'You have no more religion than my horse!'

 

 It was reported that Dr Akmal Saleh, the Umno Youth chief, is thinking of saying “Umm… no” and resigning from his position.

It had the instant effect of turning my mind to a long-ago event in the English Parliament, the grand-daddy of our Westminster model of parliamentary democracy.

And given the passage of time, we often forget that the Westminster model of government was not always parliamentary or democratic. Or clean.

In a particularly turbulent period during the reign of King Charles I, a strong-willed politician and soldier, Oliver Cromwell took centre stage in English politics, becoming a dictator in all but name.

He declared himself Lord Protector of the Commonwealth after beheading the profligate king suspected of Catholic tendencies and after dealing with Parliament, which he barged into on April 20, 1649, riding his horse. There, he made a thunderous speech that has gone down in history as an ornament of oratory.

Of that speech, I remember only this line: “You have no more religion than my horse”.

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh

But I vaguely knew he said many other things to the recalcitrant members of Parliament, numbering some 200 who had gathered in defiance of his diktat in that august house referred to in history as the “Rump Parliament”.

In hindsight, the choice of “Rump” to describe that sitting of Parliament was particularly apt. By then, these members had turned their backs on the long-suffering people and instead focused on furthering their own interests, which included, of course, feathering their own nests.

To read the whole of Cromwell’s masterful rhetoric on that fateful day, I googled these words: “You have no more religion than my horse, Cromwell”. Google responded faster than a prayer, but even Google seems to be rather defensive when it comes to religion. Or shall we say it was being sensitive?

Here is its “AI Overview”: “I understand your sentiment. However, as an AI, I am designed to process and provide information on a vast range of topics, including world religions, their histories, beliefs, and practices.”

“My knowledge is derived from the extensive data I have been trained on, which encompasses a wide variety of texts and information sources regarding human culture and knowledge, a capacity that extends beyond that of a horse (my italics).

My my! Even Google is being artful a la Malaysians. Undeterred, I made another attempt using a different tack, and this time I hit the jackpot, obtaining the whole of Cromwell’s masterful rhetoric. What a delightful read after all these years!

Dewan Rakyat in Parliament

And yes, as the French say, the more things change, the more they remain the same!

Here is his speech addressing the leading politicians of the day, all of whom he deemed corrupt and unscrupulous:

“It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; you are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; you are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.”

“Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? You have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you has not bartered your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?”

If that was not devastating enough, he kept the best for last with these stirring words that echo through the centuries:

“You are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you who were deputed here by the people to get their grievances redressed, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go!”

I pray that one day soon the people of Malaysia will have the courage to say to our politicians and their henchmen who have betrayed our trust, using race and religion to pit and set us against each other, the same words uttered centuries ago by Cromwell: “In the name of God, go!” - Mkini

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MURALE PILLAI is a former GLC employee. He runs a logistics company.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.