’ve come to realize that politics in Malaysia is not as it seems to be. Now, its about power and money. It’s about the Malay supremacy. Politics in Malaysia is still based on race not ideologies. It’s a shame to think that we Malaysians have not evolved much since gaining independence 50 years ago. Sometimes knowing what goes on behind the political scene makes me feel sick in the stomach. Why bother with politics anyway I say to myself. I would then say, because people who don’t bother bout politics are the cause of the state we are in now. Because we don’t bother, monkeys can get elected into Parliament. It’s no more about saluting the boss of the country... we ARE the Boss!

Tough Luck

My father was in the Judiciary for 20 years. He had since retired and currently sits on the board of several companies. Back when i was still studying in uni, come hari raya he would hold the customary open house. Among the guests were members of the Bench and the Bar. There was one particular year at our open house when i remember being approached by a turban attired gentleman and was handed four packets of duit raya, each for my siblings and myself.

After the guests had left, I distributed the packets among my siblings and we promptly open it. To our astonishment, we each received 500. It was quite a lot back then. We were all jumping up and down with cash in our hands. My dad came and asked what's all the commotion. We proudly showed the cash in our hands and said one of the lawyers gave us "duit raya". Without hesitation he said give it back to me..I was like "Wha...??" He said he cannot allow us to accept it and wants to give it back to the lawyer. As we passed the money to him, we could only imagine what we could have bought with all the money. I heard that the next day he had returned the money to the lawyer.

I couldn't understand back then what was the big deal. Looking back, I now know why he had to return it. Giving money to his children is akin to giving money to him. With his position on the Bench it would bring a negative impression on him even if the gesture was genuine.

That's how "tough" my life was. I wonder if it's the same being a Prime Minister's son...or son in law.