"The Magnificent Seven" is a cowboy film in which the lead protagonist Chris, played by Yul Brynner, is hired by poor Mexican farmers to protect them against bandits who continually rob their village.
Chris enlists five other gunfighters and an inexperienced young man, Chico, to help the peasants. Despite the poor payment offered, they agree to defend the village, out of a sense of duty.
"The Magnificent Seven" teach the villagers the art of self-defence, to handle guns and turn farm implements into weapons. Whilst they kill the bandits, four of the gunslingers are killed in the raid.
Last week, investigations were initiated by the Umno Baru secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. If found to have been culpable, the seven senior Umno Baru politicians, who allegedly brought the party into disrepute, will be punished.
These men include former deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin, former rural and regional development minister Shafie Apdal and Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
They have joined former PM Mahathir Mohamad in criticising Najib Razak for his role in the 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion "donation".
The seven Umno Baru men do not deserve the epithet, "The Magnificent Seven". No one is complaining about their criticism of Najib, but why did they fail to act, before they were sacked?
The opposition coalition expressed disquiet about the 1MBD scandal, as early as 2010, during a parliamentary debate about the 2011 Budget.
These seven men were part of the ruling elite, and should have been privy to what was happening. Why were they silent then? Perhaps, Najib kept 1MDB close to his chest.
In September 2010, former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim delivered a withering attack on the government. He demanded detailed information about 1MDB, which was formerly known as the Terengganu Investment Authority Berhad.
Anwar queried the role of 1MDB and its connection with Petrosaudi. He also questioned the role of Penang millionaire and social climber Jho Low, in 1MDB. He demanded information about Jho Low's involvement in the redevelopment of the Sungei Besi air base.
Anwar said, "I’m not jealous of Jho Low spending time with Paris Hilton, but the fact is that upon checking with the companies commission, 1MDB has no business address and no appointed auditor.
“It is also questionable that its chief executive officer only reported on October 12 that they made RM425 million profit, just days before the budget was tabled.
“How can the government approve such a company to take on a project of such national importance? What is the Prime Minister’s interest in this?”
The current efforts of the seven Umno Baru politicians, to uncover the truth about 1MBD are commendable; but they are not "The Magnificent Seven". A more appropriate term would be "The Benevolent Seven".
In the original "The Magnificent Seven" film, the poor farmers of the remote Mexican village are just like our rakyat, trying to find protectors, who can help them fight the bandits.
Ironically, our "saviours", "The Benevolent Seven", are just a raiding party which has left the main body of bandits.
In the Malaysian cowboy story, the casualties among "The Benevolent Seven" will find that their political careers will be killed off.
As the remaining members ride into the sunset, their reputations intact, they will pass the graves of their fallen comrades, and the leader of "The Benevolent Seven" will prophetically say, "That is the story of Malaysia. Only crooked politicians win. The rakyat never triumph. The rakyat always lose." - http://theantdaily.com/
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