Rules change

Today, such people -- such as those pirates in Somalia -- would be hunted down by the American soldiers. 1,000 years ago, we had to sembah them or else get put to death. See how times have changed? And rules change as times change. Hence, the rules of today may be viewed as silly 1,000 years from now just how we view the rules of 1,000 years ago as silly.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

“Remember, remember, the fifth of November,” we used to sing when we were kids. The fifth of November refers to 5th November 1605, the date of the ‘Gunpowder Plot’, when Guy Fawkes and gang tried to blow up Parliament.

The King, James VI, was supposed to be opening the new session of Parliament on that day. Hence the reformists wanted to kill hundreds of birds with one stone -- blow up Parliament and kill the King plus all the Members of Parliament in one great explosion.

Well, I suppose that is one way to get rid of the government when you can’t do it through the ballot box. Now, please don’t start getting any ideas. I am not suggesting this is what you do. Anyway, Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur does not have underground sewers.

The following year, in 1606, Britain passed a sedition law that not only made it a crime to blow up the King, but even if you just said nasty things about him you could be arrested and punished. And the minimum penalty for sedition would be to cut off your ears. The worst would be you get put to death.

You see, even right up the late 1800s, Europeans still believed that Monarchs were appointed by God. Hence to speak against the Monarch meant you spoke against God Himself. And ‘God’s punishment’ was severe indeed. In fact, they could even put you on trial without the benefit of any witnesses or witnesses could testify against you in secret so that no one will discover your identity

Such was the seriousness of sedition against the King, such as what Karpal Singh is now facing for his treasonous act of sedition against the Sultan of Perak. Incidentally, while on the subject of the Sultan of Perak, read what the Sultan of Pahang said, as reported by Bernama.

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Freedom of speech must comply with rules - Sultan of Pahang

(Bernama) -- The freedom of speech and expression in the country should comply with the constitution, said the Sultan of Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah.

This right includes the freedom of expression in an organisation where a member is entitled to an opinion say, but within the bounds of the rules adopted, he added.

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Yes, that was what the Sultan of Pahang said -- freedom of speech and expression should comply with the constitution. And I take it you remember that a couple of days ago the Crown Prince to the Perak throne also made a statement regarding not talking about Islam.

The title of my article is ‘Rules change’. That’s right. Rules change. They change according to era and region. Time and place makes what is right become wrong and what is wrong become right. That is what I wish to talk about.

In 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy, also known as William the Conqueror or the Bastard of Normandy, invaded England. Now, he was not the King of France. The King of France was someone else. The English King then was Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Essex and the most powerful of the English Lords.

Battle between the Saxons and Normans in 1066

Now, why was William called the Bastard of Normandy? I know the English call him that. I don’t know whether the French do as well. Anyway, the English call all French bastards, and vice versa, the French call the English the same thing. Some French even refer to condoms as English caps.

Anyway, from what little history I have read, William was called the Bastard of Normandy not because he acted like Barisan Nasional people but because he was actually a bastard. His father was Robert, the Duke of Normandy, while it is not too clear about his mother, Herleva, who was the daughter of Fulbert of Falaise, who may have been a tanner or embalmer. Whatever it may be, Earls, Lords, Dukes and Kings had many mistresses in those days, there was no family planning yet, so many bastards sprung up all over the place.

As I said, William invaded England and a great battle was fought at Hastings. King Harold was killed in that battle (he got an arrow through his eye) and William took over the throne as the first Norman King of England.

King Harold dies with an arrow through the eye

Now, it must be noted that they were called Normans because they were Norsemen or people from the North, meaning therefore that they were of Viking descent. And these Vikings used to travel to England and France to rape, plunder, kill and grab lands that did not belong to them. They then appointed themselves as Dukes and Lords of the land. And that was where William the Bastard came from, a long line of Viking pirates, rapists, plunderers and murderers.

Only that, long ago, they were not called pirates. They were called warriors. And raping and plundering was not a crime. It was the rewards of war. Soldiers did not get paid a salary then. They earned their keep by raping and plundering the defeated enemy. And massacring soldiers who had surrendered was not murder. It was to solve the problem of prison overcrowding. How do you squeeze 10,000 enemy soldiers in a prison built for 100? 

The bottom line is: pirates, rapists, plunderers and murderers, mostly bastard children, stole land that belonged to others. They then declared themselves as Rulers appointed by God. And then they passed sedition laws to make it a crime to speak bad about them.

Somali pirates

Today, such people -- such as those pirates in Somalia -- would be hunted down by the American soldiers. 1,000 years ago, we had to sembah them or else get put to death. See how times have changed? And rules change as times change. Hence, the rules of today may be viewed as silly 1,000 years from now just how we view the rules of 1,000 years ago as silly.

What is freedom of speech today was treason and sedition 1,000 years ago. What is treason and sedition today would be freedom of speech 1,000 years from now. So by what yardstick do we measure the Sultan of Pahang’s interpretation of freedom of speech according to the news report above?

1,000 years ago, what William the Bastard said were words from a great and wise King. Today, we think that William was an idiot. How would we view the words of today’s Kings and Monarchs 1,000 from now?