Sorry seems to be the hardest word

It’s sad, so sad

It’s a sad, sad situation

And it’s getting more and more absurd

…

Oh it seems to me

That sorry seems to be the hardest word

- Elton John/Bernie Taupin

When BN announced that its candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election would be Ramli Mohd Nor, a native from the Semai tribe in Cameron Highlands, Lim Guan Eng said Pakatan Harapan was “shaken”.

It was an astute observation because Harapan’s candidate for the by-election, M Manogaran, was so “shaken” that he immediately put his foot into his mouth.

“They really don’t understand. You see, the Malays don’t even buy kuih (cakes/sweet pastries) from Orang Asli vendors. I don’t think they will go all out and vote for an Orang Asli.

“The Malays will ask, ‘How come we don’t have a Malay candidate? How come you put an Orang Asli?’ Chinese, Indians will not vote for the Orang Asli,” Manogaran said.

What an asinine mind. He takes the cake for being half-baked.

It is obvious Manogaran does not buy into the message DAP has been pushing for decades, that Malaysia is for all Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, religion, etc.

Nor did he draw any lesson from the virtual decimation of race-based parties like the MCA and MIC.

Descending to his level of mentally-challenged logic, why should Malays, Chinese and Orang Asli buy kuih from an Indian?

Not only wouldn’t I buy kuih from him, I wouldn’t want him as my lawyer, because his first line of defence when his shit hit the fan was to bleat: not I say one, other people say, I just telling you what people say.

Ayo! Compound his offence by laying the blame on the people of Cameron Highlands for being racists and living in mental ghettos.

DAP leaders who are less mentally challenged must have beaten some sense into his skull, because the next day he said “sorry”.

Sounds like a threat

Before the Harapan cleaning crew could finish cleaning Manogaran’s crap from the fan, another sorry character, PKR senator Bob Manolan (photo) spoke up for Harapan at a gathering of the tok batin (village heads) in Cameron Highlands.

He dumped such a huge load. I think the Harapan by-election operations centre should get Indah Water to have a crew on standby for the duration of campaigning in Cameron Highlands, besides laying in a supply of carbon pills.

Coining a word, the “lowlight” of his speech included: “tak sokong, kita buang” (if you don’t support, we will remove”), and “mana-mana batin yang tak sokong kerajaan, kita tak bayar gaji dia. Betul! Jangan bayar gaji dia.” (tok batin who do not support the government, we won’t pay their salaries. Right! Don’t pay them salaries), and “Kita bayar gaji dia, dia tak sokong kita, buat apa kita bayar dia?” (If we pay his salary and he doesn’t support us, why should we pay him?)

He never threatened the tok batin, he was misinterpreted, he said.

Okay, let’s say my knowledge of the Malay language is hopeless. I wait to be corrected on the English translation of his words.

Sounds like a threat to me. And sounded like a threat to the tok batin who were incensed by his warning to toe the line.

Reminds me of the antediluvian 80s when I first became a journalist and reporters went for assignments with a notebook. It was common in those days for government officials with foot-in-the-mouth disease to insist they had been misinterpreted, that it was the fault of stupid reporters who couldn’t grasp the simplest explanation, and newspapers had to publish an apology the next day.

Hello, that stance doesn’t wash nowadays. Reporters are armed with an arsenal of phones and cameras to record comment.

Someone, please tell this to PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin (photo, above) who said, “I am confident what he said was misinterpreted… I don’t think that’s what he said.”

Aunty, you should have conveyed your certainty to your fellow vice-president Tian Chua before he issued his apology on behalf of your party for “unintended careless statements” that may have offended the Orang Asli community.

Is it so difficult for motor-mouth politicians to apologise and say, “Sorry, my tongue moved faster than my brain”?

Surely, one of the first lessons they are taught in Politics 101 is that politicians don’t have to believe what they say.

By the way, none of the above comment is what I believe. I am just saying what people say.

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THOR KAH HOONG is a member of the Malaysiakini team. - Mkini