Raja Mendeliar, Kittul and Khoja Husein

In another lifetime, upheavals in the seat of Malay empire, Malacca was caused by the machinations of Raja Mendeliar and kittul. They were the archetypal thambis.

Let me hasten to add that when we use the term thambi, we do not at all diminish our esteem for Malaysian Indians. Instead we use the term to designate and identify certain characters with certain despicable traits.

Raja Mendeliar and kittul are two examples of characters in Malay literature used to represent people who betray others, people who sow seeds of distrust among other groups. Raja Mendeliar and kittul are generally used to refer to treacherous persons.

From the Malay Annals or Sejarah Melayu, we are informed that Raja Mendeliar was of Indian descent and made master of the port during the reign of Malacca’s Sultan, Sultan Mahmud Shah. He became wealthy.

Sultan Mahmud’s preoccupation, as we are also informed, was the pursuit of pleasures of the sensual kind. He was pictured as that until remorse over the execution of Tun Mutahir changed him.

Tun Fatimah, the beautiful daughter of Bendahara Sri Maharaja, Tun Mutahir, caught his fancy. The sultan was extremely slighted at Tun Mutahir for not giving him the first right of refusal over the claim on Tun Fatimah. How could Tun Fatimah be soiled with inferior genes?

In our lifetime, upheavals in the court of Umno are hastened by another Thamby, figuratively speaking, that is. He is Rahim Thamby Chik.

Once upon a time, Rahim TC was also master of modern Malacca. We are not privy on the extent of Rahim’s wealth, but it is generally believed that Rahim is a wealthy person. Eskay is his kittul.

It was the modern day kittul who informed the modern day Raja Mendeliar that he has in his hands some documented evidence that could finish off Anwar Ibrahim once and for all. I won’t go into a historical narration of what Raja Mendeliar and kittul did. I am interested only in the end.

In the end Sultan Mahmud, realising the errors of his judgment, had Kittul and Raja Mendeliar executed. They were guilty of conspiring to have Bendahara Tun Mutahir executed. You can say that Mendeliar and Kittul were the original conspirators.

What role can we assign to the third person — Shuib Lazim? Well, he can qualify as Laksamana Khoja Husein, who must have embellished what Mendeliar confided in him. He, too, wanted to gain ascension to higher and more exalted position.

I must quickly add, however, that Anwar Ibrahim is no Tun Mutahir. Anwar will have to answer his own wrongs. He must defend himself.

Of more contextual relevance is the role and actions carried out by the conspirator gang of Kittul, Mendeliar and Khoja Husein. What did he hope to gain by producing this smut video? Was he trying to regain lost pride?

By his own admission, he was going after revenge blaming Anwar for his own exit from the seat of power. He explained to friends, nobody knows the hell he went through. So he waits for the opportunity and time. At the appointed hour they struck.

Meanwhile, the Sultan of Umno was stunned.

It’s Umno that is hurting. His actions over the video alleging Anwar Ibrahim procured the services of a prostitute, has brought Umno into wretched disrepute.

The video was received with utter disbelief. People are linking it to Umno. Rahim TC is an MKT member. He has dragged Umno into public contempt and odium.

This is the context to which Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah referred to when he said, Malaysian politics has been reduced to gutter politics. That’s generally meant to refer to dirty politics.

Perhaps the more appropriate term should have been cesspool politics since a cesspool collects sewage and other unmentionables. The night soil collectors are Eskay and Rahim Thamby Chik.

Never in the history of Umno has the bedroom activities of anyone been brought out into the open and used as the fatal blow to one’s opponents. The early Umno leaders were not saints; if we were to examine the lives of past leaders, almost all of them were blemished leaders. Yet not one among them would ever dream of using personal foibles as a tool to kill of his opponent.

Yet this is happening to modern day Umno, the party that claims pole position as the champion of the Malays. Umno is to modern Malays as what Malacca was to Malays of antiquity. The downfall of each was brought about by the machinations and treachery of thambis.

In the coming days, Umno leaders will realise that the expose of the video has generally backfired on them.

What happened to Mendeliar, Kittul and Khoja Hussein? Mendeliar and Kittul were executed while Khoja Husein was castrated.

Will Umno now do the modern honours to Rahim, Eskay and Shuib Lazim? — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was the assemblyman for Pulau Manis (2004-2008).