NAJIB & ROSMAH - MALAYSIA'S PETER & CATHERINE: LET DR M'S BERSATU PRICK THEIR BUBBLE

I am on my way to St Petersburg as I write this piece. This great Russian city was built by two of the country’s great leaders, Peter and Catherine, both historic rulers who figured largely not just in Imperial Russia but also Europe. They were able to build Russia into one of the greatest empires on earth, not dissimilar to Caesar’s Roman Empire.

In contrast, I am not sure where our Prime Minister and his lovely wife will take us, although there are clear signs that they live their lives and administer the country in a way that’s similar to the powerful Tsars and Tsarinas of yesteryear. They spend lavishly, are powerful and tolerate no criticism. Even yellow balloons upset them and their Attorney-General.

One thing they have successfully been able to do is put fear in the hearts of their Ministers and the members of their administration, all of whom have rallied behind the Prime Minister to declare in unison that the Emperor has new clothes. They are too afraid to say he is naked, for they would be called ungrateful and ignorant and may even risk their positions.

That’s why the new political party that’s being promoted by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad already has its first job cut out for it: to translate Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale “The Emperor’s new clothes” into Bahasa Malaysia.

I doubt that Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka will take on the task of translating the tale so it’s incumbent that the new party do so. It would be the first step to teaching Malays to think.

The story is about two weavers who tell their Emperor that the new suit they have woven for him is invisible to those who are incompetent, unintelligent and general unworthy of their position. There is, of course, no suit at all, but the Emperor falls for the trick because of his vanity and ends up parading naked through town. His courtiers scramble to compliment the Emperor on his new clothes for fear of being called stupid and incompetent—in the end, only a child has the courage to point out the embarrassing truth.

Unfortunately, no one in Putrajaya, the various religious councils, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Police, the media or academia has the same courage as that child.

Malaysia can only become a success story if we have more men and women who dare to speak the truth. If Tun Dr Mahathir’s new party fails to produce such truth-tellers then we will remain the same country, driven by delusions of grandeur and undermined by armies of sycophants.

However, we can have many Malaysians with the courage of that young boy if we understand the value of speaking the truth. This was what Andersen’s tale was all about. Let’s hope the new party will publish and translate the book far and wide; who knows, we may have a few such young boys and girls in future. - http://www.zaid.my/