Do they understand the meaning of misunderstanding?

 If used correctly, this word is interpreted as a failed communication attempt because what the speaker intended to express differed from what the hearer believed was said.

These days, that word has different meanings in different contexts. It has often been used after a spat or dispute among politicians or when used by officialdom when the faeces hits the ceiling.

Increasingly, it is used by enforcement head honchos when the subordinates are caught with their pants down.

To settle any complaint, report, or mistake, this one word seems to be the manna from heaven to settle all.

“Salah faham”, or misunderstanding, is the magic word to settle all and sundry. Those uttering it believe we, the citizens of this country, are not capable of seeing the true picture or that we are a bunch of idiots who will swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

Most importantly, it is used as a cover for blatant lies and wrongdoing or to divert attention from the real issues.

An oft-repeated excuse

Four years ago, then Johor menteri besar the late Osman Sapian admitted that he does not have a degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), apologising to Malaysians for the “confusion and misunderstanding” over his qualifications.

Social media had been abuzz with claims that Osman’s accounting degree from UPM in fact did not exist, with the allegations coming to light after someone purportedly conducted online checks with the university.

Malaysians did not misunderstand. The truth was as Osman belatedly admitted: “I did not complete my studies.” The consolation we could take was that he owned up.

Would owning up have been simpler? Having declared you have a qualification when you did not, the scroll cannot be plucked out from thin air. Why make the claim then? Beating around the bush certainly would have prevented the blushes.

In January, an issue with the pharmacy service of Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) was a misunderstanding between the complainant and the officer on duty.

HKL director Dr Rohana Johan clarified that the confusion arose when the MyUbat service could not be implemented for certain medicines following their limited supply.

So, what was the misunderstanding? The hospital did not have the medicines to dispense the patient. Period.

In March, Pahang Health director Dr Nor Azimi Yunus said the dispute between a security guard and a visitor at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan was due to a misunderstanding on the dress code.

The incident that occurred during the visiting hours, she said, was due to the security guard “not understanding the dress code to enter the hospital.”

In short, nothing was wrong - not even the length of the pants. No, the security guard did not do any wrong and it is the visitor who was wrong. Okay? All settled.

The walkout staged by 19 of the 24 Petaling Jaya city councillors last month was caused by a misunderstanding, according to Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

“Local Government, Public Transport and New Village Development committee chairperson Ng Sze Han had met the city councillors and the PJ mayor (over the matter). I think this was a misunderstanding, or maybe we need to improve our way of communication,” he was quoted as saying.

But councillors said the walkout occurred over a disagreement on decision-making powers during a meeting about the one-stop centre (OSC) and procedural matters.

No misunderstanding. The mayor attempted to flex his muscles and tried to shove his pre-decided verdict down the throats of the councillors.

Rare exceptions

But yesterday, we almost had another of those “misunderstandings” during the fiasco at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) involving a minister and two Chinese nationals.

Fortunately, the MACC has clarified that there was no such thing and investigations are continuing.

Initially, Utusan Malaysia quoted a source saying that investigations found that the commotion stemmed from a misunderstanding between the two tourists and an agent they contacted when they were slapped with a Not-To-Land (NTL) notice by the Immigration Department.

Fortunately for all of us, we are fortunate to have been told by the MACC chief, Azam Baki, in not so many words that there was no misunderstanding.

Oh, what a relief! When a collision between two trains took place last year, the then Prasarana chairperson Tajuddin Abdul Rahman in describing it said one train “kissed” another other.

Rightly, he lost his job. Fortunately, the trains did not misunderstand each other. Thank God for small mercies. - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com

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